The Intimate Life of L.M. Montgomery was edited by Irene Gammel and published by the University of Toronto Press in March 2005. This book contains a collection of 11 essays that delve into L.M. Montgomery's personal writings, artistic expression, and correspondence to gain a better understanding of the mysterious author.
Here is the description of the volume from the University of Toronto Press:
Who ultimately is L.M. Montgomery, and why was there such an obsession with secrecy, hiding, and encoding in her life and fiction? Delving into the hidden life of Canada's most enigmatic writer, The Intimate Life of L.M. Montgomery answers these questions. The eleven essays illuminate Montgomery's personal writings and photographic self-portraits and probe the ways in which she actively shaped her life as a work of art. This is the first book to investigate Montgomery's personal writings, which filled thousands of pages in journals and a memoir, correspondence, scrapbooks, and photography.
Using theories of autobiography and life writing, the essays probe the author's flair for the dramatic and her exuberance in costuming, while also exploring the personal facts behind some of her fiction, including the beloved Anne of Green Gables. Focussing on topics such as sexuality, depression, marriage, aging, illness, and writing, the essays strip away the layers of art and artifice that disguised Montgomery's most intensely guarded secrets, including details of her affair with Herman Leard, her marriage with Ewen Macdonald, and her friendships with Nora Lefurgey and Isabel Anderson. The book also includes rare photographs taken by Montgomery and others, many of which have not previously appeared in print.
One of the highlights of The Intimate Life of L.M. Montgomery is the inclusion of a secret diary that Montgomery wrote with Lefurgey in 1903. This hilarious document is a rare find, for Montgomery's teasing banter presents us with a new voice that is distinct from the sombre tone of her journals. Published here for the first time, more than 100 years after its composition, this diary is virtually unknown to readers and scholars and is a welcome addition to the literature on this important figure.
This volume fills in many of the blanks surrounding Montgomery's personal life. Engaging and erudite, it is a boon for scholars and Montgomery fans alike.
"Portrait of the artist as a young lady... Gammel and her fellow contributors point out that Montgomery continually revised her life story in her journals, omitting key events and rewriting others... Discerning the true feelings of ‘Canada’s most enigmatic literary icon,’ it turns out, is no easy task."
— Maclean’s Magazine
"This is a groundbreaking, first-rate collection of particular interest to scholars of life writing and the history of women in Canada."
— Heidi Macdonald, The Canadian Historical Review
The book includes the following content and essays:
Introduction: Life Writing as Masquerade: The Many Faces of L.M. Montgomery by Irene Gammel
Part 1: Staging the Bad Girl
1. '...where has my yellow garter gone?' The Diary of L.M. Montgomery and Nora Lefurgey edited, annotated, and illustrated by Irene Gammel
2. The 'Secret' Diary of Maud Montgomery, Aged 28¼ by Jennifer H. Litster
3. Nora, Maud, and Isabel: Summoning Voices in Diaries and Memories by Mary Beth Cavert
Part 2: Confessions and Body Writing
4. 'I loved Herman Leard madly': L.M. Montgomery's Confession of Desire by Irene Gammel
5. Veils and Gaps: The Private Worlds of Amy Andrew and L.M. Montgomery, 1910-1914 by Mary McDonald-Rissanen
6. '...the refuge of my sick spirit...': L.M. Montgomery and the Shadows of Depression by Janice Fiamengo
Part 3: Writing for an Intimate Audience
7. Visual Drama: Capturing Life in L.M. Montgomery's Scrapbooks by Elizabeth R. Epperly
8. 'I hear what you say': Soundings in L.M. Montgomery's Life Writings by Joy Alexander
9. Epistolary Performance: Writing Mr Weber by Paul Tiessen and Hildi Froese Tiessen
Part 4: Where Life Writing Meets Fiction
10. 'See my Journal for the full story': Fictions of Truth in Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery's Journals by Cecily Devereux
11. The Hectic Flush: The Fiction and Reality of Consumption in L.M. Montgomery's Life by Melissa Prycer
12. Untangling the Web: L.M. Montgomery's Later Journals and Fiction, 1929-1939 by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston.
Image credit:
Book cover of The Intimate Life of L.M. Montgomery.
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Created March 30, 2005. Last updated August 14, 2024.
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