BOOK

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on November 30, 1874, to Hugh John Montgomery and Clara Woolner Macneill. After the death of her mother, her father relocated to Saskatchewan and Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents, Alexander and Lucy Woolner Macneill of Cavendish, PEI. She began writing poetry at the age of nine and had her first poem published in Island newspaper, "The Patriot", when she was 17. From 1893-1894, Montgomery studied education at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. Montgomery taught at three Island schools - Bideford, Belmont, and Lower Bedeque, before going to study English literature at Dalhousie University. She wrote her first novel, "Anne of Green Gables" in 1905. Despite the books immediate popularity upon publication in 1908, it took three years of rejections before the manuscript was accepted by a publisher. The character of Anne Shirley launched Montgomery's successful career as an author.