L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years: 1918-1921

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals #4

by L.M. Montgomery, Jen Rubio (Editor), Elizabeth Rollins Epperly (Introduction)

"This is the journal of a consummate story teller. War, death, madness, fury, despair, sheer grit, laughter, love, and exquisitely realized beauty and joy: all are rendered through the eye and 'I' of an artist for whom her journal was not so much a place as an act of engaging—a companioning of and questioning of herself. I suggest that this volume, covering 1918 to 1921, is one of the most important works in Montgomery’s entire writing career. Here we see her personal world shattered, and we see her consciously remaking it." —From the Introduction by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly

“Have you heard the news?” L.M. Montgomery records asking her husband Ewan as he arrived home on October 6, 1918, “hoping like a child that he hadn’t, so that I would be the first to tell him.” World War I had ended.

Montgomery’s words reflect the relief felt across the world as the war drew to a close. Her own life, however, did not relax as she might have hoped; rather, a series of unexpected events were about to unfold.

Elizabeth Rollins Epperly observes in her introduction that Montgomery’s journals are filled with moments of joy “suspended in a larger, often darker, story.” Here we read about Montgomery’s experiences with death, the spirit world, and insanity, among others. Her husband’s mental illness often makes for hair-raising reading. Available here for the first time is the complete record of Montgomery’s life, a spellbinding account of the small and the large, the tragic and the humorous.

Over 180 of Montgomery’s own photographs are included, many never before published. In addition to Professor Epperly’s fascinating introduction, this edition contains more than 400 notes providing a wealth of historical and literary background.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography

379 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2017

About the author

Lucy Maud Montgomery was a Canadian author whose novels, stories, essays and poems made her one of the most widely read writers in Canadian literary history. Publishing under the name L. M. Montgomery, she achieved international recognition with the novel Anne of Green Gables, released in 1908, which quickly became a bestseller and introduced readers to the imaginative orphan Anne Shirley. The success of the book transformed Montgomery from a schoolteacher and magazine contributor into a celebrated literary figure whose work reached audiences far beyond Canada. Raised on Prince Edward Island, she drew deeply on its landscapes, rural communities, and storytelling traditions, turning the island into the setting for many of her novels. The popularity of Anne of Green Gables led to numerous sequels, including Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, establishing a beloved series that followed Anne from childhood to adulthood. Montgomery continued to write steadily throughout her life, producing twenty novels and more than a thousand short stories poems and essays. Her fiction often centered on young women, personal growth, and the emotional ties between people and place, combining gentle humor with reflections on memory, imagination, and belonging. Although she enjoyed enormous popularity, Montgomery also faced personal difficulties, including long periods of depression and the strain of caring for her husband, a Presbyterian minister who struggled with mental illness. Writing became both a profession and a refuge, allowing her to transform memories of childhood and observation of everyday life into vivid storytelling. In addition to the Anne series, she created other notable works, including the Emily novels and several stand alone stories that explored identity, creativity, and attachment to home. Her books were translated widely and attracted devoted readers around the world, helping shape the international image of Prince Edward Island as a place of pastoral beauty and warm community life. Scholars later studied her extensive journals letters and manuscripts, which revealed the complex inner life behind the cheerful tone of many of her books. By the time of her death in 1942, Montgomery had become one of the most successful and influential authors in Canadian literature. Her stories about imagination, resilience, and the search for belonging continue to inspire readers of all ages, and Anne Shirley remains one of the most recognizable characters in children's fiction. Through generations of readers, Montgomery's work has encouraged appreciation for storytelling, nature, and the emotional richness of ordinary life. Her legacy also includes a vast body of diaries and correspondence that document the challenges faced by a professional woman writer in the early twentieth century. Institutions such as the L. M. Montgomery Institute have continued to examine her influence on literature culture and tourism, particularly on Prince Edward Island, where sites associated with her fiction attract visitors from many countries. Adaptations of Anne of Green Gables for film, television, and theatre have introduced new audiences to her stories, ensuring that her characters remain part of global popular culture. Though critical opinion once dismissed her as merely a writer for children, later scholarship recognized the depth of her themes and the enduring craft of her storytelling. Today she is remembered as a central figure in Canadian literature whose imaginative vision gave voice to the beauty of rural life while celebrating the hopes of young dreamers who search for belonging.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting to read the journal of LMM’s time in Leaskdale just after visiting the Leaskdale Manse and church. Reading this was like having a conversation with Maud.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, I don't really know how you rate someone else's journals. But I found this to be thoroughly engrossing. Even here Montgomery's writing style is friendly and accessible. It's sad to see her sense of humor disappearing as she goes through some incredibly hard times in these years. And knowing what else life holds for her, it's hard to read about how her children are her only source of happiness and purpose.

