The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery: Vol. 1

The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery #1

by L.M. Montgomery, Mary Henley Rubio (Editor), Elizabeth Hillman Waterston (Editor)

A bestseller in Canada, this book will fascinate the legions of devoted readers of Anne of Green Gables and Montgomery's other Anne books.
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) kept extensive journals for most of her life, beginning them in 1889 when she was fourteen and continuing them until shortly before her death. Spontaneous and frank, they are unusual for their narrative Montgomery's gifts as a storyteller are as much
in evidence here as in her novels. This first volume takes her to 1910, the year before her marriage, and culminates with the publication of Anne of Green Gables .
The autobiographical content will intrigue every dedicated fan of the Anne books. But the Mongomery journals are especially interesting because they provide a unique social history and the privelege of viewing closely the life of a remarkable woman.
About the
Mary Rubio is Literary Adviser to the Estate of L.M. Montgomery and is preparing the authorized biography. Elizabeth Waterston is Professor of English at the University of Guelph. Together they edit Canadian Children's A Journal of Criticism and Review

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Canada, Classics, History, Biography Memoir

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

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

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 5 out of 5]

یکی از باارزش ترین کتاب‌هایی که تو عمرم خوندم.
خیلی خیلی باهاش ارتباط برقرار کردم و به شدت شباهت‌هایی که با احساسات کسی که صد سال پیش زندگی میکرد،تحت تاثیر قرار گرفتم.
خیلی بیشتر از قبل با مونتگمری احساس همزادپنداری میکنم.چقدر خوبه که دفترخاطراتشون هست.

[Reyhaneh.r · Rating 4 out of 5]

『هو النور』
دیشب قرار بر این بود که ریویویی طولانی بنویسم اما حالا فقط می‌توانم بگویم که مونتگمری عزیزم، کاش فقط می‌شد یک بار بغلت کنم. کاش می‌شد یک بغل کتاب بهت هدیه بدهم و همان‌طور که داستان‌هایت مرهمی برای من بودند، من نیز یک بار برای تو مرهمی هر چند کوچک باشم.
_سه‌شنبه ۳۰ خرداد ۱۴۰۱

[رها · Rating 5 out of 5]

اشک‌هام اجازه نمیدن زیاد بنویسم.
چقدر تنها و غمگین و دلشکسته بودی لوسی عزیزم. حالا برام باورکردنی نیست در چه شرایط تاریک و پراضطرابی آنی رو خلق کردی. چقدر دوستت دارم و دلم می‌خواست می‌تونستم در زمان سفر کنم تا دوست‌های مکاتبه‌ای باشیم.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Vol. 1: 1889-1910 are engagingly eye-opening, but to truly enjoy L. M. Montgomery's journals, one must also be both willing and indeed able to appreciate journalistic writing and accept that it does often tend to contain a plethora of mundane everyday details (not really an issue for me, as I both enjoy journals and that basically with any and all information concerning L.M. Montgomery, I do tend to crave and ingest this like chocolate marshmallow candy, but I do feel I should at least leave somewhat of a caveat).

But that being said, these are but "selective" journals, and unfortunately, a rather goodly amount of especially the more negative and troubling musings by Lucy Maud Montgomery (mostly from when Maud was a teenager and young adult), passages that would have demonstrated that even then (between 1889 to 1910) she often had the tendency towards both bouts of euphoria and depression, have been rather heavily redacted. Personally I believe that this was done primarily at the behest of the publisher, but it still somewhat majorly chafed and rankled when it became clear (when it became public knowledge) a few years ago that L. M. Montgomery's journal entries had obviously been knowingly and deliberately edited to present and show her as basically a for the most part rather content and typical teenager and young adult (which is definitely not the entire truth by any and all stretch of the imagination). And yes, I was, of course, always well aware that this was and is but a "selective" offering (as the title itself clearly states this as a fact), but I certainly did not at first realise just how deliberately, massively and in my opinion misleadingly selective it tended to be. But thankfully, The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1889-1900 was published in 2012 and it does claim to present ALL of Maud's thoughts and musings, with no editorial interference and omissions (but as I have not as yet started to peruse this, I can only state that I am looking forward to it, and to finally being able to read ALL of Lucy Maud Montgomery's journal entries, at least until 1900, one of my proposed reading projects for the autumn of 2019).

