Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Life and Writing History
LMM was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island on November 30th, 1874. After Montgomery’s mother died early in her life, she was taken in by her grandparents and lived with them for most of her remaining childhood.
Montgomery attended college and acquired her teaching certificate and then went on to study literature at a university in Nova Scotia. As a young adult she taught at various schools and had numerous short stories published. At the young age of 24, Montgomery published her first novel, Anne of Green Gables. Shortly after this, she married Ewen Macdonald, a Presbyterian minister. During Montgomery’s lifetime, she published over 500 novels, short stories and an autobiography. She died of a heart condition in 1942, far from her beloved Prince Edward Island.
The ‘Anne’ Books
Perhaps the best known—and most well loved—of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books are the Anne of Green Gables Series. These books follow the story of orphaned Anne, a red-headed, skinny, spirited soul who wins the hearts of Matthew and Marilla Cuthburt, the couple who inadvertently adopt her. Anne goes to live in Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island and doesn’t leave until her college days roll around. But Lucy Maud Montgomery doesn’t end the story there. Anne’s life is written from adoption to grandmotherhood in the ‘Anne’ books. The first two ‘Anne’ Books were made into a very successful made-for-TV series produced by Kevin Sullivan. All in all, over thirty-four of Montgomery’s books have been adapted onto the screen. The ‘Anne’ Series is ordered as follows:
- Anne of Green Gables
- Anne of Avonlea
- Anne of the Island
- Anne of Windy Poplars
- Anne’s House of Dreams
- Anne of Ingleside
- Rainbow Valley
- Rilla of Ingleside
Other Lucy Maud Montgomery Books
Montgomery wrote novels, short stories and poetry. She had a penchant for writing about orphans and high-spirited girls. Her ‘Emily’ Series, which contains Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs and Emily’s Quest, follow the life of Emily Byrd Starr, an orphan who goes to live with three eccentric relatives on Prince Edward Island. Montgomery often said that she wrote Emily to be herself; in other words, the ‘Emily’ Series is a bit of an autobiography. The ‘Pat’ Series and the ‘Marigold’ Series were also extremely popular upon publication in the 1930s and remain so today. Her two most popular short story collections, Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea contain colorful depictions of life in Avonlea, the town Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables books was transplanted too upon adoption. Stories from these two books have been made into a television series in Canada called the Road to Avonlea, produced by Kevin Sullivan.
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