Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. She published 20 novels and more than a thousand short stories and poems over the course of her career. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success; the title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following.

Most of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island and those locations within Canada's smallest province became a literary landmark and popular tourist site—namely Green Gables farm, the genesis of Prince Edward Island National Park. Montgomery's work, diaries, and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide. Montgomery Institute, University of Prince Edward Island, is responsible for the scholarly inquiry into the life, works, culture, and influence of Montgomery. Montgomery was born in New London, Prince Edward Island, Canada, on November 30, 1874.

Her mother, Clara Woolner (née Macneill) Montgomery (1853–1876), died of tuberculosis (TB) when Maud was 21 months old. Stricken with grief, her father, Hugh John Montgomery (1841–1900), placed Maud in her maternal grandparents' custody, though he remained in the vicinity. When Maud was seven, her father moved to Prince Albert, North-West Territories (now Prince Albert, Saskatchewan). From then on Maud was raised by her grandparents, Alexander Marquis Macneill and Lucy Woolner Macneill, in the community of Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

Montgomery's early life in Cavendish was very lonely. Despite having relatives nearby, much of her childhood was spent alone. On Power Place, Lucy Maud Montgomery's quotes are included because they give readers a direct way to think about motivation, responsibility, and the choices that shape a life.