The Montgomery Monday

This is it folks - Montgomery Mondays are coming up!  I want to dedicate my Mondays to my favourite Canadian author: Lucy Maud Montgomery.

L.M. Montgomery, who apparently preferred to be called Maud by her friends, was a very interesting woman for her time.  She was both a realist and a romantic, a woman of fashion and a woman of depth.  She has written A LOT of books, which I am ashamed to say I have not all read.  She is, of course, most famous for Anne of Green Gables, the novel and the series, which comprised of 7 books.  She also wrote the Emily of New Moon series (3 books), The Story Girl (2 books), The Chronicles of Avonlea, and many other chronicles.  Much of her work has been televised.  Anne of Green Gables was made into the best movie of its decade, and the sequel was based on the next few books in the series combined.  Then of course there is Anne The Continuing Story, which might not be a bad movie in itself, but has nothing to do with any of the Anne series, except that it takes place in WWI, which happens during the last book of the series, and which GIlbert does NOT fight in. Also, anyone who has visited P.E.I will know that Anne of Green Gables is also a fun play/musical.  :)  I believe that it has been televised before the iconic movie with Megan Follows, but no other version can compare to hers!  Emily of New Moon was made into a television series, and Road to Avonlea, on of the best series ever to come out of Canada, was based on a collection of various writings, including The Story Girl, Anne of Green Gables, and many other of her works.

L.M.Montgomery did not spend all her life on P.E.I, but it was the setting for most of her works, and one can only suppose that she had been very happy there.  Montgomery married later in life, late for that period anyway, and moved to Ontario after her marriage.  Her life, after childhood, was not a very happy one.  Some years into her marriage her husband began to suffer mental illness, and she took care of him for decades, suffering from depression herself.  It seems that all the optimism she had was poured into her writing.  And what writing it was.  Montgomery's work continues to inspire and comfort readers around the world today.  And that won't change any time soon.

So if you are interested in who might have been the inspiration for Gilbert Blythe, which of Montgomery's stories are told in Road to Avonlea episodes, how the movies were filmed, or how popular puffed sleeves really were, then stay tuned and check this out every Monday.  :)