• Anne Shirley Home Page {v. 7} •

• Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) •

Read about Montgomery through the years 1900-1920. Be sure to look for special links such as e-texts, Miss L.M. Montgomery, Author of Anne of Green Gables (1910) and Daily Echo: Around the Table (1902) Proper bibliographies are listed below the timeline.

1900 January 16:

Montgomery's father, Hugh John Montgomery, dies in Prince Albert, at the age of 58.

1901-1902 Fall-June:

Montgomery works as a newspaperwoman in Halifax, proofreader for the Halifax Daily Echo and editor of its society page. As "Cynthia" she writes a column, "Around the Tea Table." March 1902: Through Miriam Zeiber's informal pen friends' club, Montgomery enters into correspondence with Ephraim Weber of Alberta and begins exchanging journal letters with him.

1903

Montgomery enters into correspondence with George Boyd Macmillan of Alloa, Scotland. Ewan Macdonald is inducted as minister of the Presbyterian Church in Cavendish and lives in Stanley.

1905 June:

Anne of Green Gables is begun. Ewan Macdonald comes to live in Cavendish.

1906

Anne of Green Gables is rejected by four publishers. Montgomery puts the manuscript away in a hatbox. October 12: Montgomery becomes engaged to the Reverend Ewan Macdonald. He departs to attend United Free Church College in Glasgow, 1906-7.

1907 February

Montgomery sends a revised version of Anne of Green Gables to the L.C. Page Co.of Boston. April 15: She receives a letter of acceptance from Page, suggesting at the same time "a second story dealing with the same character." The royalties offer is only nine cents a copy. No provision is made in the contract for drama or film rights, which becomes an important consideration later.

1907-1908

Montgomery is busy writing Anne of Avonlea, dedicated to Hattie Gordon (now Smith).

1908 June:

Anne of Green Gables is published. It goes through six editions and sells 19,000 copies in the first six months. Winter: "Una of the Garden" is published serially in a Minneapolis-based magazine, The Housewife.

1909 February:

Montgomery receives her first royalty cheque, made for $1730. The first of many translations of Anne is made, into Swedish. September: Anne of Avonlea is published. About fifty of her short stories and poems are published during the year. November 1909-January 1910: Montgomery expands "Una of the Garden" to become Kilmeny of the Orchard.

1910

Kilmeny of the Orchard is published. The governor-general, Earl Grey, on a visit to Charlottetown, asks to meet "the author of Anne." Montgomery dines with the viceregal party and presents signed copies of her books to Earl Grey. November: Montgomery is invited to Boston by her publisher and attends a reception given to her honour by the Boston Authors Club. She is interviewed by the Boston Republic, 'Miss L.M. Montgomery, Author of Anne of Green Gables' (click to view). Ewan Macdonald accepts the ministry of a Presbyterian church with two congregations, in Leaksdale and Zephyr, Ontario.

1912 June:

Chronicles of Avonlea is published. July 7: The birth of Ewan and Maud Macdonald's first son, Chester Cameron.

1913

Montgomery begins work on her third Anne book. Summer: She makes a visit to P.E.I. September: The Golden Road is published. November: She finishes Anne of Redmond, which the publisher entitles Anne of the Island.

1914 August 13:

A baby, named Hugh Alexander, is born dead, occasioning sorrow mixed with acute anxiety over the beginning of World War I.

1915 April:

Montgomery nurses "Frede" Campbell through typhoid. July: Holiday at Park Corner, P.E.I. Anne of the Island is published. Her original contract with the L.C. Page Co. expires, and she signs a separate one with the company for a collection of short stories only. October 7: Ewan and Maud's second son, Ewan Stuart, is born.

1916

The Watchman and Other Poems is published, but sales are sluggish. Montgomery leaves Page for Stokes and the Toronto firm of McClelland & Stewart.

1917 June-November:

A series of six autobiographical sketches runs in the Toronto magazine Everywoman's World and is published in the book form as The Alpine Path. August: Anne's House of Dreams is published. December 19: Montgomery votes for the first time, as the sister of a serviceman, Carl. Despite Liberal sympathies she votes for Robert Borden's Conservatives and thus for conscription and the prosecution of the war. December 19: Uncle John Campbell dies, and Park Corner goes to his son George.

1918 May 7:

Montgomery and Ewan buy their first automobile. June-July: They visit P.E.I. October: Montgomery is very ill with "Spanish flu". Her cousin George dies of it. November: She goes to Park Corner to nurse the Campbell family.

1919 January:

Montgomery is in Boston for her first lawsuit with Page & Co., over reprint rights and their withholding of royalties of the Anne books. They settle, and Montgomery receives a cheque for $20, 000. This marks the end of claims to royalties on the early Anne books, up to and including Anne's House of Dreams. "Frede" Campbell MacFarlane, ill with flu and pneumonia, sends for Montgomery, who arrives in St. Anne's, Quebec, just before "Frede" dies (January 25). Rainbow Valley is published. Ewan's melancholia intensifies. June: A consultation occurs with a "nerve specialist" in Boston about his condition. The film of Anne of Green Gables, with Mary Miles Minter as Anne, is made. L.C. Page & Co. receive $40, 000 for the film rights, Montgomery nothing. She begins work on Rilla of Ingleside.

