Amazon.com: Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L. M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic: Irene Gammel: Books

From Booklist
The 100th anniversary of the publication of the still-popular Anne of Green Gables (50 million copies sold to date) is being greeted by a flurry of activity, including a new edition of the novel; a prequel, Before Green Gables (2008), written by Canadian Budge Wilson; and, now, this new biography of Anne’s creator and alterego, Lucy Maude Montgomery. Gammel, a Canadian academic and editor of several earlier collections of Anne-related essays, is clearly a fan, and, frankly, her prodigiously researched and breathlessly written study will have its primary appeal to other fans. Her revelations “for the first time” of the inspirations for Anne’s face and the character itself provide persuasive answers to some lingering questions about the genesis of the fiery redhead. But they will be of interest principally to what Margaret Atwood has tartly called “The Annery.” General readers will be interested, however, in Gammel’s careful deconstruction of the context—early-twentieth-century popular culture—for Anne’s creation and the complex personality of the woman who found refuge from her own unhappy life in the creation of Anne and her beloved Avonlea. --Michael Cart

Review

"Drawing on a vast array of neglected and unknown sources, this groundbreaking study establishes new connections between Montgomery's isolated life in Cavendish, P.E.I., and the metropolitan existence that she consumed vicariously through magazines published in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Looking for Anne is a highly readable, top-rate study that [provides] a new spin on Montgomery's text."— Globe and Mail (click here for the full article, "Eternally Anne")

"Rather than simply rehashing available material, Ryerson professor and noted literary researcher Irene Gammel … explores the social and literary influences that guided and inspired Montgomery in creating her impetuous heroine. … Even more fascinating is the amount of inspiration Montgomery found in the myriad of current magazines and journals that made their way into her hands via the desk of her grandmother the town postmistress." — Quill and Quire

"Looking for Anne is a fascinating and wonderful book. It brings forward an amazing wealth of new information, filling in many gaps (some of which I didn’t even know existed!), and is presented in a captivating narrative that is very well organized and a great read. The research is fabulous…. It’s rather like the Road to Xanadu.”— Carole Gerson, Simon Fraser University and co-editor of History of the Book in Canada

"... The material is incredible, the interpretive work unsurpassable. "— Holly Virginia Blackford, Rutgers University-Camden.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (July 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312382375
ISBN-13: 978-0312382377
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,395 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#20 in Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > Canadian

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
haunted wood, unpublished journal entry, orphan literature, orphan stories, bosom friendship

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Anne of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, Anne Shirley, Grandmother Macneill, Lover's Lane, New York, Uncle John, Ewan Macdonald, Evelyn Nesbit, Godey's Lady's Book, Lucy Ann, Gilbert Blythe, The Delineator, Prince Albert, Charity Ann, Park Corner, General Research Division, Gray Gables, Anne's House of Dreams, Nova Scotia, Sarah Maud, Ephraim Weber, Modern Women, Nate Lockhart, Herman Leard

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	68% buy the item featured on this page: Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L. M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic 4.2 out of 5 stars (8) $18.45
	11% buy Anne of Green Gables, 100th Anniversary Edition 3.8 out of 5 stars (11) $13.57
	10% buy Before Green Gables 3.9 out of 5 stars (43) $10.20
	8% buy Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings 4.5 out of 5 stars (8) $23.72

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive study of how Anne of Green Gables came about., August 19, 2008

By	Nancy Smith "Beemish" (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently made a trip to Prince Edward Island and picked up a number of books related to L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables. I actually had passed on this one because I saw that Amazon had such a fantastic price on it. Anyway, as an Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery junkie, I've read practically every book on Maud and her work and this one is by far the best. The research in this book is positively amazing. Kudos to the author for digging so deeply and for taking the time to be so complete and thorough. However, I don't want people to think that this is some dry scholarly book, on the contrary, it is almost impossible to put down. Not only does the author dig up facts, she analyzes them with exceptional insight and brillance. She knows her subjects backwards and forwards. At times during the book, one could almost sense the presence of Maud Montgomery herself. It is as though she whispered her secrets to the author who then revealed them to us the readers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Anne or Maud. It is as close as a book can come to being perfect.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Picked it up by chance, Can't put it down, October 7, 2008

By	JMD (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I read the Anne of GG books as a girl and watched the PBS movies countless times, but I'm not an Anne fanatic. For example, I've never visited PEI. :) I also don't really like to read biographies. I saw the book at my library and picked it up out of curiosity. So I'm not the typical reviewer of this book...

But I can't put it down! It reads like a mystery about how Maud was inspired to write Anne. It also has reflective commentary on the themes in the Anne books, which is interesting to think about in terms of what Anne meant to me while I was her age. And the reliance on Maud's diaries for piecing together history is intriguing to me, as someone who has sporadically kept diaries.

Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying the book -- it is my guilty pleasure every day.

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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Biography of the Book, not the Person, September 2, 2008

By	C. Miller "Book Heaven" (Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was disappointed by two aspects of this book. The first was the dramatic style of writing by the author. Just write, we get it.

The second was that I expected a biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery's life, but I really didn't get a sense of who she was. This book ends near the publication date of "Anne," so I don't know anything about Maud's marriage, move west, birth of her 2 sons (I don't even know their names!), and when she and her husband die.

This is more of a scholarly look at the life of the book, instead of it's creator, so I was disappointed in that. There are also some allusions to lesbianism, but they're unfounded. No facts are brought to bear on that allegation. It just seems too "fashionable" to publish some "dirt" on this pastor's wife. It's speculation - looking back on 100 years of history - and I didn't like it. (The same thing was said when the author alludes that Hans Christian Anderson was a homosexual.) If you're going to make such statements, at least provide me with FACTS, not speculation. It's tawdry.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!
I loved this book! I am big fan of Anne of Green Gables and loved the way the book flowed and all the great detail on Maud's life and how the story of Anne came to life. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jenn S.

2.0 out of 5 stars Anne
This author did some serious & indepth research. She looked at a lot of the period magazines Maude would have read and/or have published in for clues as to where she got her... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Mary Ledbetter

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever dual biography
This is not meant to be a full biography of LM Montgomery, but an intertwined story of how events in her life meshed with the gradual birth of her most beloved creation, Anne of... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Sarah G.

5.0 out of 5 stars Flashlight on a little deceiver
Not so long ago, I read the first two volumes of L.M Montgomery's published journals. They were very interesting but one thing that really startled me was how dark they were and... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Catherine Eaton

4.0 out of 5 stars A Loving Biography
Like many spastic redheads over the past century, I feel very passionately about Anne Shirley's place in my world and how important her character was in shaping mine. Ms. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Doc Occula

› See all 8 customer reviews...

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