[Pardis · Rating 5 out of 5]

باورم نمیشه تموم شد :))) و حالا باید به انتظار بشینم برای نوشته بعدی که ترجمه بشه.
من با نوشته‌ها و کلمات مونتگمری روی کاغذ به معنی واقعی کلمه زندگی کردم 🙂🤍🤝🏿

[Najma · Rating 5 out of 5]

ماد عزیزم، چقدر بهت احساس نزدیکی میکنم.چقدر دردهات رو میفهمم و چقدر قلمت رو دوست دارم. کاش در زمانه ی ما زندگی میکردی تا تنهایی ات رو پرکنم و خروار خروار کتاب برات بیارم تا هی مجبور نباشی کتابهای قدیمی ات رو بازخوانی کنی .

[زهرا نجاری · Rating 5 out of 5]

۱۴۰۲-۰۷-۰۹
حسی کاملا متفاوت از کتابهاش داره. مخصوصا یک سوم آخرش که به معنی واقعی کلمه «تاریک» بودند و متاسفانه جلد بعدی شون چاپ نشده که تحول حال روحی نویسنده رو بخونیم. البته اگر تحولی وجود داشته باشه!
با اینحال بینهایت دوستش داشتم. همه ی سایه های خاکستری و سیاه و دلگیر وجودش را دوست داشتم. احتمالا بارها و بارها قراره بازخوانی بشه.
۱۴۰۴-۰۷-۱۹
انگار خوندن یادداشت های ماد مونتگمری برای من با پاییز عجین شده. دوست دارم پاییز رو با نوشته های ماد آغاز کنم. دو سال گذشته و من همچنان منتظرم که کتاب بعدی هم ترجمه بشه. یعنی میشه؟؟

[Shiva Mr · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتابی دوست داشتنی با ترجمه ایی خوب 🌺به طرفداران کتاب های لوسی ماد مونتگونری پیشنهاد میشه.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note - I wrote this in 2006 - before I (and the world) learned that Maud had committed suicide. How sad - and yet, not surprising, based on my experience reading her journal.

These are, as the title indicates, the first printed and edited volume of L.M. Montgomery's journals. I had wanted to read them for sometime, but the book is out of print, not available at my local library, and even hard to find used on-line. Found it, finally, at Powell's (where else?). It was a hard read, at times, but a satisfying one. It was exciting to see what parts of Anne, Emily, Valancy, and even dim old Pat came from Maud (as she called herself - never Lucy), and to read passages from her journal that made it to her books, such as Anne's description of her perfect wedding, which Maud thought of for herself first.* From a historical point of view, it was interesting to learn about the life of a young girl and woman growing up in the turn-of-century Eastern Canada. One thing that surprised me, for example, is how much interaction the opposite sex had with each other, alone and unsupervised. Not that anything untoward was going on (well, except for the whole Hermann Leard thing), but one imagines the post-Victorians being so repressed, and that was not necessarily the case. So, that was interesting.

But it was so, so sad to track her life from her excited and joyous teenage years to her sad depressed adulthood. I am not saying her life was always miserable - she obviously had great professional success, and I am willing to believe that she turned to her journal as an outlet for things she couldn't say to anyone else, especially since she didn't write that often later on. That is to say, that it reflected the absolute worse parts of her life. Nevertheless, it is clear that she became stuck taking care of her cold heartless grandmother, and that life, to some extent slipped her by. A girl who turned down many marriage proposals, and clearly enjoyed flirting and men, ended up in a marriage of convenience to save herself from being lonely. A woman who craved companionship and beauty lived basically alone in her cold house with her cold grandmother for years. She felt things deeply, suffered from depression and, what's worse, knew that she was living the wrong life for her. It's a tragedy, pure and simple. To think that we who have so loved her books benefited from her misery (in that, she had nothing else to turn to but the printed page) makes almost makes me guilty. On the other hand, at least she had that - and if she suffered, she has brought many of us joy.

