Looking for Anne

I am a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables, I have read the book many many times, and each time I discover something new. As much as I love Anne and her books, I didn't know much about the author, L.M. Montgomery. I knew she was Canadian, from Prince Edward Island, and that she was married to a pastor, and later lived in Toronto. When I saw Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic on the staff recommendations shelf at the library, I couldn't resist adding it to my bag.

I'm not a huge fan of biographies. Let me rephrase that,I enjoy them but most of the biographies that I've read have bored me to tears. The difference of this biography is that is somewhat a dual one, it's about Anne and Maud. The character and her creator. How Anne came about. What made Maud write about an red headed orphan girl?

I'm surprised that I read it so quickly. I read it in two days, with biographies I can go on for week struggling along. But I found the way the author set out her information, even if it's all theory, because we really don't know what was going through Lucy Maud Montgomery's mind. It definitely shows that the author went to great lengths to get previously unknown information on the author.

I was also surprised on finding out certain things about Maud, some are understandable and others just seem far-fetched. But the traits that make sense are shyness; her need to be loved and accepted; feeling more comfortable with women then with men; her feeling of abandonment (her mother died when she was very young, and her father left her with her maternal grandparents); her ability to "live" in her dream world; her need for independence. I won't go into detail on the far-fetched ideas, because you really need to read this book.

Now that this book has wet my appepite for Lucy Maud Montgomery I'll be looking out for more on this author, and maybe I'll just re-read the series again.

Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic by Irene Gammel (4/5) Biography/Cultural History; Published: Key Porter Book (2008); New Author; Canadian Author; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (15); 2009 Support Your Local Library (11);