The Alpine Path: L M Montgomery In Her Own Words

by L.M. Montgomery, Izabel March (Editor)

The Alpine Path is an autobiography of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Originally published as a series of autobiographical essays in the Toronto magazine Everywoman's World from June to November in 1917, it was later separately published in 1975.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography, Canada, Biography Memoir, Writing

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1917

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

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I would have loved a deep dive into all aspects of L.M. Montgomery, her life, her writing, her struggles and triumphs, I knew that this book was too brief to contain all of that. This was originally published as series of magazine articles on 1917. It contained many insights that I adored, and I had too much fun reading it to rate it less than five stars, but it did make clear to me that biographies of L.M. Montgomery, as well as perhaps her collected journals, are the way to go if I want to experience that deep dive I mentioned above.

I loved the author's recollection of her childhood, her beautifully captured sense of herself as a young girl, and how that influenced her writing as an adult. There are heart-leaping moments that make for memorable reading -- the early days of writing "Anne", when it is accepted for publication, when she finally holds in her hands an actual copy of her book.

The only section I found not so interesting was her honeymoon. With the death of her grandmother mentioned almost in passing, followed by her marriage, we head straight off on her honeymoon, knowing nothing of the man she has married, their courtship, what she thinks of him, no mentions of conversation or an sense of excitement at being newly married. Perhaps she considered this too private to discuss in-depth, but at times I felt like she was travelling alone. When her husband was mentioned, I would start a little, having forgotten he was of course there! It felt oddly detached, especially after the vividness her youth. These parts were saved though by the time she spends detailing her imagination and her love of her home.

By the end of this, I had some sense of L.M. Montgomery, though as I have said, there is more I want to know -- so much more. However, I will finish reading the Anne books, and most or all of her other novels before I dig deeper for information about the woman herself.

This was another buddy-read with Carolyn, and the discussion of the book so far has been just as interesting as the book itself, and a nice supplement to our reading of the Anne series.

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

So yes, The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career is, I believe, the only L.M. Montgomery piece of writing which I had not yet read and reviewed (except for her journals). And really, should The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career not more appropriately be titled that it is the story of L.M. Montgomery's life until 1917 (when she published this as a series of autobiographical essays in a Toronto, Ontario magazine), as while describing her development as a (published) writer is of course a very large and important part of Montgomery's presented text, the development and flourishing of her career as an author is also and nevertheless not the only aspect of L.M. Montgomery's existence in Prince Edward Island and her first years of married life in Ontario being touched upon in The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career.

Generally though and happily, The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career is and shows potential readers a sweetly expressive autobiographical portrait (and often delightfully poetic when L.M. Montgomery describes her intense love and appreciation of nature, of trees and especially of the ocean, of how Prince Edward Island is basically a lovely and glowing jewel resting in the Gulf of St. Lawrence), and with my favourite parts most definitely being those snippets where L.M. Montgomery lists and describes episodes and scenarios from her childhood that she then ended up incorporating into in particular the Anne of Green Gables and The Story Girl novels (but of course, because The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career was published in 1917 one will naturally not find any references to novels later than this date, such as for example to the Emily of New Moon series).

Warmly recommended as a short and basic autobiographical and personal introduction to L.M. Montgomery's life and career as a writer, but indeed a presented narrative that is also (at least in my humble opinion) rather lacking in both introspection and L.M. Montgomery daring to be critical of her family. For since having read many biographies on L.M. Montgomery over the years and how both her childhood and her married life were often intensely unhappy and emotionally starved, I guess I had kind of expected, or rather I had kind of wanted her to wield her pen a bit more critically with regard to in particular her maternal grandparents and her father (even though if truth be told, I am also not really all that surprised that this has not been the case in The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, that L.M. Montgomery's descriptions of her grandparents and of her father are for the most part generally uncritical and positive, but yes indeed, often much too much so for my reading tastes, as, well, having read biographies on Lucy Maud Montgomery, I also do now know that she was abandoned by her father and that her maternal grandparents raised her in a physically adequate but emotionally and spiritually quite majorly lacking and inadequate manner).

[Kavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept hearing about Anne of Green Gables for years without showing the least interest in reading it. A chance viewing of Anne with an E on Netflix delighted me enough for me to pick up the book, and I was instantly hooked. I don’t necessarily think that all the Anne books were great but I really enjoyed the old-world charm of the books and the easy-going life of the characters. I tried to read the Emily of New Moon series but the first book left me cold. All this to say that I don’t think of L.M. Montgomery as a great writer but I was sufficiently intrigued to pick up The Alpine Path, in which she describes her rise to stardom.

The first half of the book describes her childhood, which is interesting. I caught snippets of Anne’s and Emily’s lives and that was delightful in a way. As if I knew Montgomery herself through her characters. Some of the anecdotes were funny while others were heart-warming. The tone changes in the second half as Montgomery marries and goes on a honeymoon. This portion is a description of her time in Scotland and England and makes a delightful, if short, travelogue.

This was a great read and the author comes across as humble and humorous. I began to like Montgomery as a person as I read this memoir, which is rather rare for me! I might now try to read some other stories, which are not as depressing as Emily. If you love Anne Shirley Cuthbert, this is a not-to-be-missed memoir.

[Eva-Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely, fascinating, charming book! I loved reading about LMM's life (except for all the journal entries from when she was traveling in Scotland). Greatly enjoyed this one and now I want to check out LMM's journals.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this sweet little biography this morning and absolutely adored it! Each paragraph was such a treat. I truly find a "kindred spirit" in L. M. Montgomery--I sensed through her stories and characters that our souls were made of similar stuff--and so it was a great pleasure and delight to read through these tidbits of her own life (though it's easy to see how much of it was already reflected in her fictional literary creations.) It was charming to read about her girlhood and all her dreams and fancies; so interesting and inspiring to learn of her toils and trial and triumphs on the "Alpine Path" to literary success. A few fun little insights illustrate the "real life" spots from whence she gleaned the inspiration for places in her stories, like Lovers' Lane and The Lake of Shining Waters--though she says that only one of her characters was drawn specifically and unadulterated from real-life. Interesting, too, the little confessions with her thoughts on her own books, such as "The Story Girl" being her very favorite (at the time the biography was written--gosh, I really ought to read that novel again, then!) and the fact that she later regretted the fate of Matthew in "Anne of Green Gables." I also found it intriguing and fun to read excerpts from her journal from her honeymoon to the UK (she, like me, always dreamed of seeing that land!) and to hear of her opinions on some of the places I visited, like Abbottsford and Roslin Chapel--and that one journal entry was penned at their hotel on Prince's Street in Edinburgh--so near to the one where Annie and I stayed in June!!!

Most heartily recommended to anyone who loves L. M. Montgomery's books!


[It arrived! Hooray! The first "fun" package I received in my new mailbox. My edition doesn't have the pretty photo on the cover, but it's cool in that it was actually published in Canada. Also, tucked inside was a brochure from the L.M. Montgomery birthplace! So, I got a surprise bonus with my purchase--the house is very cute, white with green trim ("green gables???") and some inset photos show her wedding dress and the room where she was born.:]

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 actually. Set in the late nineteenth century. Concerning Anne Shirley an 11-year old orphan sent by mistake to Murilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Two middle-aged siblings. The story recounts Ann's life as it unfolds with the Cuthberts.
The story highlights the very unfortunate life of orphans at that time. The orphanage was called an "Asylum". The children were really unpaid child labour. At age 8 Anne had been put out to look after one ladies THREE sets of twins!
Unputdownable

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I anticipated loving “The Alpine Path: The Story Of My Career”, as much as my friend, Kerri, who bought a secondhand copy to read with me. Four stars reward Lucy Maud Montgomery’s eloquence and relatable tone. I wanted the story of herself and her books, without breadth on details common to many; having just finished the novels preceding this 1917 autobiography. Brevity could have fulfilled the areas of keenest interest. Where she chose elaboration and sparseness were odd. A newspaperwoman and story lover surely knew to steer to the salient interview questions.

