The Intimate Life of L.M. Montgomery

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.

Reviews (see additional reviews)

"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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Anne of Green Gables Valentines - Set 1

Give these Anne of Green Gables Valentines to your classmates, kindred spirits, and loved ones. Save the Anne-inspired Valentines below. Then print the Valentine cards out on cardstock paper in portrait mode, cut them out, and share them!



To design this set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines, I used public domain clipart from Antique Clipart, and images of Gilbert Blythe, Anne Shirley, and Diana Barry from Sullivan Entertainment's production of Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987) and Nippon Animation's Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An.

Download and print more Anne of Green Gables Valentines here: Set 2, Set 3, and Set 4.

Created January 1, 2005. Last updated January 26, 2024.
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The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935-1942

The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942 edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston was published by the Oxford University Press in October 2004. L.M. Montgomery wrote extensive journals throughout her life, which provide personal insight to the talented author. Volume V covers the final years of L.M. Montgomery's life. During this period, Montgomery and her husband moved to Toronto, Ontario, where she immersed herself in the life of the city. Despite these pleasures, Montgomery and her husband both have depression and take barbiturates. She worries over her children and is disappointed in her sons' choices and scholastic performance. Toward the end of her life, L.M. Montgomery's depression grows until she stops writing, and her life spirals to a tragic end.


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

The final volume of the immensely successful The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery covers the years 1935 to 1942, the year of Montgomery's death. No longer dwelling in a farm community or a small rural village, Lucy Maud Montgomery explored life in downtown Toronto. Here she experienced the cultural riches the city had to offer while finding friendship and neighbourliness in the suburb of Swansea. The journal chronicles her hopes and satisfaction with her new home and neighbourhood, but also her struggles with her own and her husband's recurring bouts of depression, her worries about her sons' academic performance, and her thoughts on the world events during these years.

The final volume in the series offers an intimate eyewitness account of life in a growing city, a friendly neighbourhood, a changing world, and of a troubling family dynamic from 1935 to 1942, all recorded with Lucy Maud Montgomery's sharp eye and characteristic wit.

Review

"It is not often that a Maritime folk tale turns into Ontario Gothic. But that is what happens to L. M. Montgomery's life as we follow it through her journals."
-Maragaret Anne Doody, The Globe and Mail (full review)

Image credit:
Book cover of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942.

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Created October 25, 2004. Last updated August 20, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables Word Search

Enjoy this Anne of Green Gables word search. You can print the image below or download a PDF version of the word search.



Created April 29, 2004. Last updated October 24, 2022.
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Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement

Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement was published in 1993. The book contains 18 of L.M. Montgomery's short stories that were rediscovered and edited by Rea Wilmshurst. Thematically, the tales in this collection all involve struggles against adversity. The stories contained in the volume are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:

"A Patent Medicine Testimonial" (1903)
"The Fillmore Elderberries" (1909)
"Dorinda's Desperate Deed" (1906)
"The Genesis of the Doughnut Club" (1907)
"Bessie's Doll" (1914)
"At the Bay Shore Farm" (1904)
"In Spite of Myself" (1896)
"When Mr. Cropper Changed his Mind" (1903)
"How We Went to the Wedding" (1913)
"Ned's Stroke of Business" (1903)
"Their Girl Josie" (1906)
"The Blue North Room" (1906)
"Where There is a Will There is a Way" (1934)
"Lillian's Business Venture" (1900)
"A Question of Acquaintance" (1929)
"A Case of Trespass" (1897)
"A Substitute Journalist" (1907)
"The Strike at Putney" (1903)

Image Credit:
Book cover of my Bantam 1994 edition of Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement featuring artwork by Ben Stahl. Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created January 22, 2004. Last updated May 21, 2024.
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The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories

The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories is a book of short stories by L.M. Montgomery that was published in 1979. It includes short stories found in old magazines and periodicals by Catherine McLay. The collection contains 14 tales, many of which are romantic stories of courtships and reconciliations, as well as stories of orphans and spinsters. The short stories included in this volume and their original publication dates are listed below:

"Kismet" (1899)
"Emily's Husband" (1903)
"The Girl and the Wild Race" (1904)
"The Promise of Lucy Ellen" (1904)
"The Parting of the Ways" (1907)
"The Doctor's Sweetheart" (1908)
"By Grace of Julius Caesar" (1908)
"Akin to Love" (1909)
"The Finished Story" (1912)
"My Lady Jane" (1915)
"Abel and his Great Adventure" (1917)
"The Garden of Spices" (1918)
"The Bride is Waiting" (1932)
"I Know a Secret" (1935)

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Created July 11, 2003. Last updated March 23, 2021.
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Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea

Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea was published in 1989. The book is a collection of 16 of L.M. Montgomery's short stories that were rediscovered and edited by Rea Wilmshurt. Thematically, the tales in this collection all evoke L.M. Montgomery's love of the sea and Prince Edward Island. The stories contained in the volume are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:

"The Magical Bond of the Sea" (1903)
"The Life-Book of Uncle Jesse" (1909)
"Mackereling Out in the Gulf" (1905)
"Fair Exchange and No Robbery" (1907)
"Natty of Blue Point" (1904)
"The Light on the Big Dipper" (1906)
"An Adventure on Island Rock" (1906)
"How Don Was Saved" (1904)
"A Soul that Was Not at Home" (1909)
"Four Winds" (1908)
"A Sandshore Wooing" (1903)
"The Unhappiness of Miss Farquhar" (1903)
"A Strayed Allegiance" (1897)
"The Waking of Helen" (1901)
"Young Si" (1901)
"A House Divided Against Itself" (1930)

Image Credit:
Book cover of my Bantam 1993 edition of Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea featuring artwork by Ben Stahl. Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created June 17, 2003. Last updated May 21, 2024.
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Magic for Marigold eTexts and Electronic Books

Where can I read Magic for Marigold online?

Below are external links to read L.M. Montgomery's Magic for Marigold online. You can also download the ebook as an epub file, plain text file, or book for your Kindle.

Magic for Marigold
Text | HTML | EPUB | Kindle


Image credit:
Magic for Marigold cover artwork from the Hodder and Stoughton printing of the novel.

Created April 17, 2003. Last updated September 11, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com