Reading L. M. Montgomery

I’m going to Prince Edward Island this Autumn!

My friends and I had the idea to visit Prince Edward Island together five years ago, when we were all fifty. One of them is older than me and one is younger – there are twenty days in September and October when we are all the same age, between their birthdays.

When we were fifty, one friend decided it would be too expensive to go, so we decided to plan for it when we were fifty-five. That year is here! We’re going to make a road trip of it! A cottage on Prince Edward Island is booked for six days at the end of September, and we have hotel rooms around the halfway point on the way there and on the way back.

And what better preparation can I make than to reread my L. M. Montgomery books?

Since I do have other books to read, I’m currently alternating my novel reading between an L. M. Montgomery book and something else. I’ve decided to read them in the order of publication this time, which takes away some decisions and is fun in the context of looking at Maud Montgomery’s life.

I’m writing reviews of her books as I go, and for many of them, I already had reviews posted. So I’m going to link to the reviews in my list as they get posted. At the time of this writing, I’ve reread the first seven books. I hope I can make good progress before my trip!

The most amusing thing about rereading the books this time around? Many of the “old ladies” in her books are now younger than me! My goodness!

I’m also working on finishing The Annotated Anne of Green Gables and plan to then take up The Landscapes of Green Gables. I’m so excited about this trip!

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Books in Publication Order:
1908 Anne of Green Gables
1909 Anne of Avonlea
1910 Kilmeny of the Orchard
1911 The Story Girl
1912 Chronicles of Avonlea
1913 The Golden Road
1915 Anne of the Island
1916 The Watchman and Other Poems
1917 The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career
1917 Anne’s House of Dreams
1919 Rainbow Valley
1920 Further Chronicles of Avonlea
1921 Rilla of Ingleside
1923 Emily of New Moon
1925 Emily Climbs
1926 The Blue Castle
1927 Emily’s Quest
1928 Magic for Marigold
1931 A Tangled Web
1932 Pat of Silver Bush
1935 Mistress Pat
1936 Anne of Windy Poplars
1937 Jane of Lantern Hill
1939 Anne of Ingleside

Posthumous Story Collections:
1974 The Road to Yesterday
1979 The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories
1988 Akin to Anne: Tales of Other Orphans
1989 Along the Shore
1992 After Many Days
1993 Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement
1994 At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales
1995 Across the Miles: Tales of Correspondence
1995 Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories

Related books written by other authors:
Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson
Marilla of Green Gables, by Sarah McCoy
The Grace of Wild Things, by Heather Fawcett
The Annotated Anne of Green Gables, edited by Wendy E. Barry, Margaret Anne Doody, and Mary E. Doody Jones
The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables, by Catherine Reid
House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery, by Liz Rosenberg

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s selected journals have been published in five volumes. I’ve read them all except the end of the last one, when I lost steam as her life got more and more depressing. But her amazing skill as a writer is revealed in these as well. I’m rereading them at the pace of approximately a page a day, so I won’t finish before my trip. Though the first one is the only one where she still lives full-time on Prince Edward Island, so it is the most pertinent.

The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume I: 1889-1910
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume II: 1910-1921
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume III: 1921-1929
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume IV: 1929-1935
The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935-1942

Alert! Looking up the journals for this post, I have just learned that the Complete Journals are now in print! So I am immediately ordering them, of course! (Okay, that’s expensive. I will order the first two and put the rest on reserve.) I think this time around I’ll read the Complete Journals. I’ll list what’s available as of this writing.

The Complete Journals of L. M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1889-1900
The Complete Journals of L. M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1900-1911
L. M. Montgomery’s Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1911-1917
L. M. Montgomery’s Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1918-1921
L. M. Montgomery’s Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925
L. M. Montgomery’s Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1926-1929
L. M. Montgomery’s Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1930-1933

I’m going to refer back to this post as I progress in my reading and add links to reviews. Anyone who wants to take up the same challenge is welcome to use this list!

I will be sure to blog about my trip on my Sonderjourneys blog! Stay tuned! And Happy Reading!