2. About the Poet

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on November \(30\), \(1874\), in Prince Edward Island, Canada. She was a Canadian author who published under the name L.M Montgomery and has to her credit \(20\) novels as well as \(530\) short stories, \(500\) poems, and \(30\) essays. She is famous for her series of novels that began with 'Anne of Green Gables' in 1908.

 

 

Montgomery lost her mother when she was just 21 months old. Therefore, she was put under her grandparents' control by her father, which made her live a very lonely life as a child. She spent her childhood alone, making up imaginary friends, and writing poems and journals in her room. She had a keen desire to attain fame through writing at the very early age of \(13\). She fantasised about being considered a local celebrity by her school friends. But when she sent across her first poem to be published, it was rejected. Although she was disappointed, she never quit on her dreams and continued writing. Montgomery worked as a teacher in various schools in Prince Edward Island, allowing her more time to write. She finally started publishing her short stories in \(1897\). She rose to fame with the publication of 'Anne of Green Gables' a children's novel, in \(1908\). She took inspiration from her own life as she sketched the life of an orphan girl named Anne Shirley, who finds solace with an elderly couple. The novel was initially rejected by several publishers but went on to become a huge success once it got published. Several sequences were written, but it was not as successful as the first novel. Mark Twain, the famous American writer, wrote that Anne was a lovable child in fiction, after Alice from 'Alice in Wonderland'.

 

Montgomery was highly affected by the World War and was an intense supporter of the war effort. She wrote about the mistreatment of Belgian civilians by the German troops when they occupied Belgium, which was also called 'The Rape of Belgium'. She urged men to join the Canadian expeditionary force and was vocal about people's sufferings. Montgomery was named a National Historic Person in \(1943\) by the Canadian federal government.

 

Famous Works by L.M. Montgomery: