Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery: Volume IV: 1929-1935 [Hardcover]

Lucy M. Montgomery (Author), Mary Rubio (Editor), Elizabeth Waterston (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery | Publication Date: September 23, 1999

Of the earlier volumes of L. M. Montgomery's journals, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields has written: "These diaries possess the crisp, honest, unsparing voice of a real woman who fought all her life to bring her two selves together: the celebrated writer and the unloved child." Now comes the much anticipated fourth, and penultimate, volume in the series, covering the tumultuous period from 1929 to 1935.
By 1929 Montgomery was 54 and known world-wide as the author of Anne of Green Gables. Yet with the stock market crash came a severe drop in her royalties and other troubling financial problems. Tremendous personal difficulties followed: Montgomery witnessed her husband's total nervous breakdown, faced concerns over her own mental state, and became the unwilling object of a young woman's passionate declaration of love. Yet this is not a period without joy, as the volume opens with exuberant travels to Prince Edward Island and western Canada and ends with her looking forward to a new life in Toronto.
For anyone wishing to better understand this complex and gifted author, as well as the time and place in which she lived, these journals offer a wealth of insight and information.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Scholarship has caught up with what thousands of readers already know: the work of Lucy Maud Montgomery is fascinating and rich and not only for children. As scholars study Anne of Green Gables and the rest of Montgomery's prolific output, they have found that the books often overshadow the author herself. These two works highlight both Montgomery and her creations, giving readers insight into the personality that created characters who have captured the imaginations of readers for generations. The fourth volume of the Journals (Oxford published Volume 1 in 1986 and Volume 3 in 1993) provides a fascinating look at a period in Montgomery's life that was full of fatalism, fear, and moments of joy. She suffered through the Depression, witnessed her husband's nervous breakdown (and feared her own), became the unwilling object of a troubled woman's love, and suffered the deaths of numerous friends and family. Although self-conscious about the public nature of these documents (she passed her journals to her son to be published at an appropriate time), she is remarkably candid about her thoughts and feelings in these entries. Montgomery was an accomplished photographer, and the photos she placed in her journals are reproduced here, giving readers a chance to see the people, landscapes, and cats she loved. The work is also an important source of information on the social and cultural history of Canada in this period. Perhaps of more interest to nonspecialists, and timed to coincide with the 125th anniversary of Montgomery's birth, the Album combines scholarly articles, reminiscences, biography, and information on "Anne" sites in a well-designed collection full of beautifully reproduced photographs and illustrations. Readers are given insight into Montgomery's life, her society, and her writing as well as information on the films, TV programs, musicals, discussion groups, fan clubs, and festivals that her work has inspired. Both books are recommended for academic and larger public libraries.AKaren E. Sadowski, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The journals, with their vivid account of both daily routines and more significant life events, are written with all the passion, wit and insight into human nature that have made Montgomery's 'books for young people' immortal to her readers." --Toronto Sun

"Montgomery's interweaving of joy and grief makes her a felt presence on the page....Very few books in recent years have given me the depth of pleasure I've found in these first four volumes of Lucy Maud Montgomery's journals." --Carol Shields in The Globe and Mail

"These journals are so enlightening, so fill of wisdom, humor, philosophy and tragedy that they are worth a winter's reading and reflection."--Ottawa Citizen --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195413814
• ISBN-13: 978-0195413816
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,875,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Montgomery, L. M.

More About the Author

Lucy Maude Montgomery (1874-1942) was born on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the setting for Anne of Green Gables. She left to attend college, but returned to Prince Edward Island to teach. In 1911, she married the Reverend Ewan MacDonald. Anne of Green Gables, the first in a series of "Anne" books by Montgomery, was published in 1908 to immediate success and continues to be a perennial favorite.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating window into L.M. Montgomery's life, September 22, 1999

By 

Denise Schiller (Milwaukee, WI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery: Volume IV: 1929-1935 (Hardcover)

The difference between LMM's delightful work and her hard life never ceases to amaze me. This volume of her journals (the others are well worth it, too) highlights the changes in her life in her late years. During this period she wrote "Mistress Pat", "Anne of Windy Poplars" and "A Tangled Web" (among others); stories that are a little less idealistic, but the real-life situations have a bewitching "tang". The changes occuring in her personal life must have had an effect on her work. The aforementioned books weren't among my LMM favorites before I read this volume, but learning about her life during this period made me more appreciative of an author who was already my favorite. Who would have thought that reading a someone's personal journal could be so fascinating? I feel much gratitude towards her surviving family members for allowing her journals to be published.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is fascinating., September 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Cloverdale, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery: Volume IV: 1929-1935 (Hardcover)

I have read all the Journals published to this date and this one, in particular, held my interest and I could not put it down. It is amazing to me that L.M. Montgomery is able to spin her magic even in a day to day journal.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery Vol 4, May 31, 2009

By 

Nelli B "Nelli B" (Wenatchee, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery: Volume IV: 1929-1935 (Hardcover)

The book arrived very quickly and was well packed and in like new condition. The seller was excellent to work with. The book is an important part of the History of the Prince Edward Island Canada as L.M. Montogmery was born are raised there. She is best known for her works Anne Of Greene Gables books. I would recommended this seller and these books.