Cover Reveal: The L.M. Montgomery Reader in Paperback!

Written by

Benjamin Lefebvre

Published on:

7 April 2020

Last modified:

12 June 2025

Five years after the publication of the last volume of The L.M. Montgomery Reader, all three volumes are set to appear in paperback.

Cover of the paperback edition of /The L.M. Montgomery Reader/, volume 1: /A Life in Print/, edited by Benjamin Lefebvre.

Cover of the paperback edition of /The L.M. Montgomery Reader/, volume 2: /A Critical Heritage/, edited by Benjamin Lefebvre.

Cover of the paperback edition of /The L.M. Montgomery Reader/, volume 3: /A Legacy in Review/, edited by Benjamin Lefebvre.

I’m very pleased to announce the forthcoming publication, in paperback, of all three volumes of my award-winning critical anthology, The L.M. Montgomery Reader, from University of Toronto Press.

Now available in paperback, The L.M. Montgomery Reader assembles rediscovered primary material on one of Canada’s most enduringly popular authors, spanning the entirety of her high-profile career and the years since her death.

Volume 1: A Life in Print consists of essays by and interviews with Montgomery alongside commentary on her work throughout her career as a novelist. Volume 2: A Critical Heritage narrates her critical reputation in the decades since her death. And volume 3: A Legacy in Review turns to the book review as a largely overlooked repository of critical discussion.

This project took up the bulk of my professional life over a five-year period, so I’m thrilled that all three volumes will be available in paperback soon.

Once again, the best way to order these books is from the University of Toronto Press website. Volume 1, volume 2, and volume 3 are all available separately in paperback, while hardcover and ebook editions remain still available.

The cover art features the covers of the first Canadian editions of Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Chronicles of Avonlea published by the Ryerson Press (Toronto) in 1942 and 1943; these copies are part of my personal collection.

Comments

8 responses to “Cover Reveal: The L.M. Montgomery Reader in Paperback!”

7 April 2020

Anna M Thow

Hello Benjamin; enjoyed your book A Life in Print, but only wished a more flattening photo of Maud was used; we know her life as bittersweet but there were many more lovely photos of her especially those with her beloved cats or in her garden.

Reply
1. 7 April 2020
  
  Benjamin Lefebvre
  
  Thanks for your comment, Anna! Because these three books are showcasing the public Montgomery (rather than the private Montgomery of her journals and letters), we chose that photo for the hardcover editions because it was a publicity photo that Montgomery had circulated publicly, rather than a private photo, and most of the remaining publicity photos had already been used on book covers before. For the paperback editions, we decided to forego images of Montgomery entirely and showcase covers of her books instead.
  
  Reply
7 April 2020

Sapphireanne

What an incredible achievement this must be for you. I cannot begin to imagine the level of pride you feel at seeing your work in print … and to have it be about such a worthy individual sweetens the feel of success!! Congrats!

Reply
1. 7 April 2020
  
  Benjamin Lefebvre
  
  Thank you so much! I really do appreciate it.
  
  Reply
7 April 2020

Mary Rubio

Congratulations, Ben. LMM is very lucky that you have recovered all this material through your exceptional research skills. So are the LMM scholars who can use it.

Reply
1. 7 April 2020
  
  Benjamin Lefebvre
  
  Thanks so much, Mary! I really appreciate it.
  
  Reply
7 April 2020

Deb Quaile

They’re lovely, Ben! They’re the covers I remember that my mother and aunt owned so they feel quite homey and connect us with that Canadian heritage even more deeply.

Reply
1. 7 April 2020
  
  Benjamin Lefebvre
  
  I’m glad you like them, Deb! I’m also glad that they chose to showcase these covers, not only because they were the first Canadian editions of her first books, but also because the publication of three of them coincided with Montgomery’s death.
  
  Reply