29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely memorable and delightful experience to read this, December 17, 2000
I am 40 years old and have kept a journal for 29 years, therefore, the journal format fascinates me. I adore Lucy Maud Montgomery's works and in 1992, I made a trip to Prince Edward Island to visit all her old haunts with my daugter and my girlfriend and her daughter. I purchased the first two journals while there. If you, dear reader, would like to know what went on in Lucy's (called Maud by everyone) mind and heart from the tender, turbulent age of 14 until her mid-thirties, I highly recommend this book. It will transport you to a simpler time, an era where people read more, pondered in greater depth, made visiting one another a social art. There was no television, computers, internet and telephones had just come into existence. The automobile was invented during these years. The book is fascinating in a historical realm as well as entering Maud's mind and gaining a perspective on her outlook of life and those around her. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and anyone who is a fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery will relish this book and treasure it greatly. It added dimension to my life because people have always intriged me and what their thoughts are, and where they get inspiration to write about their ideas. By reading this book, it added music and dimension to my soul. She freely discusses her love life and her miseries and joys. Read it! You will never forget it. The following journals that were published were just as compelling to read. I own them all in my personal library. My thanks to the publishers: Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful!, April 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery: Vol. 1, 1889-1910 (Hardcover)
I picked up this volume in a bed and breafast on Prince Edward Island a few years ago. I ran out and bought it while I was there and ordered the next 2 volumes soon after. I've been a huge "Anne" fan since I was 12 years old. Montgomery's journals make the author seem as alive as the fictional character she created. They offer insight into the author's life, her work, and the time in which she lived. I was surprised about how frank she is about her own love life and about her feelings for "Anne." A great read which may inspire you to start a journal of your own.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intimate look into the thoughts of the creator of Anne, July 9, 2000
This review is from: The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery: Vol. 1, 1889-1910 (Hardcover)
L.M. Montgomery wrote at the time when journalists were clamouring for details of the life of the author of the bestselling 'Anne of Green Gables', that she would give them no really personal information about herself - that was only to be found in her private journals.
It is very interesting for a lover of the 'Anne' books to read of L.M. Montgomery's life in that one sees flashes of incidents or a turn of expression that reveals her to be the creator of Anne.
This first part of her journals traverses L.M. Montgomery's young girlhood, in which she goes to a school which is like the school Anne goes to, and to college where she takes First Class, as Anne does, teaches as Anne eventually does as well. It is also interesting that L.M. Montgomery herself faced the prospect of marrying the wrong man, as her first engagement was a disaster - Anne later reels back from commiting herself to the wrong person.
But the journals are far more complex than that - L.M. Montgomery's deeper passions and even sexual desires are alluded at - and this has no place in the 'Anne' books. She is also unhappy for a lot of the time. She herself said it was a wonder that the difficulties in her own life did not come through in her writing - but she was happy as she wanted to give only optimism and joy through her books.
The journals give an insight to the conflicts within L.M. Montgomery because of her conservative, pragmatic pride warring with her shockingly powerful passions and emotions.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
