The Glory and the Dream: L.M. Montgomery’s Writing Life is a volume of essays by Benjamin Lefebvre that was published in February 2026.
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Overview
Synopsis
Volume Contents
Praise
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Overview
The Glory and the Dream: L.M. Montgomery’s Writing Life is a volume of original essays by Montgomery scholar Benjamin Lefebvre. It was published in February 2026 as a trade paperback and as an ebook by Dundurn Press and as an audiobook from Tantor Media.
- The Glory and the Dream: L.M. Montgomery’s Writing Life at Dundurn Press
- The Glory and the Dream: L.M. Montgomery’s Writing Life at Tantor Media
Synopsis
New revelations and insights about the writing life of the internationally renowned author of Anne of Green Gables.
L.M. Montgomery is known around the globe for the many books she published during her career, beginning with Anne of Green Gables. But what is far less known are the circumstances under which she wrote and the challenges she faced as a bestselling author.
Montgomery scholar Benjamin Lefebvre offers a never-before-seen look at her writing life, encompassing everything from fans to lawsuits to her creative choices, including an unlikely source of inspiration that enabled her to continue writing about her native Prince Edward Island after she moved to Ontario and her controversial decision to downplay Anne’s own writing ambitions.
Drawing on Montgomery’s journals and letters as well as on a slew of heritage sources that have rarely been part of the conversation, this book includes new insights and fascinating revelations about an author whose work continues to be meaningful to readers all over the world.
Volume Contents
Introduction: The Glory and the Dream (1–22)
1. Things Readers Want to Know (23–38)
2. The Visionary Gleam (39–63)
3. Such Simple Little Tales (65–82)
4. In Lands Afar (83–97)
5. The War at Home (99–116)
6. With Hamlet Left Out (117–41)
7. A Fiction Writer on Fiction Writing (143–64)
8. A Writer and Her Critics (165–80)
9. The Scarce Hints of Love (181–99)
10. Returns to Anne (201–18)
Conclusion: After Life’s Fitful Fever (219–22)
Acknowledgements (223–24)
Appendix: Books by L.M. Montgomery (225–27)
Notes (229–47)
Index (249–53)
Praise
“As compelling as a detective story [and] a must-read for all of those who love or study L.M. Montgomery and her works.”
—Andrea McKenzie, co-editor of L.M. Montgomery and War
A candid, poignant reflection on the success and sacrifices of one of the world’s most celebrated authors.
—Sarah McCoy, bestselling author of Marilla of Green Gables
Like the consummate literary sleuth he is . . . Lefebvre reveals something new about Montgomery’s life and about assessments of her writing within her own time and now.
—Elizabeth Rollins Epperly, founder of the L.M. Montgomery Institute
The Glory and the Dream illuminates both past and present mysteries about Montgomery in a wonderfully engaging and accessible way.
—Marah Gubar, author of Artful Dodgers