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L. M. Montgomery Literary Icon
Celebrating L. M. Montgomery: Canada's Literary Icon
Not many Canadian authors have captured the hearts and imaginations of readers quite like L. M. Montgomery. Through her beloved stories and characters, the creator of the internationally-acclaimed Anne of Green Gables has transported millions of readers, over many generations, to the little province she called home.
One of Canada’s most enduring and endearing cultural figures, Montgomery is an icon who continues to impart a lasting impression. This year, we honour her brilliant imagination and exceptional talent with a commemorative $1 circulation coin—a tribute to her life’s work.
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”I cannot remember the time when I was not writing, or when I did not mean to be an author.“
– L. M. Montgomery, The Alpine Path, 1917
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BEHIND THE DESIGN
L. M. Montgomery Commemorative Circulation Coin
Discover the design details on our L. M. Montgomery $1 coin. An ode to creativity and boundless imagination, it’s the first Canadian circulation coin to celebrate an author.
Green Gables and Beyond
From P.E.I. to the World
Anne of Green Gables is, without a doubt, L. M. Montgomery’s most critically-acclaimed and widely-known work. Montgomery achieved lasting fame thanks to her beloved character, Anne Shirley: an outgoing, red-haired orphan with big feelings, a big imagination, and who loves P.E.I. passionately.
Montgomery’s love for her hometown of Cavendish, joyfully captured on the pages of Anne of Green Gables, shines a spotlight on Canada’s smallest province. To this day, hundreds of thousands of people travel from all around the world to experience the island, and its literary landmarks, for themselves.
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Despite its massive success, Anne of Green Gables was initially rejected by several publishers. Discouraged, Montgomery stored the manuscript away in a hatbox for years. Later, upon re-reading it, she decided to send the novel out for publication one last time. Thankfully, it paid off. L.C. Page & Company published the novel in 1908, forever changing the trajectory of Montgomery’s life and career.
Anne of Green Gables was an immediate bestseller and has been in print since its initial run. With more than 50 million copies sold, and countless adaptations, it is one of Canada’s most famous literary works, and an international phenomenon. The novel has been translated into more than 35 languages, including braille, and is hugely popular outside of Canada, particularly in Japan and Poland. With various film, television, and theatrical productions of Anne of Green Gables over the past 100 years, new generations can continue to reinterpret and enjoy Anne’s story for themselves.
Did You Know? L. M. Montgomery’s Writing Process
When writing a novel, Montgomery took copious notes and created detailed outlines. She called this signature writing method “spade work.” She would later type up her revised handwritten manuscripts.
Anne of Green Gables manuscript – ca. 1905 (published 1908) | Purchased, 1967 | Collection of Confederation Centre Art Gallery, CM 67.5.1 | Photographer: Jean-Sébastion Duchesne
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More than just an author, Montgomery practiced her artistry in many forms. An avid documentarian, she began journaling and writing poems at the tender age of nine, recounting the trials and tribulations of her youth. She carried on with her detailed journals and accompanying scrapbooks, letters, and photography up until the final years of her life. A prolific writer, she published her first poem at 16 years old. She then went on to compose hundreds of short stories for magazines and newspapers across North America as a teenager and young adult. Her career continued to flourish from that point on.
However, despite her success, Montgomery lived with depression throughout her adult life, particularly in the wake of personal tragedies and challenges. Her marriage to Ewan Macdonald saw her coping with his chronic mental illness, her second son Hugh was stillborn, and her beloved cousin Frederica died young of the Spanish Flu. Though she was suffering, Montgomery continued to write, endlessly chronicling her life journey through a lens brimming with beauty and humour. In the end, she published hundreds of short stories and poems in addition to 20 novels—including the internationally-beloved Anne of Green Gables.
A Page Turned
Scroll through the timeline to discover the storied life of Canada's own literary icon, L. M. Montgomery.
An Enduring Imprint: L. M. Montgomery’s Legacy
In addition to being a best-selling author, L. M. Montgomery’s legacy has been celebrated around the world and over the years with many memberships, awards, and accolades including:
- Membership to the Canadian Author’s Association
- Membership to the Canadian Women’s Press Club
- 1923: First Canadian woman to become a member of the British Royal Society of Arts
- 1924: Named one of the “Twelve Greatest Women in Canada” by the Toronto Star
- 1935: Named to the Order of the British Empire
- 1935: Named to the Literary and Artistic Institute of France
- 1943: Named a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada
- 1999: Voted the most influential Canadian writer of the 20ᵗʰ century by a CBC poll
- 2000: Named one of 25 Canadians who inspired the world by Maclean’s magazine
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A Tribute to the Power of Imagination
Pen to paper, thoughts to words, L. M. Montgomery’s beloved stories and unforgettable characters carry on in our collective consciousness. Her incisive wit and celebration of daily life continues to have a resounding impact on generations of readers around the world.
This year, we honour the brilliant mind and limitless artistry of L. M. Montgomery with a commemorative $1 circulation coin—a lasting tribute to a Canadian literary icon and to the power of imagination.
”Because when you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while.“
– L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908.
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Thank You
L.M. Montgomery and L.M. Montgomery’s signature and cat motif are trademarks of Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc.
COLLAGE #1 – CHARACTER (left to right)
John Sylvester/Tourism PEI
Anne of Green Gables manuscript, 1905 (published 1908) |Purchased, 1967 | Collection of Confederation Centre Art Gallery, CM 67.5.1| Photographer: Jean-Sébastion Duchesne
Anne with Gables, Cavendish P.E.I. | Scott Munn / ©Parks Canada / Green Gables Heritage Place
COLLAGE #2 – AUTHOR (left to right)
L. M. Montgomery portrait, age 61, Norval – ca. 1935 | Courtesy of Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. L. M. Montgomery Collection, XZ1 MS A097 017 0103
L. M. Montgomery’s cat Daffy, Leaskdate, ON – ca. 1925 | Courtesy of Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. L. M. Montgomery Collection, XZ1 MS A097040
John Sylvester/Tourism PEI
Anne of Green Gables manuscript, 1905 (published 1908) | Purchased, 1967 | Collection of Confederation Centre Art Gallery, CM 67.5.1 | Photographer: Jean-Sébastion Duchesne
Image from Imagining Anne: L. M. Montgomery’s Island Scrapbooks edited by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly | Reprinted with permission from Nimbus Publishing | Copyright © 2008, 2019 Elizabeth Rollins Epperly and Heirs of L. M. Montgomery Inc.
L. M. Montgomery, age 34 (at time of publication of Anne of Green Gables – ca. 1908 | Courtesy of Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. L. M. Montgomery Collection, XZ1 MS A097057
L.M. Montgomery and L.M. Montgomery’s signature and cat motif are trademarks of Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc.
COLLAGE #3 – REGION (left to right)
Green Gables House, Cavendish P.E.I. | Scott Munn / ©Parks Canada / Green Gables Heritage Place
Anne, Balsam Hollow Trail_Fall2021 | Stephen DesRoches / ©Parks Canada / Green Gables Heritage Place