Want to learn more about the life, the work, and the legacy of L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables?
You’ve come to the right place.
Although L.M. Montgomery is best known for her novels Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Emily of New Moon (1923), both of which have been adapted numerous times for stage and screen, her creative output consists of twenty-three additional books, including the rediscovered sequel The Blythes Are Quoted (2009), as well as over one thousand shorter works (short stories, poems, and miscellaneous pieces), hundreds of photographs, and over a dozen published volumes of journals and letters.
Today, more than seven decades after Montgomery’s death, readers all over the world continue to find meaning in all aspects of her work, including adaptations and extensions in print, on screen, on stage, and as part of commodity culture. Researchers and scholars continue to examine this larger body of work in terms of empire and nation, sexuality and repression, performance and resistance, parody and allusion, space and place, as well as national and international appeal and reception.
L.M. Montgomery Online has been tracing—and contributing to—this international conversation since 2007. It continues to cover all aspects of L.M. Montgomery’s cultural reach in print, on screen, and among her worldwide community of readers.
The Basics
Her Life
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) is known throughout the world for putting Prince Edward Island on the literary map. But did you know she spent her married life in Ontario, as the wife of a Presbyterian minister?
Books
Montgomery is best known for Anne of Green Gables and its sequels. But did you know she published twenty-four books throughout her lifetime and completed a twenty-fifth shortly before her death?
Shorter Works
Besides her twenty-four books, Montgomery published over one thousand shorter works (short stories, poems, and miscellaneous pieces), most of which have not been reprinted since their appearance in periodicals a century ago—until now.
Life Writing
Since 1960, Montgomery’s legacy has shifted thanks to the publication of several volumes of her life writing, in the form of letters and journals. These publications are fascinating not only because of the behind-the-scenes stories they tell about her books but also because of the complex and articulate woman they reveal.
L.M. Montgomery Online is the virtual companion to several books by Montgomery scholar Benjamin Lefebvre. He specializes in unearthing rare materials from archives and periodicals, and his work places those materials in the context of Montgomery’s life and times and in conversation with her best-known work.
Recently announced!
The Glory and the Dream: L.M. Montgomery’s Writing Life (forthcoming from Dundurn Press)
Reimagining Anne: A Century of L.M. Montgomery’s Literary Icon on Screen (forthcoming from Dundurn Press)
Latest Articles
Content from 2007 to 2023 is currently being reorganized and reformatted. New content will appear soon. Thanks for your patience!
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This Is September
For L.M. Montgomery, her characters, and me, September means new beginnings: new school year, new events, new projects, and new content.
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I Have Come Home (1938 sketch)
“I Have Come Home,” a rarely seen sketch by L.M. Montgomery, is significant for two entirely different reasons.
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A Note on the L.M. Montgomery Bibliography
At long last, I’ve finished reorganizing and updating my L.M. Montgomery bibliography of sources—at least for now.
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Call for Papers: Anne for Everyone
Proposals are sought for a collection of essays entitled /Anne for Everyone: Green Gables, Children of Color, and Global Childhoods/.
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An Author Speaks (1939 essay)
In “An Author Speaks,” L.M. Montgomery offers advice to aspiring writers from her experience as an internationally bestselling author.
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Spotlight on International Scholarship (I)
An overlooked but fascinating component of L.M. Montgomery studies involves international scholarship written in languages besides English.
Read All Articles
Learn More
Bibliography
Even before Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, critics and reviewers started writing about Montgomery and her work. That conversation is still going strong, consisting now of academic scholarship, abridged editions of her best books, and new creative works that reimagine parts of her work.
Editions
Montgomery’s books have appeared in a wide range of editions all over the world, particularly in the last three decades. Anne of Green Gables has been translated into forty languages, making it one of the most frequently translated book in Canadian history.
Screen
Since 1919, Montgomery’s books have appeared in a wide array of film and television adaptations. While many of these continue to be popular with viewers all over the world, several more are almost completely unknown today.
About Me
Hi! I’m Benjamin Lefebvre.
I’ve been writing about L.M. Montgomery’s life, work, and legacy for twenty-five years. I earned a master’s degree in English literature at the University of Guelph, home of one of the largest collections of Montgomery artifacts in the world, and from there, I completed a PhD in English at McMaster University and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta, where I studied ways to place Montgomery’s writing in the context of Canadian literature, children’s literature, and popular culture.
It’s always a privilege to meet fellow readers of Montgomery’s work and fellow viewers of adaptations of her work, and I have been proud to be part of a growing international community of readers and scholars to whom Montgomery’s books are so important.
Whether you are an academic, a student, or a life-long reader of Montgomery’s work, I hope this resource will prove useful to you. Join the discussion on the L.M. Montgomery Readathon. Follow this site on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Shop for books through one of my affiliate bookstores. Contact me with questions and findings.