Anne of Green Gables - Susannah Fullerton · 2017-07-13 · Anne of Green Gables (1919) is a silent...

L.M. MONTGOMERY

and

Anne of Green Gables

L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables

Susannah Fullerton © 2017 2

https://susannahfullerton.com.au

Lucy Maud Montgomery (always called Maud) was born on 30 November, 1874 in the little town

of Clifton (now called New London) on Prince Edward Island (a province of Canada), the place she

would make famous around the world. She came from a long line of Prince Edward Island

ancestors and had a large network of aunts, cousins and other relatives who would figure largely

in her fiction. The family was Scottish in origin.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Maud’s father, Hugh John Montgomery and mother, Clara Woolner MacNeill Montgomery. ca.1870s. Courtesy University of Guelph Library




When Maud was only 21 months old, her mother Clara died of Tuberculosis. The loss of a mother

is a common theme in Maud’s novels – Anne, Emily, Kilmeny and Jane are all motherless.

Her father headed west and Maud saw little of him. She lived with her MacNeill grandparents,

strict and religious people who did their duty by her, but showed little warmth. Family possessions

(china dogs), her own games (a Katie Maurice who lived in a glass door), family events (her aunt

Emily’s wedding) all later went into her books.

Maud was an imaginative child. “I had in my imagination a passport

to fairyland”, she wrote later. Books took her into another world

and she read voraciously. Sometimes she had a version of Emily’s

‘Flash’, a glimpse into another world which “always made life

worthwhile” and throughout her life she had a strong interest in the

supernatural and telepathy (something which comes into her Emily

books).

She especially loved poetry – Tennyson, Scott, Shakespeare, Byron

and Longfellow. With friends, she formed a writing club, so they

could record the stories they told each other. When she was 9 she

began to write her own poems.

In 1887, her father remarried and moved to Saskatchewan. Maud

disliked her stepmother, but went to live with them and helped care

for her half-brother when he was born. Her schooling was

interrupted during this time. She missed her beloved Prince Edward

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s grandmother - Lucy MacNeill (ca.1870s) - who raised Maud as a child, and exterior view of her grandparents’ home Cavendish, where Maud lived (ca.1890s). Courtesy University of Guelph Library

Lucy Maud Montgomery age 8, ca.1882. Courtesy University of

Guelph Library




Island and was happy to return there. Her father died in 1900, but Maud saw little of him in his last

years.

Her first poem appeared in print when she was 16. This set her on ‘the Alpine Path’ to fame as a

writer – it was not an easy road for her, but she persevered. She studied for her teacher’s

certificate in Charlottetown, then began to teach. In order to fit in writing time, she got up at 6am,

wrapped herself in coats, and wrote.

She went to Nova Scotia to do a course in literature at Dalhousie College (which becomes

Redmond in her novels). By this time she was getting regular payments for stories and poems.

However, her grandparents needed her back in Cavendish. Her grandfather died, leaving a

complicated will which left Maud and her grandmother struggling to hold on to their home. Had

Maud been born a boy, there would not have been a problem.

Maud became assistant

postmistress and lived in

Cavendish for the next 13 years of

her life so that she could care for

her grandmother (apart from one

year working for a newspaper). She

found 2 pen-pals - Ephraim Weber,

and a man in Scotland called

George Macmillan, and kept up

these epistolary friendships for the

rest of her life. Life with her

grandmother was hard – she had

to disguise her real feelings, do

many domestic chores, keep her

job and find time to write (stern

women, such as Marilla Cuthbert

and Elizabeth Murray, often

appear in her books). Escaping into the dreams of childhood was one of the ways in which she

coped. In 1906 she earned more than $700 for her writing. She was slim and attractive and

adored clothes so dressed fashionably, and she received several proposals (even accepting one,

but later breaking it off), but she was not satisfied with her life.

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s old room in the home of her MacNeill grandparents, Cavendish, ca.1880s. Courtesy University of Guelph Library

“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with

no mistakes in it yet?”

L.M. Montgomery




In 1906, when she was 32, Maud sat down to write a story. The

idea came from a jotting in one of her notebooks: “Elderly

couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By a mistake a girl is

sent them.” It was a slight plot, but she turned it into magic by

creating such a vivid girl – one who talked and talked, whose

imagination was so intense, who responded so sensitively to the

world of nature and who would enchant generations of readers

for the next century. The book, Anne of Green Gables, was

published in 1908 and astonished its creator by becoming a best-

seller.

One reviewer wrote: “Anne of Green Gables will appeal to only 3

classes of readers, those who have imagination, those who have

some sense of that rarest of qualities, humour, and those who

have not allowed themselves to grow old or to forget that once

upon a time they were children.” Mark Twain was hugely impressed and wrote to tell her so.

