Product Description

No amount of drama between the Dark and Penhallow families can prepare them for what follows when Aunt Becky bequeaths her prized heirloom jug - the owner to be revealed in one year's time. The intermarriages, and resulting fighting and feuding, that have occurred over the years grow more intense as Gay Penhallow's fiancé leaves her for the devious Nan Penhallow; Peter Penhallow and Donna Dark find love after a lifelong hatred of each other; and Joscelyn and Hugh Dark, inexplicably separated on their wedding night, are reunited.

Hopes and shortcomings are revealed as we follow the fates of the clan for an entire year. The legendary jug sits amid this love, heartbreak, and hilarity as each family member works to acquire the heirloom. But on the night that the eccentric matriarch's wishes are to be revealed, both families find the biggest surprise of all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #334655 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From the Publisher
Two family clans, the Darks and the Penhallows, fight for possession of a big, brown jug--a family heirloom. The book spans a year in the life of various family members.

From the Inside Flap
Over the years sixty members of the Dark family and sixty Penhallows have married one another--but not without their share of fighting and feuding. Now Aunt Becky, the eccentric old matriarch of the clan, has bequeathed her prized possession: a legendary heirloom jug. But the name of the jug's new owner will not be revealed for one year. In the next twelve months beautiful Gay Penhallow's handsome fiance Noel Gibson leaves her for sly and seductive Nan Penhallow; reckless Peter Penhallow and lovely Donna Dark, who have hated each other since childhood, are inexplicably brought together by the jug; Hugh and Joscelyn Dark, separated on their wedding night ten years ago for reasons never revealed, find a second chance--all watched over by the mysterious Moon Man, who has the gift of second sight. Then comes the night when Aunt Becky's wishes will be revealed...and the family is in for the biggest surprise of all.

About the Author

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) was the celebrated author of Anne of Green Gables and numerous other classics for young people. She was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island and attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown where she obtained her teaching certificate.

Customer Reviews

Intricate, Detailed, and Satisfying
LMM's gift for portraying people's hopes and dreams and shortcomings in a sympathetic fashion shines in this novel. Among her most unique stories in format, it chooses to follow the fates of an entire clan for a year, alternately "peeping in" on the thoughts of first one person and then another. In most of her novels we see everyone through the lens of the main character: here we see each of them as they see themselves.

The characters' actions and decisions are shadowed by either their own, or their loved ones' desire to win possession of a coveted family jug. And although there is only one jug, the impetus to change and improve their lives results in nearly everyone being happy at the end of the story. LMM is as usual able to evoke both the comical and the noble side of her characters, all the while telling a good story.

In feel and in setting this novel is very typical of LMM's work; the delightful characters and small-town politics will be familiar to anybody who loves her writing. It stands out from her other works because of the multiplicity of characters and storylines.

Over the years this has become one of my favourite LMM novels. I would especially recommend it to any adults reading her books for the first time.

Everything you love about Montgomery in one perfect book!
When I need to be cheered up, I re-read the first two chapters of this book and end up reading the whole book over, enthralled by one or another of the stories. The web may be tangled, but who cares when it's so fun? Montgomery's trademark moments - the ones you keep reading the Anne or Emily series for - pop up all the time, and as usual you keep kicking yourself for forgetting that her characters aren't real. Poignant, mysterious, romantic, Avonleaish, and VERY funny - watch out for the Sams, Uncle Pippen, Peter P., and of course Drowned John (I'd buy the book just to read the explanation of that name!)

Very enjoyable, tangled tale
A Tangled Web is the perfect title for this story, which criss-crosses through the lives of several main characters. It can be a little hard to get your bearings through the opening chapters, which introduce many characters, but it's a very enjoyable story once you're into it, and one I've personally read several times.

The main thread of the story is that Aunt Becky died, leaving a highly-prized family heirloom to... who? She leaves her will with a trusted member of her clan but refuses to say what criteria will be used to choose who will inherit it. As a result, many members of her clan change things about their lives they knew she wouldn't like, and many interesting events take place as a result.

There are love stories a-plenty, of course

Those familiar with L. M. Montgomery's style, characters and plot devices will recognise many of them in this story - lovers splitting up over a trifle, bitter grudges held for years, clan loyalties and rivalries. There's a lot of her characteristic humour and charm.