Oh-la-la - wasn't that a Montgomerian cadence there too? Flowery and sad, and all. Anyway, it seems that her young life was like Anne (an orphan who overcame her unhappiness through her love of beauty), and her later life like Emily or Valancy, but without the happy escape from misery. Poor thing! I'd like to read her other journals, for sure, but I think I'll wait until I come up on them in a used bookstore or what have you - I am disinclined to actively seek out such sadness.

On a petty note, it took me forever to finish this book, because the hardcover copy I had was so annoying to read. It wouldn't lay flat, and it was heavy and I was always having to hold my wrists at odd angles to keep it open. I didn't want to crack the spine, since it was so hard to find the book, so I could only read a bit before I got so annoyed that I put it down and grabbed something else!

*That would be to slip into the forest at the early dawn, meet the one you love and be married, with no prying eyes or meaningless ceremony.

[WrittenbySahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9/5
اون یک دهم امتیازی که کسر کردم بخاطر این نبود که ضعفی توی نگارشش باشه. مادِ عزیزم، همیشه و هرزمانی من رو با شیوایی، زیبایی و اعجاب انگیز بودن قلمش غافلگیر کرده. دلیل اصلی اون کسر امتیاز کوچیک این بود که با خاطرات سنین نوجوونی ماد ارتباط نمی‌گرفتم(کاملا عذاب وجدان دارم. آخه دختر، مگه ماد خاطراتش رو به قصد چاپ شدن می‌نوشت؟ مگه زندگی یه نفر باید به میل تو باشه؟). در جواب به سوال توی پرانتز باید بگم احتمالا قلبم، احساسات ماد بالغ و بزرگسال رو بیشتر درک می‌کرده که نسبت به اوایل کتاب چنین حسی داشتم. خوندن کتاب های سرگذشت، همیشه کار راحتی نیست. ممکنه اذیتتون کنه و نذاره سریع پیش برین. اما خاطره خوانی، کاملا متفاوته. اگه به طور جدی بخوام از نویسنده و مجموعه‌ای اسم ببرم که من رو وارد دنیای کتاب خوندن کرده، من تمام این لطف رو مدیون مونتگمری و هشت جلدی آن شرلی هستم. ماد، ذاتا قصه گو بود به نظرم؛ قصه گویی که حتا خوندن خاطرات روزانه‌اش مثل خوندن یه رمان هیجان داشت(همه ما، رمان خودمون رو داریم^^). گاهی اوقات احساس میکردم ماد خود منم، صحرایی که صد و بیست یا سی سال پیش زندگی می‌کرد. نمی‌تونم علاقه و عمق عشقی که به مونتگمری دارم رو توی کلمه ها بریزم. فقط همینقدر بگم که قدم زدن بین صفحات کتاب، چنان بینشی بهم داد که هر کدوم از اون یادداشتها به صورت عینی بین کتابهایی که نوشته بود برام واضح و روشن می‌شد. انگار که توی یه جاده با کلی تیر چراغ برق خاموش باشم، هر قدمی که میرم جلو و یه قسمت از زندگی ماد رو از بین صفحات داستانهاش بیرون می‌کشم، اون چراغ به حالت روشن در میاد.
نمیدونم چی باید بنویسم. اما میدونم که اگه غرق دنیای ماد و داستانهای قشنگش باشین، خوندن این دفترچه خاطرات میتونه مثل گشت و گذار توی بهشت باشه براتون.
متاسفانه کتاب نسخه کامل خاطرات نیست و گزیده‌ای از نسخه اصلیه. اما با این حال بازهم خوندنش خالی از لطف نیست.
{دلم می‌خواد روی پیشونیم بنویسم: لوسی ماد مونتگمری، رول مدل عزیز صحراست و هرجا که میرم به همه نشونش بدم.}

[Fatemeh Bahrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

باز هم کتابی که دوست دارم بهش بیش‌تر از پنج ستاره بدم.

