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.
"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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