Anne Shirley – now Anne Blythe – loved to read. She once took High Honors in English at Redmond when she wasn't too busy helping Roy Gardner cheat.
Despite all that, the adult Anne Blythe read very few novels from cover to cover. She usually only completely read the books that she actually wanted to read.
For everything else, she read the beginning and the end of the book and some random chapters in the middle. She used context clues to figure out the rest of the book. Sometimes she skimmed all of the chapters but didn't read them very deeply. This was an old English major trick that she learned at Redmond.
Gilbert Blythe was the only person in the world who knew that Anne didn't actually completely read The Life-Book of Captain Jim. Gilbert didn't read the book at all. Anne read "part" of the Life-Book and told Gilbert about what she read. She wrote down for Gilbert a few (positive) observations about the book and a few quotes from it. Then, when Anne and Gilbert attended Owen Ford's book release party at the House of Dreams, they both told Owen about how much they loved the Life-Book and how they had both devoured the book in less than a week.
Owen Ford didn't question that a busy doctor and the mother of his very young children both finished The Life-Book of Captain Jim in less than a week. Anne and Gilbert wondered if Owen Ford actually stopped to think about their lie very hard, or if he just didn't really care.
Anne blushed when Owen signed her copy of The Life-Book "to my good friends Anne and Gilbert, thanks for your love and support." She put The Life-Book on the shelf where she kept all of her most treasured books. Then, she didn't think very hard about the book for years.
This would all change the summer that Kenneth Ford fell out of the loft in the barn.
A few days after Gilbert declared Kenneth "on the mend," Owen dismissed Lucy Marks, the trained nurse. As Owen neared the end of his savings from writing The Life-Book, he felt the wolf creeping closer to the door of the little House of Dreams. Their family couldn't afford a nurse now that they knew that Kenneth would recover. Owen secretly hoped that Gilbert would discount his medical bill or maybe even forget to bill him at all.
Ms. Cornelia had actually stayed with the Fords for a few days. Then, Marshall called her home.
Out of pity for Leslie for having Owen Ford for a husband, Gilbert finally agreed to let Anne help out at the House of Dreams for an afternoon.
Anne sat vigil at Kenneth's bedside so that Leslie could grab a few hours of sleep. Leslie had already gone to lay down when Anne realized that she forgot to bring her own sewing that she meant to do that afternoon.
I guess that I'll have to read, Anne thought.
She scanned Owen and Leslie's shelves in their sitting room in the House of Dreams.
For a writer, Owen sure doesn't own many books, Anne thought.
Anne's eyes fell on . . . The Life-Book of Captain Jim.
Anne thought, "Sure, I can take a shot at trying to read this for real. It's only for a few hours. What's the harm?"
Anne carried The Life-Book to her vigil at Kenneth's bedside.
Hours passed as Kenneth slept and Anne read.
The further that Anne read, the more she thought, "This book isn't very good!"
Wait – scratch that. Forget about The Life-Book of Captain Jim not being very good. The Life-Book of Captain Jim was terrible!
Anne thought, "I can write better than that. I HAVE written better than that."
Hell, sections of The Life-Book were worse than Averil's Atonement!
Anne remembered the day that she introduced Owen Ford to Captain Jim. On that day, she suggested that Ford would be the writer who would document Captain Jim's life story. She had run the idea past Gilbert first. Gilbert had suggested that Anne herself should be the one to write about Captain Jim. Anne had told Gilbert that such a project was "beyond her ability" or some such bullshit.
Now, as Anne read The Life-Book of Captain Jim, Anne thought, "I gave up on my own ability as a writer in favor of this piece of crap?"
Anne had been raised to not use the word "crap" in polite conversation, but she secretly thought it in regards to other people's work. As a teacher and principal, Anne secretly used the word "crap" to describe many of her pupil's essays. Now, she thought the word "crap" in regards to The Life-Book of Captain Jim.
Anne wanted to cry. Gilbert was right. Again. Gilbert was always right.
Gilbert had told Anne that she would be the author who would write Captain Jim's life story. As usual, Anne didn't listen to Gilbert. Anne had doubted herself. She gave away what should have been her opportunity. She gave it all away to a man.
And, from the looks of it, she gave it away to a man who couldn't even write very well.