Maud’s expressiveness is divine, except where I muttered: “Fine but please expound upon the subjects we are eager to read”! I am relieved she was well rooted in family, having heard her described as “abandoned”. Did her Dad too, live with his parents in Cavendish? Suddenly, she visited him in Saskatchewan. How do you not name or highlight the story of a husband? Baldly, her Grandmother ascended and then Maud married? The honeymoon was a whiny travelogue, about preferring attractions void of people. It exuded no feeling of a couple!

I cherish her encouragement and humble elation upon success. We should keep our work but I enjoyed her start from scratch. I love knowing a notebook held the seed for Anne. She shared nothing else: not the story of fame washing over her book, nor how the sequels came about. The third had just been published in 1915. Did she plan the scenes of her sequels?

I am touched that she retained her Mom’s love, who ascended when Maud was a toddler. I wish she had emphasized what was poignant and unique to her, like her series and treated us to a sequential story filled-in gratifyingly. Some personal details were clearly supplied afterwards, only to bridge other events.

[Laurence R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting and it was a wonderful experience. I read it on the grass on the top of a cliff in Prince Edward Island, with the warmth of the sun and the sounds of the waves, the wind and the seagulls. Reading about Prince Edward Island while being there felt incredibly special and all I had to do to see the beauty that LMM was talking about was to look up. To me, this afternoon felt like a religious experience, even though it had nothing to do with religion. I will always remember the time I spent reading this book.

[Lekeshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and beautiful. I already love LMM as an author but now my heart has opened to her more. Her simple and humble conveyance of her history/life brought forth so much fresh air and beauty, I have a new appreciation for her. She has a true gift and talent. Love how her inspiration came from nature!

[Rikke · Rating 4 out of 5]

So apparently a magazine editor asked Montgomery for a short article about her career and its resulting success. And apparently Montgomery responded by sending what amounted to a small book.

The Alpine Path is Montgomery's autobiography. Published in small installments during 1917 it is only partly finished in the modern reader's eyes and do not take Montgomery's later works into account; instead Montgomery focuses mainly on her beloved Anne series and the nostalgic memories of her childhood that inspired it.

Montgomery's success was not the work of an instant – and in these pages she tells the story of her early writing triumphs, her countless rejections and the small wonders of her world and her home that made her able to climb the steep Alpine path of her dreams. Best of all, Montgomery does not offer apologies or hides behind false modesty; she is proud of her work and her words. Rightly so.

As you read, it is easy to be led astray by her picturesque descriptions of her childhood home; of the beloved trees and constant view of the glistening sea surrounding Prince Edward Island. And while Montgomery's childhood surroundings certainly was the inspiration for many of her novels, it was by no means as idyllic as this text suggests. Montgomery was perhaps editing herself, creating her own myth.

Reading Montgomery's autobiography was an odd and beautiful experience in so many ways. I found small pieces of Montgomery's heroines hiding in every line – and some lines even seemed oddly familiar, an echo of something I'd read before. While Montgomery wrote The Alpine Path years before Emily of New Moon she re-used direct passages, making Emily speak words from Montgomery's own lived experiences. I've never encountered this in such a clear format before; in Montgomery's world fiction and reality always blends together so beautifully.

There's no doubt in my mind that the way up Montgomery's alpine path was a hard climb; much harder than Montgomery even allows her reader to suspect.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este librito de escasas 100 páginas recoge los artículos que le encargaron a L.M. Montgomery desde la revista Everywoman's world para que explicara a sus lectoras cómo consiguió convertirse en una escritora de éxito. La mujer, que había picado mucha piedra antes de conseguir publicar el título más famoso de su carrera, 'Ana la de Tejas Verdes', aprovechará estas páginas para hablarnos de su infancia, del entorno en el que se crió y de anécdotas personales que le marcaron y le ayudaron a ser la escritora que fue.