افسوس برانگیزه که خالق آنه شرلیِ شاد و پر شَروشور، چنین زندگی سراسر تنهایی‌ و غمی رو گذرونده باشه. در جایی از کتاب، خود بانو مونتگمری هم اظهار تعجب کرده که اثری از تلخی روحیاتش، نتونسته داخل کتابش راه پیدا کنه.

موقع خوندن کتاب، حسرت خوردم که فرهنگ کشورم حتی در مقایسه با فرهنگ اون موقعِ کانادا هم عقبه. حسرت خوردم که شانس دیدن کوچه‌ی عُشاق و طبیعت بکر جزیره‌ی پرنس ادوارد رو ندارم. حسرت خوردم که انقدر با احساسات تلخ نویسنده همذات‌پنداری می‌کنم و حسرت خوردم که چنین روح پر استعدادی، این‌طور غم‌انگیز سرکوب شده.

این روزها داره اتفاقات عجیبی توی زندگی‌م می‌افته که بیش‌تر از قبل گیجم می‌کنن. خوندن این کتاب هم یکی دیگه از اون اتفاقات عجیبه و این‌که نمی‌تونم دلیلش رو برای هیچ‌کس توضیح بدم (نه این‌که نخوام، بلکه کسی نیست که درک کنه) همه‌چیز رو سخت‌تر می‌کنه.

امیدوارم روحت در آرامش باشه بانو مونتگمریِ زیبای عزیزم. اون شخصیت لطیف حتی بیش‌تر از ظرفیتش توی این دنیای بی‌رحم زجر کشیده.

[_PARNIAN_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

و بالاخره تمام.
خیلی برای خریدن این کتاب ذوق داشتم. این جلد اول از پنج جلد دفترخاطره‌ی مونتگمری هست که فقط همین توی ایران ترجمه شده. و از نوجوونی تا میانه‌ی سی سالگیش رو در بر می‌گیره. از دوران مدرسه‌ش، عشق های بزرگ و کوچکش، دوران تحصیلش، یک سال زندگی کردن با پدر و نامادریش، کالج رفتنش، فارغ التحصیل شدنش، معلم شدنش، سه سال تدریسش در بیدیفورد، بلمانت و بیدک تا چاپ جلد اول و دوم آنه شرلی و شروع داستان "دختر قصه گو" رو در بر می‌گیره. ماد دختر سرزنده، شاد و بسیار باهوشیه. و من با تموم کردن کتاب حس کردم چقدر حالم شبیه تموم کردن جلد اول آنه شرلیه. هم در کتاب و هم در انیمه‌ی آنه شرلی در گرین گیبلز، شما می‌تونین سیر تغییرات شخصیت آنه رو قشنگ حس کنین. آنه در کودکیش شخصیتی شاد و پرشروشور و خوش ذوق داره، و با بزرگ شدنش این ویژگی ها جای خودشون رو به متانت، آرامش و سردی و صبوری می‌دن. جوری که حتی صدای ماریلا هم درمیاد. ما دلمون برای اون دختر شاد و خوش ذوق تنگ می‌شه ولی کاری نمی‌تونیم بکنیم. چون این کاریه که بزرگسالی با آدم ها می‌کنه.
البته وضعیت روحی ماد به شدت رو به وخامت می‌ره در پایان کتاب. درست زمانی که داره شادترین کتاب هاش رو خلق می‌کنه وضعیت عصبیش به هیچ وجه خوب نیست. که همین باعث شد من دلم برای ماد اول کتاب تنگ بشه.
خیلی از اتفاقات کتاب براتون آشنا میان. قشنگ متوجه میشین تعداد زیادی از اتفاقات دنیای امیلی و آنه، از زندگی خود ماد سرچشمه گرفتن و این لحظه‌ها می‌تونه براتون به شدت لذت بخش باشه. خوندن این کتاب لذت بخشه، مخصوصا برای کسانی که طرفدار مونتگمری هستن اما من تصمیم گرفتم ادامه‌ش(۴ جلد بعدی) رو نخونم. حتی اگر ترجمه بشه یا زبان اصلیش رو پیدا کنم. نمی‌تونم باور کنم آدمی که به زندگی من انقدر نور پاشیده در سال های آخرش افسرده و غمگین می‌شه و نهایتا با خودکشی کار خودشو تموم می‌کنه!(این داخل جلد پنجم اتفاق میفته).
ولی بابت این خوانش خوشحالم. چون من رو به مونتگمری خیلی نزدیک کرد؛ چیزی که همیشه آرزوش رو داشتم.


