The Avonlea Album

The Avonlea Album is a book edited by Fiona McHugh that was published by Firefly Books in 1991. The book features stills from Sullivan Entertainment's Road to Avonlea television series. The 72-page book details Sara Stanley's first year in Avonlea. Throughout the book, there are quotations from L.M. Montgomery's The Story Girl, The Golden Road, Chronicles of Avonlea, Further Chronicles of Avonlea, and The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume II.

The preface of the book describes how L.M. Montgomery's writings inspired the television series: "These two books, The Story Girl and The Golden Road form the framework of the family television series, The Road to Avonlea. Additional characters and incidents from two collections of Montgomery's short stories, Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea, lend texture and density to the structure. Thematically and visually, The Road to Avonlea strives to recreate Lucy Maud Montgomery's dream of childhood, that 'fair, lost' place 'with a spell of eternity woven over it.'"


Here is the book's description from its back cover:

Avonlea is the maritime community made famous in the story Anne of Green Gables, brought back to television by Sullivan Films in the series "Road to Avonlea," based on the further novels of L.M. Montgomery. This sparkling, episodic series follows the adventures of Sara Stanley, the most enchanting heroine since Anne Shirley.

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Scanned book cover of my copy of The Avonlea Album.

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Created December 17, 1999. Last updated January 7, 2025.
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The Anne of Green Gables Storybook

The Anne of Green Gables Storybook, based on the Kevin Sullivan film of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel, is a simplified book for young readers. The storybook was adapted by Fiona McHugh, who developed and wrote screenplays for many episodes of the Road to Avonlea television series. The book features stills from the beloved Anne of Green Gables miniseries produced by Sullivan Entertainment in 1985. The book was first published by Firefly Books in 1987. I own the 6th printing in paperback, which was published in 1996.

Here is the book's description from Shop at Sullivan:

The classic story of "Anne of Green Gables," simplified for a younger generation. The Anne of Green Gables Storybook contains simpler language for young readers, as well as 76 full color photographs from Sullivan Entertainment's Emmy Award Winning Adaptation. This edition is a book that every lover of "Anne" will treasure.

Here is the book's description from the back cover:

"She'll have to go back."

It is the turn of the century. Matthew Cuthbert, an elderly bachelor living with his spinster sister Marilla, has decided to adopt an orphan...a nice sturdy boy to help Matthew with work on the farm.

But the orphanage mistakenly sent a girl instead, a romantic, mischievous red-haired girl who was desperate for a home. She was also affected with an exhausting habit: she would not stop talking. She would definitely have to go back.

But the longer Anne Shirley remained, the more Matthew and Marilla could not imagine Green Gables without her.

The original Anne of Green Gables has delighted millions of children since it was first published. Now younger readers (and grown-ups who have a heart-felt affection for the story) can enjoy a briefer, illustrated version based on the Kevin Sullivan production that thrilled millions. The Anne of Green Gables Storybook contains simpler language for young readers, the storyline and 76 lovely full color photographs from the Emmy award-winning television production.

This edition is a book that every lover of "Anne" will treasure.

Review

"Fiona McHugh's adaptation of the film and Montgomery's novel is a faithful precis of the original and has many charms of its own.... McHugh effectively novelizes the screenplay with sparkling dialogue, loving depictions of a place and time now lost, and lively characterizations... The Storybook is a highly enjoyable read -- a careful retelling of the original for younger readers that picks up all the humour and heart of the much-loved classic, without oversimplifying or condescending."
— Elizabeth Walker, CM Magazine

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Scanned book cover of my copy of The Anne of Green Gables Storybook.

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Created December 15, 1999. Last updated September 18, 2024.
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My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery edited by Francis W.P. Bolger and Elizabeth R. Epperly was first published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Press in 1980. The 212-page volume was later republished by Oxford University Press in 1992.

L.M. Montgomery and George Boyd MacMillan of Alloa, Scotland began writing letters to one another in 1903, and they continued corresponding for nearly forty years until the end of L.M. Montgomery's life. Montgomery and MacMillan both had literary ambitions. When L.M. Montgomery began having success in the publishing world, she sent MacMillan copies of her books. L.M. Montgomery dedicated her novel Emily of New Moon to MacMillan "in recognition of a long and stimulating friendship."