Los fans de Anne Shirley encontrarán aquí los orígenes de muchos de los escenarios y anécdotas de sus libros, aunque he encontrado bastantes más paralelismos entre esos recuerdos de la autora y los libros de 'Emily la de Luna Nueva'. Su enorme respeto por los niños y niñas, producto de haberse sentido ella misma humillada de pequeña simplemente por la edad, sin tener en cuenta su sensibilidad o su madurez, es algo que me ha resultado muy interesante.

Además de estos capítulos más autobiográficos, nos deleita también con la ilusión de sus primeras publicaciones en prensa, su trabajo en un periódico (me encantó esta parte), su odisea para encontrar una editorial que adoptase a Anne y, para terminar, y de forma un poco descolgada tanto en tono como en contenido, el viaje que hizo de recién casada al Reino Unido.

[Beccie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't have as much information as I would have liked, but it was still fun to read it. Through a lot of the book she would mention things from real life that she had put in Anne of Green Gables and The Story Girl , but I would recognize stories from her own life that were in the Emily of New Moon books. Even the name of the book is a big part of the Emily books, so I wondered why she never said anything about Emily. Then I realized she hadn't written the Emily books at the time this was written. I'm very glad she kept on writing after this so I could have my beloved Emily.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book. It's kind of a memoir of Montgomery's writing journey up to 1917, when she wrote it. Originally, these memories were published in several installments in Everywoman's World, and later collected into one slim volume.

This was a fairly enlightening read, if only because it shows you how Montgomery wanted her life and her work to be viewed. I have read enough about her actual history to know that her childhood was not a particularly happy one, and I got the impression that she cherry-picked some good and funny memories for this so she didn't need to delve into a more morose reality. I was actually surprised with how much of the book revolved around her childhood, but she's trying to trace how her life informed her writing, so it does make sense.

Obviously, since she wrote this in 1917, it doesn't include her memories of writing all her books, since she was in the midst of her career. Still, this was an enjoyable read, filled with lovely passages in her distinctive style. There's a section that's all about her memories of a trip to Scotland with her husband which made me laugh several times, though I'm not sure what it had to do with her writing, actually.

[Hannah Mozingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely little book that gives insight into the history of LMM - my favourite author. I loved learning about her early life and how she began writing. There were some absolute gems in there about writing and how it takes time and effort. (if I remember I might find some to share on here) All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The only thing I wish is that it would've been longer. But seeing as LMM wrote it, it's not exactly possible to request that nearly 100 years after the fact... xD

[Francie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It was very interesting to see how the stories in Montgomery's books related to real-life incidents and I liked her childhood memories. However, I found some of the included diary entries too lenghty and out of place, especially those of her honeymoon.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography of LMM!

[meri · Rating 4 out of 5]

tää suomalainen versio jossa on sisko ylimartimon teos mukana montgomeryn alpine pathin lisäksi on upea tutkimusmatka yhteen merkittävimmistä kirjailijoista. alppipolku itsessään on hurmaava ja ylimartimon tutkielma montgomeryn tyttöjen elämien eri aspekteista tekee tästä aarreaitan montgomeryn ystäville. kirjailijan elämän traagisemmat osiot kiinnostaa mua aikuisena enemmän ja enemmän, ja erityisesti niiden kontrasti kirjojen tematiikkaan. montgomery on eskapismia parhaimmillaan, niin lukijalleen kuin kirjoittajalleen.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Montgomery begins the book by staying that she was asked to write it for her fans, generally meaning Anne's fans. It serves its purpose: Montgomery shares what details of her life she feels are relative to her career, providing several anecdotes and sources for her inspiration. She paints a pleasant picture for her audience, rarely mentioning any emotion other than happiness or wonder.

It is measured and careful but straight from the author's pen. It was written to be shared and to maintain her image. It is a very pleasant read with some lovely insights, but it isn't as invasively informative as her journals, or the biographies they later spawned.