But reading about her lawsuits with Page - super interesting. Also intriguing to hear her thoughts on religion, literature, and human nature. It's also fun to see bits of her "being an author" as she goes to dinners, conferences, and other such gatherings.

Reading these full journals after reading a few different biographies makes me glad to read them. The biographies definitely take their own interpretation of her writing. For instance, one of the ones we read (now I can't remember which one) was someone dismissive of LMM's mourning over the death of her cousin (and best friend) Frede, saying something along the lines of "she spent more pages eulogizing her cat than her cousin" - and it's simply NOT true. LMM's agony over losing Frede is seen time and again throughout these entries. Yes, she's also upset when her cat/companion of many years dies - in part because he is one of her last connections to Frede, who also loved the cat! But to act like the cat dying was more of a blow to her than Frede is just blatantly misreading her writing.

There are other things like that - where I see something different from what she wrote than what the biographers pulled from it. Things like her relationship with her husband - always written about very negatively in EVERY biography I've read, but presented in her journals as more balanced. A passionate romance? No. Even a situation of being kindred spirits? Sadly, also no. But definitely - especially before his mental health issues took over - a relationship built on mutual respect, companionship, and shared duties. There are many entries of them simply being together, sharing jokes, or working on a project. It's obviously not the marriages dreams are made of, but before Ewan's steep mental decline, it is presented at least as one that is rubbing along comfortably. Yet every biography I read goes on at length about how LMM felt trapped and used and hated every second that she had to spend with Ewan. I do think she felt trapped, especially starting in these years when Ewan is no longer himself, but I don't think she hated every day of her marriage.

Anyway, all that to say I'm finding these journals to be worthwhile and engaging reading, even if they're quite bittersweet.

[Rima · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a comparative review with the selected journal which is why I picked up the complete series, because I wanted to do my own filtering. The entry of Frede’s sudden death in this volume is harrowingly beautiful. I compared it to the selected journals that has an ebook copy available, and it is the same save for inclusion of some more pictures. But other than this, I found this volume unreadable, worst than the last. The first hundred pages was the same play-play of WWI news of the last volume. She even says it herself that she misses the exhilaration of the news so that tells you the value of these entries. Complete bore. Then the last third has a lot of dull legal drama and paranoia over Ewan’s mental troubles. Very little ‘nature haunts’ in this volume.

There are some entries about her religious views. She has a very illogical spiritual belief I think. Her writings just revealed the fundamental flaws of Christianity. For example, she says she believes in a God that is not omnipotent. But this worldly life was never meant to be a place of idyllhood. 'There is no shortage of ugliness in the world, if man closed his eyes to it, there would be even more." This ugliness can only be seen by the Ever-Living, Sustainer of all existence, whom neither drowsiness overtakes nor sleep. Earthy life is a place of trial and test for humans to overcome their inherent weakness that is its purpose.

She also said something amazingly idiotic in one of the entries here, for someone of her mental faculties, that the Oriental countries were conquered because they ‘can’t laugh’ like the ‘British and New World can laugh’. After I read that line I was done with the volume.

Literary insight wise (that is my main interest in the journals), this volume only covers her writing of Rilla of Ingleside, which she was not enthusiastic about, and the first chapters of Emily at the very end. Further chronicles of Avonlea publishing she was completly against because it repeats material she uses in other works, which is good to know. I hope I will like the next volume better because I am a fan of Emily. There is an entry about the 'Christening of Emily' included in selected volume.

The introduction is decent, but repetitive and I think it has been said better else place.

This was the most expensive volume for me to purchase from the series. I will be returning it, I don't recommend it.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume of LMM's journals deals with some very serious troubles and times of her overall unhappy life. It is very interesting to me to see in her journals bits and pieces of the stories that are in her books and to learn what was going on in her life when she wrote some of my favorites. If you are a fan of LMM's books at all, I recommend reading her journals. They are quite interesting.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read, A Gift of Wings, it is bittersweet to read about Maud and her relationship with Chester when he was a young boy. Even during these early years, she contrasts Stuart and Chester's personalities. I am looking forward to the next years being released this month. I feel as if my only disappointment will be when the journals end, knowing that the last of them, which would have filled in so many gaps, have been either hidden or most likely destroyed.

I also found it interesting to read about Maud's court experiences with her publisher. What a rotten example of a human he was!