_امشب سرکش شده‌ام. احساس می‌کنم طبق فلسفه‌ی کلوین، خدا واقعا سنگ‌دل است و مخلوقاتش را نه به سزای گناهان خودشان بلکه برای تفریح خودش شکنجه می‌دهد. دلم می‌خواهد سرش فریاد بزنم "چرا من را طوری خلق کرده ای که این‌قدر رنج بکشم؟ چرا همه‌ی امیدها و عاطفه ها و غریزه‌هایی که در من نهادی به دست خودت خنثی می‌کنی؟ از این به بعد، عشق و احترامی که نثارت می‌کنم در حد جانور در دام افتاده‌ایست که به صیادش عشق می‌ورزد.
در روزهای بعد احتمالا از خواندن این وحشت می‌کنم. ولی باید بماند.

[Mireille Duval · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm happy to have read it - and happy that I stuck with it after the first few boring pages. I'm not sure if I really liked it. I wanted more about writing, and she does talk about working and stories being accepted, but never in detail. The first we hear of Anne is two years after she started writing it! I think it will probably get better in the next volume, though, since she's going to publish novels more regularly. I'm still unsure if I'll pick the next books up, though. Poor Maud Montgomery is very depressed at time, and it makes for a sad read. It's truly marvelous that she managed to write such wonderful books, filled with sunshine and happiness and love, when she was so deprived of all these things herself.

It was very interesting however to see bits and pieces of her future novels in her own thoughts - like Pickwick making its readers hungry, or Maud's thoughts on her ideal wedding (which Anne repeats), Bonnie the geranium, Gyp the dog and of course PEI and its many beautiful spots, like Lovers' Lane.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's going to be hard for me to be calm and collected enough to write a dispassionate review of this one. I am so an L. M. Montgomery fangirl.

I think the thing I liked most was to discover that Montgomery really was like the characters in her books. I knew that several of the situations in her books were taken from her real life, but I had no idea how many and to what extent they were taken from her life. No wonder Anne & Emily both receive so much grief from the locals when they find themselves written up in the girls' stories - Montgomery did it all the time in hers, and did so intentionally.

Montgomery has a cousin Jimmy exactly like Emily's. She grew up loving Cavendish's Lover's Lane even more than Anne loved Avonlea's. She loved to prowl around the shore, much as Anne did during her time in the House of Dreams. Her resentment of the relatives who felt it their duty to discipline her due to lack of parents, was almost word for word that of poor Emily. Several of her exploits at Prince William College and Dalhousie University were reminiscent of Anne's college adventures.

Unfortunately there was no Gilbert Blythe, but Herman Leard was much more scandalous.

