As a child I discovered the Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery and read them voraciously, cover to cover, even the oft forgotten Chronicles of Avonlea. I read every single one and they took me to a magical place with characters that resonated in a way no others have done over the years. I identified with Anne, hated Gil, wished I had a grandfather like Matthew and a best friend like Diana.
Like Anne, I often found myself in the 'depths of despair' during my growing up years, like most of us, but there was something about her and the setting on Prince Edward Island that stayed with me for a very long time afterwards. Nowadays I suppose she'd be termed a 'drama queen', but to me she embodied the hardships of getting older while being slightly different from everyone else. But it was her imagination that I identified with most of all, and for many years tried to find a river and a wooden rowing boat that I could use to perform my own version of The Lady of Shalott. Somehow a plastic chair in a swimming pool didn't quite feel the same and sadly, there was no Gilbert to rush to my rescue.
When the TV series came out I was concerned that it wouldn't live up to the books, but the series starring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie was beyond beautiful, and I'm sure I'm not the only girl who developed a little crush on Gilbert Blythe. I even forgave him for calling Anne 'Carrots'.
Yesterday I saw that Jonathan Crombie has died and I'm sad. Ridiculously sad and I don't really know why. I never knew him, but I did know Gilbert, who, I'm not ashamed to say, coloured how I saw boys and also, I now discover, the character of Adam in my Blue Dust Trilogy. I didn't do it consciously, but since hearing of Jonathan Crombie's death I've been revisiting the books and the stories and realise that Adam has many of Gilbert's qualities about him. I suppose that's normal, seeing someone reflected in another, even in a 'made-up' boy.
Death is always sad, especially when someone dies young and there's really no reason at all that I should be sadder about the death 'Gilbert' than anyone else, like Heath Ledger, for instance. But I am. And it's all because of those beautiful books and the resulting TV series. Like all authors, I hope to one day touch people with my books too, but no matter how hard we authors try to create a character that will touch the hearts of our readers and live with them into adulthood, but there'll only ever be one Gilbert Blythe. And for millions of us Jonathan Crombie will always be the only Gilbert that matters. RIP.
Like Anne, I often found myself in the 'depths of despair' during my growing up years, like most of us, but there was something about her and the setting on Prince Edward Island that stayed with me for a very long time afterwards. Nowadays I suppose she'd be termed a 'drama queen', but to me she embodied the hardships of getting older while being slightly different from everyone else. But it was her imagination that I identified with most of all, and for many years tried to find a river and a wooden rowing boat that I could use to perform my own version of The Lady of Shalott. Somehow a plastic chair in a swimming pool didn't quite feel the same and sadly, there was no Gilbert to rush to my rescue.
When the TV series came out I was concerned that it wouldn't live up to the books, but the series starring Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie was beyond beautiful, and I'm sure I'm not the only girl who developed a little crush on Gilbert Blythe. I even forgave him for calling Anne 'Carrots'.
Yesterday I saw that Jonathan Crombie has died and I'm sad. Ridiculously sad and I don't really know why. I never knew him, but I did know Gilbert, who, I'm not ashamed to say, coloured how I saw boys and also, I now discover, the character of Adam in my Blue Dust Trilogy. I didn't do it consciously, but since hearing of Jonathan Crombie's death I've been revisiting the books and the stories and realise that Adam has many of Gilbert's qualities about him. I suppose that's normal, seeing someone reflected in another, even in a 'made-up' boy.
Death is always sad, especially when someone dies young and there's really no reason at all that I should be sadder about the death 'Gilbert' than anyone else, like Heath Ledger, for instance. But I am. And it's all because of those beautiful books and the resulting TV series. Like all authors, I hope to one day touch people with my books too, but no matter how hard we authors try to create a character that will touch the hearts of our readers and live with them into adulthood, but there'll only ever be one Gilbert Blythe. And for millions of us Jonathan Crombie will always be the only Gilbert that matters. RIP.