In the next 5 years the book went through 32 editions and Maud sat down to

write a sequel, Anne of Avonlea. That was followed by Anne of the Island

(1915), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Rainbow Valley (1919) and Rilla of

Ingleside (1920). Maud felt that 6 books about one girl were quite enough, but

her adoring public did not agree, so she had to go back into Anne’s life and

write Anne of Windy Willows (also known in the USA as Anne of Windy

Poplars) in 1936 and Anne of Ingleside in 1939. She was very sick of Anne by

the time she was finished. Rilla of Ingleside was written as a tribute to the

young women of Canada during World War I and remains one of the finest

books ever written about that war and its effect on the women waiting at home.

There were other books when she needed a break from Anne.

The Story Girl (this was her own favourite amongst her books)

appeared in 1911, Kilmeny of the Orchard in 1910 (a charming

book about a girl who cannot speak), The Golden Road in 1913,

and The Alpine Path (about her own career as a writer) in 1917.




In 1911 her grandmother died and this finally left Maud free to

marry. She had met the Reverend Ewen (Maud always spelled his

name Ewan, instead of Ewen) Macdonald 5 years before and got

engaged to him when she was 32.

It was no romantic love affair – she felt life would be safe and

respectable with him. They married in 1911 in her uncle’s Cavendish

home and went to England on honeymoon.

Maud had done some travel in America – visiting Boston and the

homes of Louisa May Alcott and Emerson, for example, but travel

always made her realise that her real home was Prince Edward

Island.

The couple went to live in Leaskdale,

Ontario, where Ewan had the local manse

(now the L.M. Montgomery Leaskdale

Manse Museum). That was their home for

15 years, then they lived in Norval, near

Toronto, for another 9 years (today there is

a memorial garden to her there). Maud

conscientiously did her duty as minister’s

wife, although the congregation did not

always approve of their minister’s wife

writing made-up stories. She struggled with

the Presbyterian religion – her own religious

views were vague and rather pantheistic. The couple had 2 sons, Chester and Stuart (plus one

stillborn baby in 1914).

Visits home to Prince Edward Island refreshed her spirits and all her books except The Blue Castle

are set on PEI. Her married life was a difficult one – Ewan suffered from depression and religious

persecution mania, something that was not openly discussed in those days. “Those whom the

Gods wish to destroy they make minister’s wives”, she once wrote.

In 1938 she suffered a nervous breakdown. Writing was a solace and escape from her domestic

problems.

In 1919 a film was made of Anne of Green Gables – incredibly, considering it was about a heroine

who talked so much, it was a silent movie. Maud got no money from the film rights – no-one

thought of such things in contracts in 1908. A later version with sound did not appeal to her at all.

Leaskdale Manse in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada. The home of LM Montgomery when she wrote 11 of the 22 works published

during her lifetime.

Rev. Ewan Macdonald, 1910. Courtesy University of Guelph

Library




In the 1920s she produced many more books – The Blue Castle, Jane of Lantern Hill, Magic for

Marigold, A Tangled Web (also known as Aunt Becky Began It). There were also the Emily books –

she preferred Emily to Anne. These include Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs and Emily’s Quest.

The Emily books have also been turned into a TV series.

Fame brought many letters and visitors – British PM Stanley Baldwin asked to meet her when he

came to Canada. She did live radio broadcasts and was given an Order of the British Empire. In the

1930s she wrote the Pat books – Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat. Tourists hurried to see Green

Gables and other locations connected with her writings.

Anne of Green Gables (1919) is a silent film directed by William Desmond Taylor based upon the novel, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female

screenwriter Frances Marion. This is a lobby card for the film.




Maud found the last years of her life extremely hard. Ewan

had a car crash and his mental health was very bad. She

finally broke silence and told her friend Ephraim Weber

about his condition: “My husband is very miserable. I have

tried to keep the secret of his melancholic attacks for 20

years, as people do not want a minister who is known to be

such, but the burden broke me at last.” She was utterly

depressed by the war and worried about her sons. She felt

that beauty had vanished from the world.

Lucy Maud Montgomery died on 24 April, 1942, leaving an

unfinished sequel to Jane of Lantern Hill. There is some

speculation that she took her own life, but the official

cause was given as heart failure. Her husband died 2 years

later. She was buried in the Cavendish Cemetery on the

island that was her spiritual home. Some of her stories and

poems were published posthumously as The Road to Yesterday.

She wrote 20 novels, over 500 short stories and

many poems. Today her works are studied in

universities and are no longer regarded merely

as books for girls, but as fine novels that can be

analysed and enjoyed by all ages. She discusses

in her writing such issues as female

confinement, the oppression of women, the

effects of being left without parents, the search

for a home, the power of the imaginative life,

connection with one’s community, the reality of

‘romance’, war and its effects, and the claims of

chivalry, duty and honour.

Her legacy is wide-ranging. The Japanese all get introduced to her books

when at school (they are considered excellent lessons in cheerfulness)

and come in huge numbers to Prince Edward Island. The island’s

economy is greatly enhanced by Anne tourism.

