L.M. Montgomery and War, edited by Andrea McKenzie and Jane Ledwell
A collection of essays that reveal how war haunted L.M. Montgomery and her writing
Lucy Maud Montgomery may have pinned P.E.I. on the map with her most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables, the famed tome about a spirited, imaginative red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, who finds a home and love on the Island. But many readers are unaware of how the canons of war impacted this classic book. Montgomery struggled to cope with the aftermath of the First and Second World Wars, seeking beauty in nature and companionship in her imagination. These conflicts in her own life were often themes in her writing to combat the horror and cruelty overseas.
At eleven years old, Montgomery experienced the trauma of waiting months for news about her father who fought during the North-West Resistance in 1885. She is one of the few Canadian writers who experienced war on a personal and local level – as a woman, parent, and active member in her community assisting her husband with his pastoral duties. Contributor Caroline E. Jones writes in her essay, “Her First World War and postwar novels offer a spectrum of sensibilities and realizations about the ideals and costs of war, and about hope and despair that character human nature.”
Through the collection of essays, the reader is given a composite profile of Montgomery consisting of historical studies, war studies, literary studies, gender studies and visual art. We learn about both Montgomery’s personal life and her writing, while also exploring themes of nationalism, loss, grief, gender and heroism that still echo to this day.
The eleven academics who contributed their essays to ‘L.M. Montgomery and War,’ meticulously researched the iconic Canadian author with style and authority. The culmination of armed conflict, which spanned Montgomery’s life, gave birth to great literature, but it also resulted in the decline of a great mind. Towards the end of Montgomery’s life she grappled with feelings of severe despair caused from the aftermath of war.
‘L.M. Montgomery and War’ is a rare historical Canadian treasure and is a worthy addition to anyone’s library, certainly anyone who has an interest in one of the most iconic Canadian authors, who still resonates to this day on P.E.I. Editor Jane Ledwell is from Charlottetown, P.E.I. Her poetry and prose has won several prizes and grants, notably Atlantic Writing Awards in 2001. Ledwell is also the co-editor of ‘Anne around the World: L.M. Montgomery and Her Classic.’ The second editor, Andrea McKenzie is an associate professor at York University in Toronto. Her research includes writing, history, First World War, and L.M. Montgomery. McKenzie is the editor of War Torn Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of Nursing Sisters Laura Holland and Mildred Forbes.