Also of note was the beginning of her lifelong battle with depression. I'd read about her battle with depression that became pronounced especially later in her life. It's interesting how most of her heroines grow up in similar situations of depravation as she did, but they are all saved just before the emotional starvation is about to kill them. Marilla's heart slowly warms. Aunt Elizabeth breaks her ankle and suddenly realizes that Emily's stories are quite good at making time pass for a bed-ridden woman. Valancy summons up the courage to leave her stifling family and find a fulfilling life among those who expect nothing but her true self.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that that fortunate break quite happens for Maude. At the end of this volume she is engaged to a sweet man, he is not the overwhelmingly wonderful hero of any of her stories, but merely a nice man who makes life bearable for her. Unfortunately, she cannot marry him until her grandmother passes away. The stubborn, cold, petty woman may make starve her life of human companionship, but leaving her means leaving her beloved Cavendish, something Montgomery simply cannot do.

In short, if you love Anne of Green Gables or any of Montgomery's other books, you'll love reading her journal. It's very similar to her stories, but deceptively long. It was an interesting and engaging read, but it took me several weeks with a few afternoons devoted solely to reading to finally finish it, but the time was well worth it.

[Tina Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't decide if I feel privileged or horrified for reading the most intimate thoughts of Maude's world. Part of me selfishly delights in the changing tide of her life and the delicious details that come forth (oh Herman!) but there is another part of me that wonders if I have violated this sad, sad soul. Perhaps this dichotomy in extremes is beauty itself. As she says herself, "Is it because the higher the tree reaches towards the stars the deeper must its roots strike into the soil of the earth?" Isn't it amazing how our unscripted lives have a drama, a cadence, a 'plot' all of their own?

[Elinor Loredan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now-the five stars is not because this book was so enjoyable I get a thrill every time I see it or think of it. My anticipation was that it would be 'a source of hope and inspiration.'

Not quite. Since LMM's books are so light-filled I assumed that she lived her own life the way her heroines did, feeling loved and fulfilled.

The five stars are for the glimpse the journal gave me into Maud's life, which was really quite dark. No wonder her books and stories are so radiant. She must have found refuge for herself in them.

And she thought Anne of Green Gables wasn't a great book! When I read that I wanted to scream, "You succeeded enormously, Maud!"

Sorry.. I just got very emotionally involved in her journal. *SPOILER* when she wrote that Herman Leard was dead I closed the book in real dismay.

I will definitely read the other four volumes of LMM's journals. It might take a while-they're expensive.

[Miriam Simut]

DNFing around the 25% mark as I have to return this to the library and can't renew it. I'll be honest, some of the entries were funny and interesting but there was quite a bit of the mundane and I'm not overly eager to read this in its entirety.

[Bahareh · Rating 5 out of 5]

خوندن این کتاب خیلی بهم چسبید. البته بسیار هم غم‌انگیز بود خصوصا نیمه‌ی دوم کتاب.
با این حال، نیمه‌ی دوم کتاب رو بیشتر دوست داشتم. با وجود غمی که داشت ولی قلم مونتگمری پخته‌تر و تجربیاتش عمیق‌تر می‌شد. خیلی لذت بردم.
البته کتاب رو، خصوصا اواخرش رو باید زمانی که حال روحی‌تون خوبه بخونید :)

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of five volumes of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery's journals to be edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston - each published volume contains the contents of two of Montgomery's hand-written diaries - this book begins in 1889, when its creator was fourteen years old, and concludes in 1910, shortly before her marriage to the Rev. Ewan Macdonald. Here the reader can learn about Montgomery's childhood in Cavendish, on Prince Edward Island - the apparent inspiration for 'Avonlea,' in the Anne of Green Gables series - where she was raised by her stern maternal grandparents; her brief and rather unsuccessful experience, as a teenager, living with her father and his second wife in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; and her return east to PEI, where she pursued her education - a year at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, and another at Dalhousie University, in Halifax - and taught school, as family circumstances permitted. The volume wraps up with the difficult years that Montgomery spent as a companion to her widowed grandmother Macneil.