Bibliography/Reference: Montgomery, Lucy Maud, Wendy E. Barry, Margaret Anne Doody and Mary E. Doody Jones. The Annotated Anne of Green Gables. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1997.
McCabe, Kevin and Alexandra Heilbron. The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1999.

Last updated: December 25, 2005
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1900 January 16:	Montgomery's father, Hugh John Montgomery, dies in Prince Albert, at the age of 58.
1901-1902 Fall-June:	Montgomery works as a newspaperwoman in Halifax, proofreader for the Halifax Daily Echo and editor of its society page. As "Cynthia" she writes a column, "Around the Tea Table." March 1902: Through Miriam Zeiber's informal pen friends' club, Montgomery enters into correspondence with Ephraim Weber of Alberta and begins exchanging journal letters with him.
1903	Montgomery enters into correspondence with George Boyd Macmillan of Alloa, Scotland. Ewan Macdonald is inducted as minister of the Presbyterian Church in Cavendish and lives in Stanley.
1905 June:	Anne of Green Gables is begun. Ewan Macdonald comes to live in Cavendish.
1906	Anne of Green Gables is rejected by four publishers. Montgomery puts the manuscript away in a hatbox. October 12: Montgomery becomes engaged to the Reverend Ewan Macdonald. He departs to attend United Free Church College in Glasgow, 1906-7.
1907 February	Montgomery sends a revised version of Anne of Green Gables to the L.C. Page Co.of Boston. April 15: She receives a letter of acceptance from Page, suggesting at the same time "a second story dealing with the same character." The royalties offer is only nine cents a copy. No provision is made in the contract for drama or film rights, which becomes an important consideration later.
1907-1908	Montgomery is busy writing Anne of Avonlea, dedicated to Hattie Gordon (now Smith).
1908 June:	Anne of Green Gables is published. It goes through six editions and sells 19,000 copies in the first six months. Winter: "Una of the Garden" is published serially in a Minneapolis-based magazine, The Housewife.
1909 February:	Montgomery receives her first royalty cheque, made for $1730. The first of many translations of Anne is made, into Swedish. September: Anne of Avonlea is published. About fifty of her short stories and poems are published during the year. November 1909-January 1910: Montgomery expands "Una of the Garden" to become Kilmeny of the Orchard.
1910	Kilmeny of the Orchard is published. The governor-general, Earl Grey, on a visit to Charlottetown, asks to meet "the author of Anne." Montgomery dines with the viceregal party and presents signed copies of her books to Earl Grey. November: Montgomery is invited to Boston by her publisher and attends a reception given to her honour by the Boston Authors Club. She is interviewed by the Boston Republic, 'Miss L.M. Montgomery, Author of Anne of Green Gables' (click to view). Ewan Macdonald accepts the ministry of a Presbyterian church with two congregations, in Leaksdale and Zephyr, Ontario.
1912 June:	Chronicles of Avonlea is published. July 7: The birth of Ewan and Maud Macdonald's first son, Chester Cameron.
1913	Montgomery begins work on her third Anne book. Summer: She makes a visit to P.E.I. September: The Golden Road is published. November: She finishes Anne of Redmond, which the publisher entitles Anne of the Island.
1914 August 13:	A baby, named Hugh Alexander, is born dead, occasioning sorrow mixed with acute anxiety over the beginning of World War I.
1915 April:	Montgomery nurses "Frede" Campbell through typhoid. July: Holiday at Park Corner, P.E.I. Anne of the Island is published. Her original contract with the L.C. Page Co. expires, and she signs a separate one with the company for a collection of short stories only. October 7: Ewan and Maud's second son, Ewan Stuart, is born.
1916	The Watchman and Other Poems is published, but sales are sluggish. Montgomery leaves Page for Stokes and the Toronto firm of McClelland & Stewart.
1917 June-November:	A series of six autobiographical sketches runs in the Toronto magazine Everywoman's World and is published in the book form as The Alpine Path. August: Anne's House of Dreams is published. December 19: Montgomery votes for the first time, as the sister of a serviceman, Carl. Despite Liberal sympathies she votes for Robert Borden's Conservatives and thus for conscription and the prosecution of the war. December 19: Uncle John Campbell dies, and Park Corner goes to his son George.
1918 May 7:	Montgomery and Ewan buy their first automobile. June-July: They visit P.E.I. October: Montgomery is very ill with "Spanish flu". Her cousin George dies of it. November: She goes to Park Corner to nurse the Campbell family.
1919 January:	Montgomery is in Boston for her first lawsuit with Page & Co., over reprint rights and their withholding of royalties of the Anne books. They settle, and Montgomery receives a cheque for $20, 000. This marks the end of claims to royalties on the early Anne books, up to and including Anne's House of Dreams. "Frede" Campbell MacFarlane, ill with flu and pneumonia, sends for Montgomery, who arrives in St. Anne's, Quebec, just before "Frede" dies (January 25). Rainbow Valley is published. Ewan's melancholia intensifies. June: A consultation occurs with a "nerve specialist" in Boston about his condition. The film of Anne of Green Gables, with Mary Miles Minter as Anne, is made. L.C. Page & Co. receive $40, 000 for the film rights, Montgomery nothing. She begins work on Rilla of Ingleside.