Anne and her creator have appeared on postage stamps, the Anne of

Green Gables Musical has been seen by millions of people. Polish soldiers

in WW2 were given copies of Anne of the Island to take to the front.

The Anne books have been filmed several times, including in a cartoon

version. The books have been adapted for stage, pre-quelled, parodied

and translated into many languages.

Lucy Maud Montgomery age 61, 1935, Toronto, ON. Courtesy University of Guelph Library

Gravestone of Lucy Maud Montgomery and her husband Rev. Ewan Macdonald




Anne of Green Gables

Early in 1908, L.M. Montgomery

wrote to her publisher: “Don’t stick

up your ears now, imagining that

the great Canadian novel has been

written at last.” And yet that novel

is now the most famous Canadian

novel of all time, and generations

of readers have fallen in love with

its heroine, setting and characters.

Anne of Green Gables was

published in June 1908 and within a

few months it was clear that its 33 year old author had a best-seller on her hands. Reviews poured

in – though The New York Times said “Anne is a bore”, the New York American thought the story

idyllic. Mark Twain wrote to Maud to congratulate her on creating “the dearest, and most lovable

child in fiction since the immortal Alice”, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin adored the novel, and

Ramsay Macdonald read it delightedly several times over.

This success was followed up with sequels as the

public demanded more – Anne of Avonlea,

Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of

Avonlea (more about the township than about Anne

herself), Anne of the Island, Anne’s House of Dreams,

Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside soon followed.

Then, with even more demand from her adoring

readers, Maud went back in Anne’s chronology to

reluctantly write Anne of Windy Willows and Anne of

Ingleside. Altogether she would write 20 novels,

short stories, poems and journals, but Anne has

remained the favourite heroine.

Red-haired, talkative, imaginative Anne Shirley

captivated readers from her first appearance as an

unwanted orphan at the train station. Every episode

– cracking the slate over Gilbert Blythe’s head,

confessing to losing the amethyst brooch, getting

best friend Diana drunk – enchanted readers. The

book has never been out of print. There have been

movie versions (including a ‘silent’ one, an

astonishing medium for a heroine whose tongue in “hung in the middle”), musicals, TV serials,

Scan of page 257 of the book Anne of Green Gables (1909). L. M. Montgomery, M.A. & W.A.J. Claus

Green Gables house, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island




prequels, parodies, Anne dolls and other merchandise. The book became a

standard part of Japanese language textbooks and a common graduation

present in Japan is to pay for a trip to Prince Edward Island.

The novel has been translated into 36 languages. Maud’s homes on Prince

Edward Island, and places such as ‘The Lake of Shining Waters’, the ‘Haunted

Wood’ and ‘Lovers’ Lane’ are tourist Meccas.

I fell in love with Anne when I was about 7

years old. Until I discovered Jane Austen, the

Anne books were the books I adored more

than any other – I read and re-read, dreamed I

would marry Gilbert Blythe, sobbed over

Matthew’s death (and still do!), and longed to

have red hair. The books were a vital part of

my own imaginative development. From

Anne, generations of girls (including myself)

learned that it was OK to love books, to thrill

to poetry, to get excited by sunsets (Maud

was crazy about sunsets – she mentions 11 of

them in Anne of Green Gables), and to be

strong and yet remain feminine at the same

time. Each of her heroines has to learn to

recognise her own distinctive voice, cope with

female confinement and oppression, resolve the conflicting claims of ‘romance’

and ‘realism’ – no wonder academics are now turning to her works in droves.

Anne of Green Gables crosses cultural and generational lines. The Japanese turn

to it for lessons in cheerfulness and optimism, Polish soldiers in World War II

were issued copies of Anne of the Island to take to the front for inspiration,

Montgomery received fan mail from Tibet, Namibia and Australia. I turn to Anne

of Green Gables for comfort and therapy. It’s a delightful and timeless classic.

The First Edition of ‘Anne of Green Gables’




Further Reading

Today there are many excellent critical books being written about

Montgomery’s fiction and life. University theses are now being

written about Anne and the other heroines, and the sophistication

of Maud’s writing is being recognised by many other writers.

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings by Mary Henley Rubio

The Wheel of Things: A Biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery by

Mollie Gillen

Kindred Spirit: A Biography of L.M. Montgomery by Catherine M.

Andronik (out of print)

The Fragrance of Sweet Grass: L.M. Montgomery’s Heroines and

the Pursuit of Romance by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly

Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery by Elizabeth Waterston

The Annotated Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and edited by Margaret Anne Doody

(this is a truly wonderful edition – no real Anne-fan should be without it!)

Thank you to University of Guelph Library, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON. N1G 2W1. Canada.

http://www.lmmrc.ca/ for allowing reproduction of some of the images in this document. All book cover images

from https://www.goodreads.com. Unless otherwise stated, all other images are Susannah Fullerton’s or freely

available in the public domain.

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Susannah Fullerton is Sydney’s best-known literary lecturer. She gives talks on

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