Readers familiar with Montgomery's many works of fiction will find much here of interest, not just because of the insight offered into the life and thinking of the author, but because the style of writing, and many of the true-life incidents reported, can also be seen in her novels and short stories. There were moments in which I was strongly reminded of particular scenes or ideas, first met in Montgomery's fiction. The notion of a veil that hangs between us, and a secret world of beauty, that the author discusses at one point in her journal, was a clear influence on her Emily of New Moon books; while her imaginary childhood companions, living in the bureau glass, can also be found in Anne of Green Gables . More than this, though, the entire feeling of a small enclosed world, in which everyone knows everybody else, is very much present in Montgomery's journals, and is faithfully (and beautifully!) reproduced in her fiction.

First begun as part of a group read in February 2010, for the L.M. Montgomery Book Club that I moderate on another site, this book did not greatly appeal to me at first - and this despite my long-time admiration for the author! In fact, I had abandoned it around one quarter of the way through. Then, a few weeks ago, I happened to pick it up again, started over at the beginning, and found myself immensely engaged! I'm not sure why it didn't appeal to me the first time around - perhaps just not the right time? In any case, I found it involving, both emotionally and intellectually. Montgomery's passionate attachment to Herman Leard - whom she deemed beneath her - was fascinating, and I came away unconvinced that she ever really understood him. She seems to have been such a loquacious person, one wonders whether she misinterpreted his relative silence as a lack of intelligence, and/or a less deeply emotional attachment to her, than she felt for him. Being conscious of her eventual suicide, the passages in which she laments her life, and her emotional state, were very difficult to read indeed, and gave some portions of the journal a truly tragic feeling.

All in all, a fascinating read - and one I would recommend to any L.M. Montgomery fan!

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think we all have a idealized opinion of our favourite authors, and in some ways that makes me wish I didn't read this journal as it didn't quite match my hopeful expectation of her :P Now, I enjoyed reading it in many ways. It was amazing to me to see how she went through such difficult days and around the same time wrote Anne of Green Gables. The main area that saddened me was seeing how she didn't really have a strong grasp of spiritual truths. She was religious and she went to church and attended revivals and socials. But I never saw any true reflection of her belief in God based off of the Bible. While I understand difficult days and often write my own worries and fears in my own journal, it saddened me not to read of her hope she could find in God.

I loved the stories she had to share and her friendship with Willie P. about broke my heart. She definitely learned a lot through her young adult years and gained character and perseverance through her depressive days. I'm quite shocked by the amount of young men that sought her hand in marriage and it's no wonder she felt so confused at times. Those guys didn't give up.

Overall, I found the journal intriguing, sad, and almost too hard to read toward the end. I'd much prefer to read her books :P

[Abigail York · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very enjoyable and funny,though I have not read it cover to cover yet. Maybe in ten years I will! I lost my place and knew I wouldn’t find it again all that quickly so I thought it best to put on my read shelf. This is a good book to open up and read randomly, though!

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book disturbed me. Not for the reasons you might think, though. Maud's life ended horribly. It was disturbing because it was, in many ways, like reliving so much of my own life. Not that our lives are always identical - Maud had the kind of family drama that I'll never have, thank goodness. But the way that she wrote and felt about things was a bit eerily similar to my own life. This is one of those books that helped me learn about myself - it was just strange because instead of being fiction, it was through the life of another person.

This book isn't for everyone, but if you're interested in the life of an incredible writer, this is the volume to try. This particular edition of her journals focuses more on her early years as a writer struggling for success. The later volumes are fraught with depression as she struggled with her husband's health. This volume is more positive, tells a more cohesive story, and is written in a way that is very honest and fun.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all five journal volumes several times but this one remains my favourite. One could get a good impression of what LMM was like, just from reading this one.

LMM is one of my favourite authors, and I find it fascinating to read her journal and see what she was actually like in real life. Unfortunately she had a very hard and depressing life - not at all like the happy characters you meet in her books.

