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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