The Selected Journals Of L.M. Montgomery, Vol. 3: 1921-1929

The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery #3

by L.M. Montgomery, Mary Rubio (Editor), Elizabeth Waterston (Editor)

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), the author of the classic novel for children, Anne of Green Gables , kept extensive journals for most of her life, beginning them in 1889 when she was fourteen and continuing them until shortly before her death. An instant bestseller in Canada, the first
volume of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery covers the years up to 1910 and culminates in the publication of Anne of Green Gables . The second volume (1910-1921) portrays Montgomery in the midst of great upheaval, both in her life and in the world around her. Now, the long-awaited third
volume brings us through her middle years, a time when Montgomery's personal and professional lives are becoming even more complex.
Ranging from 1921-1929, this revealing journal documents her efforts to juggle the demands of motherhood, parish obligations, indifferent household help, grief at the loss of older friends and family--everyday struggles to balance a woman's social and domestic duties. Here she writes of the
triumphs and trials of being a best-selling growing fame; the successful midwifery of her new heroines Emily and Marigold and a more adult novel, The Blue Castle ; the struggle to allocate time for correspondence with publishers, fans, friends--and to actually write. We trace the happy
conclusion of her lawsuits against an unscrupulous publisher and the disappointing outcome of a lawsuit arising in a minor automobile accident. And we learn of her personal Ewan Macdonalds's envy of his wife's publishing and social success; the dark shadow cast by his attacks of
melancholia; and her fear that her sons might evince similar tendencies.
In these years, Lucy Maud Montgomery turned more and more to her journals to record her insights, opinions, and epiphanies. These journals will not only intrigue every fan of Anne of Green Gables and the other Anne books, but will also provide an intimate look at life as portrayed by this
remarkable writer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Canada, Biography Memoir, History, Classics, Journal

468 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Lucy Maud Montgomery was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908.

Montgomery was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911. She had three children and wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. She died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was harder to read than the first two, taken up as it was mostly with Maud's on-going worries about legal troubles, the union of Canada's churches and Ewan's mental health issues. There were a few bright spots however, like vacations to Muskoka and Mammoth Cave.
In all the aforesaid worries (and a few other grumbles about him) I did not see the evidence that the editors claimed in their introduction for an unhappy marriage. Ewan is not perfect, but she likes him (except when he is in the throes of a "melancholic" episode) and he is even always included in her dream world.
I almost hate to forge ahead as I know more trouble awaits, but perhaps there will be compensatory joys from time to time as well.
Popsugar 2018: A book about mental health

[Katri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it harder to get through this one than the previous volumes, mainly because at some points her life is dragged down by such petty, trivial affairs taking up all her energy which are not that interesting to read about. It's not her fault, but it makes for hard reading - it's not the sort of deep or glorious misery that can be gripping to read, but just annoying and dull. I'd say this especially affects the second quarter of the book, and when you get past that it gets interesting again. It especially gets much better when she and her family move to Norval, she really seems to regain a lot of her former self there. So if anyone has trouble getting through those years with the Pickering affair and the church division stuff, just persist until they get to Norval! It gets much better!

It's really interesting to read the background of her life and see in what kind of conditions she wrote her books. And also to sometimes read her thoughts on her own books. But besides that, LMM is a wonderfully gifted writer whose journals, though much less cheerful than her novels, are nevertheless full of similar kind of enchanting visions and everyday humour that I love in her novels as well. And on the other hand because here she gets to write solely her own thoughts and do so with complete honesty, not having to worry about what is thought appropriate for the market, it's wonderful to read her often scathing commentary about her times, the people she knows and the literature of the time. I must say I agree with her on post-WWI literature, and I wonder how appalled she would feel if she was reading the literature today.

