The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery

Obviously this is for fans of L M Montgomery - if you know and love her writing, you will recognise among the friends and acquaintances of her youth the characters that people Anne of Green Gable's turbulent world. But this wonderful journal is much more than that - it is a fascinating insight into a world which is long gone. We read of Maud's complex family arrangements, her desire to be a good teacher and disappointment with some of her placements. Her small victories selling stories to publications, and the seemingly endless stream of suitors who proclaim love for her (my favourite is the hapless Mr Mustard). It is a tale of love found and not acted on (and the agonies that accompany it), familial obligations, frustrated talents and beautiful Canadian country side. It tells of heppiness, despair, joy and nostalgia, and is as engagingly written as any fabulous novel. By all means read this if you wish to understand the creator of one of the world's most engaging literary characters, but also to have a glimpse of a world none of us will ever see the likes of.

I give this book a very high recommendation and think anyone who reads it will love it as much as I did. I have read a few biographys on L. M. Montgomery but reading her own thoughts, in her own words was even more interesting and insightful. I am looking forward to reading the next journal.

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.

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.

The third in the series, this journal continues to reveal L.M. Montongomery's life. Anyone with roots in Canada or an interest in history can enjoy this book as it documents the daily lives and routines of Canadians in the early 20th century by someone with a fluid pen who is right in the middle of it. It is as if you are reading your own grandparents or great grandparents diaries. Commenting on many aspects of the times, she very poiginately adresses the disinigration of the church body and the advances of science. A voracious reader herself, she revisits old favourites and reviews new literature and even addresses the point of pornography. She continually comments on the type of society she moves in as she hides her husbands meloncholia, attempts to hide a lost-lawsuit, and despite her great succes as an author, continues to be the minister's wife first. She writes more about the effects of her success in this volume and describes how it has affected tourism in her home in Cavendish. All the while, giving us insight into her very real daily life of her boys growing up and leaving for school, her older friends passing away, and her continual search for members of the race of Joseph--kindred spirits, real friends. It is a also a great book for people to read who are looking for mentors. L.M. Montgomery is a great Canadian woman and this series of her journals helps us see why without only seeing the perfect her. It is a charmer with great bits for dinner parties with friends. I eagerly await the final volumes.