The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album Book

This striking collection of Lucy Maud Montgomery facts, lore, memorabilia, and tidings provides a comprehensive look at the life and times of one of Canada's most beloved authors. Containing over 400 photographs and illustrations, and nearly 100 articles, The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album weaves together many sides of Maud's complex and multi-faceted life-journey, from the obscure Maritime teacher to internationally beloved author.

Montgomery's own letters, photographs and newspaper articles help illuminate the persona little known beyond the Anne of Green Gables legend - the young Dalhousie student, the nurturing mother and social arbiter, the cat lover, accomplished thespian and avid photographer.

We meet her many beaux and suitors, learn how she coped with economic difficulty during the Depression, and discover how she challenged the exploitive nature of her first publisher, L.C. Page.

Intriguing essays by leading experts shed new light on this fascinating and sometimes troubled genius. Maty Rubio tells us how the private journals of Prince Edward Island's most cherished treasure ended up in Guelph, Ontario alongside one of Maud's literary ancestors, Edith Katherine Smith explores the complex and often contradictory aspects of the passionate puritan, and Sandra Gwyn discusses Maud's influence on such widely-known contemporary authors, as Kit Pearson, Jane Urquhart, and winner of the 1998 Giller Prize, Alice Munro.

Rounding out this fascinating and eclectic treasure trove is a detailed account of Anne of Green Gables festivals world wide, e-mail addresses to all Lucy Maud Montgomery newsletters, web-sites, and much, muchmore.

Library Journal

Scholarship has caught up with what thousands of readers already know: the work of Lucy Maud Montgomery is fascinating and rich and not only for children. As scholars study Anne of Green Gables and the rest of Montgomery's prolific output, they have found that the books often overshadow the author herself. These two works highlight both Montgomery and her creations, giving readers insight into the personality that created characters who have captured the imaginations of readers for generations. The fourth volume of the Journals (Oxford published Volume 1 in 1986 and Volume 3 in 1993) provides a fascinating look at a period in Montgomery's life that was full of fatalism, fear, and moments of joy. She suffered through the Depression, witnessed her husband's nervous breakdown (and feared her own), became the unwilling object of a troubled woman's love, and suffered the deaths of numerous friends and family. Although self-conscious about the public nature of these documents (she passed her journals to her son to be published at an appropriate time), she is remarkably candid about her thoughts and feelings in these entries. Montgomery was an accomplished photographer, and the photos she placed in her journals are reproduced here, giving readers a chance to see the people, landscapes, and cats she loved. The work is also an important source of information on the social and cultural history of Canada in this period. Perhaps of more interest to nonspecialists, and timed to coincide with the 125th anniversary of Montgomery's birth, the Album combines scholarly articles, reminiscences, biography, and information on "Anne" sites in a well-designed collection full of beautifully reproduced photographs and illustrations. Readers are given insight into Montgomery's life, her society, and her writing as well as information on the films, TV programs, musicals, discussion groups, fan clubs, and festivals that her work has inspired. Both books are recommended for academic and larger public libraries.--Karen E. Sadowski, Simmons Coll., Boston Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.