Notes |
- From CBC Television biography:
Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, onNovember 30th, 1874. When she was two years old her mother died oftuberculosis, and her father decided to move to western Canada. Maud(as she was called by her friends and family) went to live on hergrandparents farm in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island
Storytelling was in young Maud's blood. She came from a literaryfamily: her uncles William and James wrote poetry and her great-auntMary often told stories from her childhood.
Maud was a bright and sensitive young girl, but because she didn'thave any brothers or sisters, she was also very lonely. Maud inventedan imaginary pal who lived in the glass door of a cabinet (of course,it was really Maud's own reflection) to keep her company. She alsogave plants and trees names, and talked to them like they were oldfriends.
Maud once wrote that "only lonely people keep diaries." She begankeeping a journal when she was very young. She wrote in it almostevery day, and by the time she died in 1942, she had written more than5,000 pages. In those pages she discussed everything from friendshipsto love affairs to town gossip. Maud's journal became her best friend.She described it as her "a personal confidant in whom... I canabsolutely trust."
Maud always knew she was going to be a writer. "I cannot remember atime when I was not, or when I did not mean to be a writer. I was anindefatigable little scribbler, " she wrote in her journal.
Maud wrote her first poem, "Autumn," when she was nine years old. Whenshe was twelve she wrote a poem called "Evening Dreams". Maud thoughtthe poem was good enough to be published, and sent it to an Americanmagazine and a local newspaper. Both the magazine and newspaperrejected Maud's poem. She was so upset that she burned the poem, andfor a long time she refused to send her work to editors.
Despite living so far apart from him, Maud always felt close to herfather. In 1889 Maud left her grandparents' farm and moved to Albertato live with him and his wife. While in Alberta she continued towrite. At age 16 she sent a poem to The Charlottetown Patriot (anewspaper in Prince Edward Island). This time the newspaper publishedit. Maud confided her excitement to her journal. "Well, this has beenthe proudest day of my life!... there, in one of the columns, was mypoem," she wrote.
Maud returned to Prince Edward Island in the summer of 1891 toattended teachers' college. The next decade was very productive forMaud. Her stories and poems were published in many newspapers andmagazines. In 1906 Maud was doing research for a serial story that shewas writing for a Sunday School paper when she found an old note thatshe had written to herself.
"Elderly couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl issent to them," was scribbled on a piece of paper. Maud thought theidea would make a great book, and she started to write Anne of GreenGables.
Anne of Green Gables was the story of Anne Shirley who lives at theend of the 19th century in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. The bookbegins when Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan boyto help with chores on the farm. The orphanage makes a mistake andsends the Cuthberts a girl - Anne - instead.
Maud drew on many of her own experiences to write Anne of GreenGables. Both Maud and Anne were orphans who lived in Prince EdwardIsland They both had red hair, freckled faces, pointy chins, and lovedto talk. Anne, like Maud, also had imaginary friends and talked to herplants.
Anne was constantly searching for "kindred spirits" - people with whomshe felt strongly connected. This may have echoed Maud's ownloneliness.
Anne of Green Gables became an instant success. The book sold morethan 19,000 copies in five months. The book was so successful that thepublisher begged Maud to write another Anne book. The following yearMaud wrote Anne of Avonlea. In total, Maud wrote seven Anne books,including Anne of the Island and Anne's House of Dreams.
Maud once wrote that her dream was to write a book that "lived". Herdream came true. Anne of Green Gables has been translated into 17different languages, and made into play, a film, a television series,and a CD-Rom. In Japan they love the book so much that architects arebuilding houses that are replicas of Anne's Victorian farmhouse.
Maud was proof that if you are willing to work hard, you can achieveanything. During her writing career she published 22 novels, ananthology of poetry, and about 450 poems and 500 short stories.
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