The following are reviewers'
comments on books by L. M. Montgomery and books about her:
Anne
of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
"The
author's probable intention was to exhibit a unique development in this
little asylum waif, but there is no real difference between the girl
at the end of the story and the one at the beginning of it. All the other
characters in the book are human enough." -
no author listed, "Book Reviews," The New York Times (July
18, 1908)
"She
captivates because she embodies so much of what the blossoming girl
is -- free spirited, romantic, dreamy, hard-working, rebellious, caring,
unloved, loving and finally loved." - Joan Weller, "Anne Shirley
continues to captivate," The Ottawa Citizen (July 10, 1993)
After
Many Days: Tales of Time Passed, by L.M.
Montgomery, Rea Wilmshurst, ed.
"More treasures from L. M.
Montgomery's scrapbooks, discovered in 1978 by devoted scholar Rea Wilmshurst:
these 18 stories are vintage Montgomery, about romance, hardships, courage,
hard choices, even revenge" - Patricia Morley, The Ottawa Citizen (May
2, 1992)
Against
the Odds: Tales of Achievement, by L.M.
Montgomery, Rea
Wilmshurst, ed.
"Stories of an inspiring
nature were L. M. Montgomery's forte. She's fairly inspiring herself: 50
years after her death, her work surfaces regularly in new guises.…There's
no cool modern cynicism here; these stories are decidedly old-fashioned
and determinedly upbeat." – Kate Zimmerman, Calgary Herald (October 2,
1993)
Akin
to Anne: Tales of Other Orphans, byL.M.
Montgomery, Rea Wilmshurst, ed.
"If
all these stories seem to be cut from the same bolt of cloth, responsibility
lies not with Montgomery, who never intended them to be read one after
another, but with her editor, who chose to gather into one volume all
surviving stories on the theme which made their author famous, and is
planning several more sets of thematic groupings. Perhaps Wilmshurst
shares the dilemma of the orphans' guardians: No principle of arrangement
for several dozen unconnected stories would be completely satisfactory.
In avoiding a hodgepodge, she has risked presenting Montgomery as a deft
performer on one fiddle-string. Yet these stories, if read a few at a
time, retain an undeniable charm." - Hugh D. McKellar, The Toronto
Star (June 11, 1988)
At
the Altar: Matrimonial Tales, by L.M. Montgomery, Rea Wilmshurst,
Ed.
"Reading
At the Altar is rather daunting; as one reads one story after another,
any original elements are subsumed by the relentless drive toward the inevitable
proposal. And if that is not enough to deter the intrepid reader, then
the syrupy morality in the weaker stories should be." -Wendy Thatcher, "Lucy
Maud's altar ego; As in marriage, many of these tales don't work," The
Gazette (Montreal) (April 16, 1994)
Reviews of Books
Related to L.M. Montgomery’s Works
The
Fragrance of Sweet Grass: L. M. Montgomery's Heroine's and the Pursuit
of Romance, by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly
"Epperly argues, convincingly,
that Montgomery was a master of the romance genre and adapted it skillfully
to include complex relationships, irony and comic inversions. She was,
in short, a competent fiction writer."
- Patricia Morely "Beyond Anne," The Ottawa Citizen (June 13, 1992)
MAUD:
The Life of L.M. Montgomery, by Harry Bruce
"Bruce's sympathy for Montgomery,
whose similarities to Anne he affectionately details, do not prevent him
from pointing out her weaknesses." - Kate Zimmerman, "Maud’s Life Story
Makes an Engaging Read," Calgary Herald (December 23, 1992)
"Sorting through the joys
and frequent agonies in the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, writer Harry
Bruce has concluded she never found for herself the treasured "kindred
spirit" she created for Anne of Green Gables. The writing of Montgomery's
most famous novel was "a very obvious and wonderfully imaginative
exercise in wish-fulfillment," says Bruce. "I think
that she just created the world that she wanted desperately to live in
herself and then put Anne Shirley in it,’ says Bruce." - Rod Currie, "Author's
real life lonely and sad" Calgary Herald (September
1, 1992)
The
Anne of Green Gables Treasury, by Carolyn Strom Collins
and Christina Wyss Eriksson
"For the old-fashioned at
heart, this Victorian treasury offers recipes, household hints, sewing
instructions and sentimental reminiscences…The Anne . . . Treasury, oversized,
is beautifully illustrated and well designed. It's for Anne fans of all
ages, and for lovers of real English teas: with three lumps of sugar."
– Patricia Morely, "Latest ‘Anne’ book for fans of all ages," The Ottawa Citizen (August
10, 1991)
The
Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume 1: 1889-1910,
Edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston
"The
young Montgomery's diary bubbles over with love and energy."
-Heather Henderson, "Innocence and wisdom; The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery,
Volume 1: 1889-1910," Maclean's (November 11, 1985)
The
Selected Journals of L.M.
Montgomery, Volume 2: 1910-1921,
Edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston
"Writing
her novels was of course an outlet. Into them she poured her fantasies
of a better life grounded in kindly impulses. Her method of escaping
her feeling of entrapment in a miserable life was by entering into other
people's personalities and predicaments - which invariably had a happy
ending. Her journals were also a safety-valve for feelings, a repository
for dark and unspoken thoughts, unsent letters and unwanted nightmares." -
Ken Adachi, "Anne’s Author faced darkness The Selected Journals of L.M.
Montgomery, Vol.2: 1910-1921," Toronto Star (December
6, 1987)
The
Selected Journals of L.M.
Montgomery, Volume 3: 1912-1929,
Edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston
"These
are journals so enlightening, so full of wisdom, humor, philosophy and
tragedy that they are worth a winter's reading and reflection." - Enid
Delgatty Rutland, "Enlightening journals; L.M.
Montgomery's third volume full of wisdom," The Ottawa
Citizen (January 16, 1993)
"Etched
throughout the journals are the private struggles of a highly intelligent
and successful woman surrounded by those less gifted and less ambitious." -
Linda Kupecek, "Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Journals Reveal a Painful Stuggle," Calgary
Herald (January 29, 1994)
My
Dear Mr. M: Letters to G. B. MacMillan from L. M. Montgomery,
Edited by Francis W. P. Bolger and Elizabeth R. Epperly
"World-weary and broken,
Lucy Maud Montgomery, a few days before Christmas 1941, wrote: ‘I am no
better and never will be.’ ‘But I thank God for our long and beautiful
friendship,’ she added in her last letter to George Boyd MacMillan, her
longtime Scottish pen-pal." - Rod Currie "L.M.
Montgomery through her letters," The Ottawa
Citizen (May 2, 1992)
Last Updated 03.28.04
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