I usually don't like it when people post lots of quotes from the book to make their review long, but there's one quote I just have to put here to illustrate the above point. When reading a book by Morley Callaghan, she wrote:

But Callaghan's idea of "Literature" seems to be to photograph a latrine or pigstye meticulously and have nothing else in the picture. Now, latries and pigstyes are not only malodorous but very uninteresting. We have a latrine in our backyard. I see it when I look that way - and I also see before it a garden of color and perfum - over it a blue sky - behind it a velvety pine caressing crystal air - a river of silver and aquamarine - misty hills of glamor beyond. These things are as "real" as the latrine and can all be seen at the same time. Callaghan sees nothing but the latrine and insists blatantly that you see nothing else also. If you insist on seeing sky and river and pine you are a "sentimentalist" and the truth is not in you.

I think that's one of the most sensible comments about literature I've read in a long time and says exactly what is wrong with literature still today, or at least that which is thought to be great literature. Similar thoughts have been expressed in Montgomery's Emily books, and I'm heartily glad I've grown up with those books to make me immune to today's views on "literature".

And it's not as if L.M. Montgomery was a stranger to the unpleasant and depressing sides of life, world and people, so one can't accuse her of simply being naïve with this world view.

I will certainly go on to Volume IV, though first I will probably take a break to get some other unfinished books out of the way.

[Brenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent editing, a moving, troubling, and evocative look at Montgomery in the 1920s

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like this volume quite as much as the first two- there's a lot about church politics and this lawsuit over a fender bender she and her husband got into that got complicated by the intricacies of who was related to whom in that town- but it was still interesting. Her husband is still fighting his "religious melancholia" here (in modern terms, I think he probably had both depression and OCD, probably of the pure-O variety), but Maud herself is showing signs of depession. There are also hints that her oldest son is...not a great kid. At one point she refers to something bad he's done but doesn't want to name it, so I'm very curious about that. The Emily books are written during the years covered in these journals.

[Elinor Loredan]

I read this in small installments as it is rather heavy. After reading the first volume and finding that LMM's life was nothing like most of her books, I was not surprised that this one contains many statements of how difficult and depressing her days were. I was fascinated by the parts about her books as I read them (Blue Castle, Emily's Quest, Tangled Web). How curious that she thought Emily's Quest was not good, and yet it is one of my favorites. I delight in hearing that she loved writing Blue Castle, as it is also one of her best, to me. I feel I cannot give a star rating to this kind of a book, since it was not written as entertainment but as a real account of her life.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

By reading L.M. Montgomery's journals, I feel as if I know her personally. I am fascinated by her depth of emotion, especially with regard to beauty in nature. She has a wry sense of humor, and I love how candid she was about neighbors and acquaintances. I think I liked volume 2 better, maybe because she experiences more life-changing events, and there aren't as many legal issues discussed at length. But this volume was still extremely interesting.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third volume of L.M. Montgomery's journals spans 9 years. It is very taken up with lawsuits, hers against the Page Publishing Company as well as one that comes after a car accident. Those drag on a lot, throughout the whole book really. Also, her constant concern with her husband's melancholia overshadows lots of it. But overall this was a fascinating book, giving insight not only into her specific life but life in general in rural Canada in the 1920s.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a gripping read. There's a sense of her becoming a bit mired in self-martyrdom, but that doesn't detract from the fascinating historical and psychological document this series of journals continues to represent.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as interesting as the first two volumes since most of it deals with the lawsuits LMM and her husband had to fight during these years. Of course I can't blame LMM for the events of her life! It amazes me that she wrote so many books along with all her other responsibilities.

[Mitzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read Oct. 2014 - Just as fascinating to read the 2nd time through.

Original review - July 2010: Hard to read at times but riveting nonetheless - I feel so sad for LMM and all that she went through, but it is very inspiring that even with so much struggle she was a success...

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure that "liked it" is the right phrase. Truly a hard life led by a woman cursed by her own decisions, ideals and nature.

[Mireille Duval · Rating 2 out of 5]

More tedious than the others - Pickering and church squabbles are not much compared to WWI or LMM's wedding. Still looking forward to the next one.

[Kathee Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fasinating volumes of her journals, I can't wait to read the next!