Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908 subsequently launching the literary career of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Today, Montgomery’s work is still read and loved around the world. Celebrate Anne Shirley by reading these facts you might not know about her and the writer who created her.
- Anne of Green Gables was Montgomery’s first novel, written in 1905.
- The book was rejected by every publisher it was sent it to, so Montgomery stored it away in a hat box.
- In 1907, Montgomery re-read the Anne of Green Gables manuscript and decided to send it out again. Lucky for us, it was accepted by the Page Company of Boston.
- Anne of Green Gables sold 19,000 copies in its first five months.
- Montgomery’s mother died of tuberculosis when she was nearly two, and her father eventually moved to Saskatchewan and remarried.
- Montgomery had two imaginary friends growing up, who lived in a “fairy room” behind a bookcase in her grandparents’ sitting room. Maud saw her reflection in the bookcase’s glass doors — the left reflection was named Katie Maurice and the right was Lucy Gray.
- Montgomery wrote over 500 short stories, 20 novels and two poetry collections.
- Montgomery’s body of work has been reproduced in more than 30 languages.
- Montgomery would often write under pen names such as “Joyce Cavendish” so her family and friends wouldn’t connect her to the writing. She chose L.M. Montgomery so readers couldn’t tell what gender she was.