The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery

by L.M. Montgomery and K.J. Charles

Book Overview

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), the author of the classic novel for children, Anne of Green Gables, kept extensive journals for most of her life, beginning them in 1889 when she was fourteen and continuing them until shortly before her death. An instant bestseller in Canada, the first volume of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery covers the years up to 1910 and culminates in the publication of Anne of Green Gables. The second volume (1910-1921) portrays Montgomery in the midst of great upheaval, both in her life and in the world around her. Now, the long-awaited third volume brings us through her middle years, a time when Montgomery's personal and professional lives are becoming even more complex.
Ranging from 1921-1929, this revealing journal documents her efforts to juggle the demands of motherhood, parish obligations, indifferent household help, grief at the loss of older friends and family--everyday struggles to balance a woman's social and domestic duties. Here she writes of the triumphs and trials of being a best-selling author: growing fame; the successful midwifery of her new heroines Emily and Marigold and a more adult novel, The Blue Castle; the struggle to allocate time for correspondence with publishers, fans, friends--and to actually write. We trace the happy conclusion of her lawsuits against an unscrupulous publisher and the disappointing outcome of a lawsuit arising in a minor automobile accident. And we learn of her personal worries: Ewan Macdonalds's envy of his wife's publishing and social success; the dark shadow cast by his attacks of melancholia; and her fear that her sons might evince similar tendencies.
In these years, Lucy Maud Montgomery turned more and more to her journals to record her insights, opinions, and epiphanies. These journals will not only intrigue every fan of Anne of Green Gables and the other Anne books, but will also provide an intimate look at life as portrayed by this remarkable writer.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195409361
• ISBN13: 9780195409369
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating

Poor poor woman. I could scarcely put it down. But it brings up many questions. Why did she think that Mr. Leard, the Love of her life, was not worthy of her? Why did no one ask her husband Mr. McDonald what the heck was bothering him? Why did she not know in 5 years of courtship that something was terribly wrong with him? Poor, poor woman. The synthesis of this book is when she asks herself why a woman that she felt was mean and hateful was happy and she was not. Indeed, why?

An insider's view of the early 20th century.

The third in the series, this journal continues to reveal L.M. Montongomery's life. Anyone with roots in Canada or an interest in history can enjoy this book as it documents the daily lives and routines of Canadians in the early 20th century by someone with a fluid pen who is right in the middle of it. It is as if you are reading your own grandparents or great grandparents diaries. Commenting on many aspects of the times, she very poiginately adresses the disinigration of the church body and the advances of science. A voracious reader herself, she revisits old favourites and reviews new literature and even addresses the point of pornography. She continually comments on the type of society she moves in as she hides her husbands meloncholia, attempts to hide a lost-lawsuit, and despite her great succes as an author, continues to be the minister's wife first. She writes more about the effects of her success in this volume and describes how it has affected tourism in her home in Cavendish. All the while, giving us insight into her very real daily life of her boys growing up and leaving for school, her older friends passing away, and her continual search for members of the race of Joseph--kindred spirits, real friends. It is a also a great book for people to read who are looking for mentors. L.M. Montgomery is a great Canadian woman and this series of her journals helps us see why without only seeing the perfect her. It is a charmer with great bits for dinner parties with friends. I eagerly await the final volumes.