Despite her hardships, LMM had a very interesting life, and apart from letting me get to know her as a person, the journals are also a good way to learn what the life was like for a girl/woman on PEI around the turn of the last century.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book just a few entries at a time or else I think I would have been bawling my eyes. Having known that Lucy Maud Montgomery committed suicide it felt like I could really see her spiralling into a depression after broken hearts, broken engagements and broken friendships. So many people she loved died; I can't believe how tough it must have been.
Her writing style in her novels is really reflected in her journals, and although there are often huge gaps, spanning months between entries, they are all so detailed that it feels like you know every little bit of her life.
I also noticed whilst reading that several paragraphs are actually used in her book, either directly copied or the ideas in them.
Another point of it that I really liked was reading her opinions on her books. Even whilst she was desperately upset she was determined to keep her books happy. She seemed to just be 'hammering out' Kilmeny Of The Orchard and also her reaction to being told to write sequels so quickly was interesting. :)
A great book.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this fascinating but quite... upsetting. I felt SO sorry for poor Maud. She was so exuberant and lively and passionate as a teenager and a young woman but it all just seemed to fall in a hole for her after the whole Ed Simpson/Herman Leard incident. I think she could've led such a happy and fulfilling life if she hadn't been raised in such a stiff, restrictive society. But then if that was the case, maybe she wouldn't have turned to her writing as an escape so much, and produced so many lovely books.

It's a totally absorbing read, though, even if it isn't very happy. She had such an active, enquiring mind and I enjoyed her opinions of various books and thoughts on items of philosophy and theology and social culture. The way she expresses herself is so vivid and interesting and real.

To sum up: I love her, so it's kind of painful to read about her suffering so much from depression, loneliness, unrequited love and crushing responsibility.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading biographies, but this was my first journal read. It was really interesting getting into the author's head. So many of LM's experiences ended up in her numerous books. I was continuously finding items that reminded me of one of her stories. It was especially interesting to read about how she blocked out and prepared the writing of her books. During the time she wrote this diary, she wrote and published Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and also Kilmeny of the Orchard. She was also working on The Story Girl. An exciting surprise was reading about the grounding and final days of the Marco Polo. Can't wait to read the next volume!

[Fateme H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

روزی که این کتاب به دستم رسید رو یادمه. در واقع شب بود، داشتم شام می‌خوردم که پستچی آوردش. سال کنکور بود و من فقط به سر و روش دست کشیدم و کم مونده بود گریه‌م بگیره از زور این‌که نمی‌تونستم همون لحظه بشینم و بخونمش.
حالا بعد از یک سال، بالاخره خوندمش.
این بیست روز با ماد زندگی کردم و حالا بهش حس نزدیکی بیشتری دارم.
چه‌قدر زندگی‌ش پرماجرا بوده، چه‌قدر اتفاق! و چه‌قدر آدم، اکثرشون رو هی فراموش می‌کردم. هی اسم‌های جدیدی می‌دیدم که نمی‌دونستم دقیقا کی‌ان و تو داستان چه کاره‌ان.
من از این وقتی که باهم گذروندیم خیلی لذت بردم خانم مونتگومری.

[Rachel Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume I couldn't put down. The second volume I pushed through. The third I had to force myself to finish, which I did only because I'd put the effort in so far... The first volume is absolutely fascinating, but the depression and repetition of the final one is almost unbearable. An amazing insight into the author, but hard going at the end.

[Lezley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our book club is reading Anne of Green Gables and in preparation for the discussion, I thought I'd glance at The Selected Journals. I was immediately hooked. The memoirs of LMM are absolutely fascinating and certainly provides background for Anne of Green Gables. LMM often seems sad and depressed but it is only through writing that she is able overcome a negative state of mind. I guess with no one to speak with, she leaves her heartfelt sentiments to us, her readers.

[Elizabeth]

Honestly, big fuck you to Uncle Leander (respectfully) (rip)…