In her letters, L.M. Montgomery displays thoughtfulness, warmth, openness, and humor. She and MacMillan have a deep friendship, and Montgomery confides in him about her life, literature, and thoughts on the world. The pair exchanged letters, as well as magazines, postcards, and books. Fortunately, MacMillan's family kept Montgomery's letters, but sadly, most of the letters MacMillan sent Montgomery have been lost. This collection of selected letters provides insight to L.M. Montgomery's life and her relationship with her valued and trusted friend.


Here is the description of the book from Oxford University Press:

MY DEAR MR. LETTERS TO G. B. MacMILLAN FROM L. M. MONTGOMERY is a volume of selected letters from L.M. Montgomery to her longtime Scottish correspondent George Boyd MacMillan (to whom she had dedicated Emily of New Moon), written between 1903 and 1941. It was edited and introduced by Francis W.P. Bolger and Elizabeth R. Epperly and first published in 1980 by McGraw-Hill Ryerson. A trade paperback edition, with a new preface by the editors, was published by Oxford University Press in 1992.

Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the ever-popular Anne of Green Gables, was a keen letter-writer. Her letters to George Boyd MacMillan over their thirty-nine-year friendship show the full range of her interests, from domestic concerns, her cats and gardening, to her professional literary career as best-selling author. She shares with MacMillan the joys and burdens of her life. She is proud of her two sons and is excited by new inventions such as motor cars and the talkies. At the same time, she is saddened by the encroachment of “progress” on her idyllic, rural Prince Edward Island. She agonizes over the campaigns of the two World Wars and never recovers completely from the death of her closest friend. During her friendship with MacMillan, L.M. Montgomery changes from a confident and cheerful young woman to a disillusioned but courageous old woman. After her retirement to “Journey’s End” in Toronto, distraught by family problems and depressed by the Second World War, her health and spirits fail. These letters will delight all readers of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books. They reveal the character of one [of] our best-known authors; charming, witty, sometimes gloomy and morbid, she was above all stimulating.

Reviews

"My Dear Mr. M. has a place in any collection of Canadian literature."
-Lori A. Dunn, Canadian Book Review Annual Online (full review)

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Book cover of My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery.

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Created December 2, 1999. Last updated October 19, 2024.
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The Green Gables Letters: From L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, 1905-1909

The Green Gables Letters: From L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, 1905-1909 edited by Wilfrid Eggleston was published by Ryerson Press in 1960. The 2nd edition of the 102-page book was published by Borealis Press in 1981.

L.M. Montgomery and Ephraim Weber began writing letters to one another in 1902, and they continued corresponding for nearly forty years until the end of L.M. Montgomery's life. Weber was a Mennonite farmer born in Ontario, Canada, who moved to Western Canada as an adult.

L.M. Montgomery and Ephraim Weber both had literary ambitions. Weber was a poet and author, and Montgomery took great pleasure in receiving his intellectually stimulating letters. The pair wrote to one another about books and writers, their literary struggles and successes, and their personal lives. In appreciation of their long literary friendship, L.M. Montgomery dedicated her novel The Blue Castle to "Mr. Ephraim Weber, M.A. who understands the architecture of blue castles."

Wilfrid Eggleston, a journalist and writer, was also friends with Ephraim Weber. When Weber died in 1956, his letters were turned over to Eggleston and placed in the National Archives of Canada. Eggleston proceeded to publish this collection of letters from Montgomery to Weber in 1960 to enlighten readers about L.M. Montgomery's correspondence during the period she wrote Anne of Green Gables.

Here is the description of the book from Borealis Press:

An interesting sequence of letters, written by L.M. Montgomery early in the century, was found in 1956 among the papers of Ephraim Weber who was living in the West. Now lodged in the National Archives in Ottawa, the letters reproduced here exactly as they were written, form a fascinating footnote to the history of Canadian letters.

These letters are of interest and importance not only because they were written during the years of gestation and birth and outstanding success of the book ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, but also because they reveal a lively extrovert in an eminently healthy balance. This is an absorbing book, for adults who have nostalgic memories of "ANNE," and for writers who need encouragement in their struggle for literary recognition.

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Book cover of The Green Gables Letters: From L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, 1905-1909.

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Created December 1, 1999. Last updated October 20, 2024.
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