[Ren (A Bookish Balance) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5

Probably the weakest of the L.M. Montgomery books I've picked up due to pacing and structure issues. Montgomery as expected for the most part glosses over the difficult parts of her life. The last few chapters are bogged down by her journal entries and honeymoon experiences, which I unfortunately was not interested in. I do really appreciate seeing where certain scenes from The Story Girl and Anne of Green Gables originated, and I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more had I read it before reading House of Dreams.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 2025.
It meant so very much to me to be able to visualize many of the the Island descriptions. Such a memorable venture.
The real life experiences explained that inspire so much of her writings will never cease to thrill me ….

“Much of the beauty of the Island is due to the vivid color contrasts-the rich red of the winding roads, the brilliant emerald of the uplands and meadows, the glowing sapphire of the encircling sea. It is the sea which makes Prince Edward Island in more senses than the geographical. You cannot get away from the sea down there. Save for a few places in the interior, it is ever visible somewhere, if only in a tiny blue gap between distant hills, or a turquoise gleam through the dark boughs of spruce fringing an estuary.”
L.M.

[Beth Gea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho la parte en la que explica su infancia y juventud hasta la publicación de Anne of Green Gables.

Sin embargo, la parte final en la que solamente copia fragmentos de su diario durante su luna de miel a UK rompe mucho el estilo del texto escrito hasta el momento. Y el final me ha parecido muy abrupto.

[Gina Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely short…has some sweet turns of phrase (it IS Montgomery writing after all!) but it definitely isn’t “The story of her career”. She talks a lot about her early childhood, probably over half the book, as far as her actual career she just talks about sending things off and them being rejected over and over and she just kept trying and writing because she had to. It was interesting but not great.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - As autobiographies go, this is pretty bad. She tells a few stories from her childhood and then throws in some of her journal entries from when she worked on a newspaper and when she went on her honeymoon. It leaves out just about everything important. But it’s short and has some fun tidbits about what was based on truth in some of her stories. And it’s written in the same voice she uses to write everything else. Plus reading it on PEI was fun, seeing some of the places she mentions.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This disappointed me. I feel like she could’ve delved much deeper into her life.

[Sara Staffolani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ricordate la meravigliosa “Anna dai capelli rossi”?
Nel 1917 l’editore chiese a Lucy Maud Montgomery, la sua brillante autrice, di scrivere una biografia della sua carriera. Nacque così Il sentiero alpino. La storia della mia carriera, curato e tradotto per la prima volta in italiano dal bravissimo Riccardo Mainetti e pubblicato dalla casa editrice flower-ed.
Lucy ci fa entrare nella sua vita, rendendoci partecipi delle sue origini scozzesi e inglesi, delle storie dei suoi antenati, della prematura scomparsa della madre, della sua infanzia felice e spensierata trascorsa con i suoi nonni materni a Cavendish presso l’Isola del Principe Edoardo. Apprendiamo con vivo piacere che c’è moltissimo di Anna in lei e che numerosi dettagli, fantasie, luoghi e personaggi del famoso libro “Anna dai capelli rossi” sono stati ispirati proprio dall’infanzia dell’autrice. Il bellissimo e incantevole paesaggio dell’Isola del Principe Edoardo ha profondamente influito nella sua vita e nello sviluppo del suo talento letterario, tanto che Lucy stessa ammetterà che senza la sua tranquilla infanzia a Cavendish “Anna dai capelli rossi” non sarebbe mai esistita.
Alcune frasi mi hanno particolarmente colpito. Sembra quasi che l’autrice mi abbia letto nel pensiero: “Sarò sempre grata del fatto che la mia scuola fosse vicina a un boschetto – un luogo con sentieri sinuosi e il suo tesoro di felci, muschi e fiori del legno. Ciò ebbe un’influenza più forte ed educativa nella mia vita rispetto alle lezioni apprese al banco di scuola”.
“Sono estremamente grata che la mia infanzia sia trascorsa in un luogo dove vi erano molti alberi, alberi dotati di personalità, alberi che erano stati piantati e curati da mani da lungo tempo scomparse, legati a tutta la gioia e il dolore che hanno vissuto le nostre vite. Quando ho “vissuto” con un albero per molti anni tendo a considerarlo come un beneamato compagno in carne ed ossa”.
Procedendo con la lettura, scopriamo del suo difficile apprendistato da scrittrice definito per l’appunto “un sentiero alpino”, dell’emozione della prima pubblicazione di una sua poesia su un giornale, della nascita di “Anna dai capelli rossi”, dei rifiuti degli editori, della sua perseveranza e coraggio per poi arrivare infine alla pubblicazione del romanzo, con il conseguente agognato successo.
Quest’opera è essenziale per comprendere appieno non solo la vita, ma anche e soprattutto i sentimenti dell’autrice. I numerosi ammiratori italiani di “Anna dai capelli rossi”, che proprio in questo mese di giugno festeggia il 110 anniversario della pubblicazione del libro, potranno finalmente scoprire com’è nata quest’opera che ha dolcemente accompagnato la nostra infanzia e non solo.
Questa biografia è stata scritta con lo scopo di “infondere coraggio in quanti stanno faticando lungo l’estenuante sentiero che anch’io ho percorso per raggiungere il successo”.
Io sono particolarmente affezionata ai personaggi di Anna e di Matthew. Ogni tanto torno anch’io ai Tetti Verdi, quando ne ho più bisogno. La porta di Anna è sempre aperta, per tutti noi.
Non possiamo fare a meno di ringraziare Riccardo Mainetti e Michela Alessandroni per questo splendido regalo letterario che ci hanno fatto.

