I downloaded this book from Project Gutenberg,expecting Kilmeny to be something like Anne or Emily, two of my favourite heroines of all time. Well, Kilmeny was nothing like the aforementioned two, although she did possess a special charm of her own.
I loved the fact that she was so innocent and childlike, although it is quite hard to believe that she had never looked into a mirror in her entire life. And I also like the link between her and the orchard–would her charm fade away when she is ruthlessly thrust into the complexities of the real world? Would she then become an ordinary woman like any other? These where the questions that was playing in my head as I finished the book.
In fact, I skipped the first few chapters. I was anticipating Kilmeny’s appearance, expecting her to be mentioned within the first few pages, but the story went on to talk about Eric, whom, in the first place, did not seem to have anything to do with the title at all. I even thought that I had downloaded the wrong book! I started reading it thoroughly only after Eric’s encounter with Kilmeny in the orchard.
All in all, this book is light, sweet and romantic. It is perhaps less captivating than ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ or ‘Emily of New Moon‘, but undeniably it is charming in it’s own way.