Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery by Elizabeth Waterston was published by Oxford University Press in June 2008. This book examines L.M. Montgomery's novels in chronological order, drawing comparisons between her literary creations and her personal life.
Here is the description of the volume from the Oxford University Press (archived):
L.M. Montgomery grew up in Prince Edward Island, a real place of "politics and potatoes." But it's her fictional island, a richly textured imaginative landscape that has captivated a world of readers since 1908, when Anne of Green Gables became the first of Montgomery's long string of bestsellers.
In this wide-ranging and highly readable book, Elizabeth Waterston uses the term "magic" to suggest that peculiar, indefinable combination of attributes that unpredictably results in creative genius. Montgomery's intelligence, her drive, and her sense of humour are essential components of this success. Waterston also features what Montgomery called her "dream life," a "strange inner life of fancy which had always existed side by side with my outer life." This special ability to look beyond the veil, to access vibrant inner vistas, produced deceptively layered fictions out of a life that saw not just its share of both fame and ill fortune, but also what Waterston calls "dark passions."
A true reader's guide, Magic Island explores the world of L.M. Montgomery in a way never done before. Each chapter of Magic Island discusses a different Montgomery book, following their progression chronologically. Waterston draws parallels between Montgomery's internal "island," her personal life, her professional career, and the characters in her novels. Designed to be read alongside the new biography of Montgomery by Mary Rubio, this is the first book to reinterpret Montgomery's writing in light of important new information about her life. A must-read for any Montgomery fan, Magic Island offers a fresh and insightful look at the world of L.M. Montgomery and the "magic" of artistic creation.
Revisiting the metaphor of the island, one that she first established in a classic essay on Montgomery in 1966, Waterston draws parallels between the island setting of the author's fiction (all but one of her novels take place on an island, and the majority are set on Prince Edward Island) and her internal island of imagination, exploring Montgomery's social relations, her professional career, and the sources for characters in her novels.
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Book cover of Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery.
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Created August 2, 2008. Last updated August 19, 2024.
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