[Carolien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise description of her life and writing by the author of Anne of Green Gables. Her focus is mainly on how certain events in her life affected her writing and it is written quite early in her career. What comes across strongly is the investment that she made in writing over a long period of time before the success of Anne (and even that classic was initially rejected by publishers). She wrote as a child, then gained experience in journalism before finally writing her first book. Insightful.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I read somewhere that someone loved it so I put it on hold. I don't think I am the intended audience. Maybe I am. I didn't even know L.M. Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables. I may or may not have read an Anne book or two when I was young. I don't remember. I have a vague memory of watching one of the movies. I remember I liked it.

This book is probably enjoyed a lot more by fans of her books. She refers to different places and people in her real life that had influence on her writings. I think I'll read the books.

It makes sense that part of her motivation for writing this was to encourage other writers. So I guess I am part of the intended audience; I've attempted to write from time to time. Montgomery didn't give up despite numerous rejections. She worked very hard and continually submitted her work. Also, it's interesting what she used from her real life. She generally changed names of places and people, but not always.

I like the autobiographical aspects of this book. Clearly she was a sensitive and extremely imaginative child. She acknowledges that helped shape her career.

Her descriptions of Prince Edward Island is what will stick with me. I'd love to see the red sand, green vegetation, and the trees surrounded by the turquoise sea. I looked up images of the island and now I want to visit! I've long wanted to go to Nova Scotia. My husband put the destination on our wish list.

I like how she shares her visit to Britain and how, compared to the descriptions of certain places she'd read about in books, the actual places weren't as grand. She preferred her imagined version. Ha! I relate. It shows that we as readers really are co-creators of what we read.

I live near the mountains, so I appreciate this quote written about part of her journey to Scotland:

"If I were to live near mountains for any length of time I should learn to love them almost as much as I love the sea."

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography includes memories from Montgomery's childhood and also brief explanations about her writing rituals.
There are many descriptions of P.E.I and they are all delightful and beautiful, as you would expect from her. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the excerpts from her journals, as they were not related to her writing.
The most surprising fact was discovering that her favorite book was The story girl. I wish she had given us information about Emily of New Moon, but The Alpine Path was written before Emily existed.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love her books, so I thought I would loving reading her autobiography. The descriptions of her girlhood were sweet and read very much like her novels. The book, however, lacked introspection. I don't feel as if I know her any better after reading this book than I already knew her. Perhaps I need a biography . . . ?

[Liz B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to all of the Anne books in 2010 (minus Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside, which are not available as recorded books), which made me more interested in Montgomery's life & career. This was a very quick and fascinating read.