Lucy Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada on 30 November, 1874. Her mother, Clara Woolner Macneill Montgomery, died of tuberculosis when Maud was 21 months old. When she was seven years old she went to live with her maternal grandparents and was raised by them in a strict and unforgiving manner.

In November 1890, Montgomery had her first work published in the Charlottetown paper, Daily Patriot. She was as excited about this as she was about her return to her beloved Prince Edward Island, in 1891. The return home was a great relief to her,  although her home life was an unhappy one due to the fact that she and her stepmother, Mary Ann McRae, did not get along.

In 1893, following the completion of her grade school education in Cavendish, she attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. She completed a two-year course in one year, and obtained her teaching certificate. In 1895 and 1896 she studied literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Upon leaving Dalhousie, Montgomery worked as a teacher in various island schools. Although Montgomery did not enjoy her teaching career, she was content because it afforded her time to write.

Beginning in 1897, she began to have her short stories published in various magazines and newspapers. A prolific talent, Montgomery had over 100 stories published from 1897 to 1907 inclusive. In 1908, Montgomery published her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, followed by Anne of Avonlea in 1909. Three years later, shortly after her grandmother’s death, she married Ewan Macdonald (1870–1943), a Presbyterian Minister, and they moved to Ontario where he had taken the position of minister of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Leaskdale. In 1935, upon her husband’s retirement, Montgomery moved to Swansea, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, buying a house which she named Journey’s End, situated on the Humber River.

Montgomery continued to write, publishing Anne of Windy Poplars (1936), Jane of Lantern Hill (1937), and Anne of Ingleside (1939). She died on 24 April 1942 and was buried at the Cavendish Community Cemetery in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

Additional Resources about Lucy Montgomery:

• Lucy Montgomery – Wikipedia