hard to get ahold of- snippets of her life from one of my favourite writers... writeresses?

so sad

How very sad. I knew that Maud‘s life did not end well, but to read it in living color and see her fade away was heartbreaking. But I thoroughly enjoyed knowing what was going on at the time she was writing Jane of Lantern Hill and Anne of Ingleside. I read those books alongside the journal entries and loved the added dimension it brought.

What a slog. By the time L.M. Montgomery reached the last few years of her life, her journal had been reduced to a diary of her sleep and drug habits. I missed the witty observations from earlier journals (e.g., her observation that one of her houseguests "never says anything interesting -- not even by accident"). Instead of wit, we have a 15-page reminiscence about Good Luck the cat and pages and pages of her complaints about a transgression by her son that is apparently too horrible to describe in the journal (I was never clear about whether the transgression was the affair with Ida Birrell; she intimates that the affair is not the whole story). The end of the journal feels very abrupt. Did she have another nervous breakdown? I don't think I could have left this volume unread after reading the other four volumes, but I can't say that I enjoyed it.

After reading all the previous journals, Maud feels like a friend, and to see her hurt so much is enough to make you miserable. Not a happy read for the most part (though I did find myself cheering when she finally started to feel better after her son's affair), but just as fascinating as all her other journals. The abrupt ending is like a punch in the stomach.

Such a sad, sad end to this amazing woman's story...

This is the final journal of LM Montgomery's life. It spans the final 7 years which were without a doubt the most hard for Maud to live. The sad thing is that all of the stories of what went wrong in her final years isn't touched on much - if at all - and it leaves you as a reader wondering what happened. You have to read between the lines or research out her life story to find out what is really going on in this final book. This is a sad final chapter in this amazing writers life but it is still a good book. I think all fans should read this but should read "The Gift of Wings" first to have an idea of what is going on at least for this final journal.

This may be the saddest book I've ever read, particularly because it's true.

This is the last volume of L.M. Montgomery's selected journals. It is very well written and you can hear her voice come through reminiscent of the Anne books. I liked that about it. But overall, it is a very sad book. She suffered a LOT in her later years and was very depressed and melancholy. It depressed me to read it. In the last entry of her journal she even states that she would like to end her life she is so miserable. I would like to read the earlier volumes to get an idea of what her earlier life was like.

3.5 stars

This is the last volume in L.M. Montgomery’s journals. She started writing them when she was about 14 years old, and continued throughout most of her life. In volume 5, she and her husband Ewan, a minister, have moved into Toronto; he is no longer preaching. Their sons, Chester and Stuart are going to law school and medical school, respectively. Maud spends a lot of her time worrying about Ewan, who is often very depressed, and Chester, who managed to get himself into all kinds of trouble. Maud herself is often depressed. It’s an interesting look at the life of probably one of the most famous Canadian authors, told in her own words. Her fans would never have known it, but she was not a very happy woman.

Oh my, where to begin. I've been trying to write a review in my head for the past few days and I still can't get it right. I have now finished all 5 volumes of L.M. Montgomery's personal journals and while they get sadder with each passing volume, I really enjoyed reading them. So many of her books (especially the "Anne" series and Rilla of Ingleside in particular) have been such a big part of my life. I loved them as a young child and even now in my mid 30s I still pull them out and reread them frequently. They are timeless. I very much wish that L.M. Montgomery's life could have been happier. It is painful to read about her anxiety and depression (and that of her husband's struggles as well), and yet amazing that she was able to set it all aside and write such beautiful books that brought so much joy to thousands upon thousands of others. Writing was her escape, and that at least brought her some measure of contentment.

"In a 'fan' letter of today the writer said, 'It is a grand gift to be able to bring so much pleasure and happiness to so many people by your pen'!!!
Perhaps. It is odd to be able to give what one doesn't possess oneself. Yet let me be just. I have been, always, happy in my work - happy while writing those books." (LMM 1938)


"I had another letter today from a woman who had just read 'Windy Poplars'. She said in conclusion 'Thank you for the simple charm of people, humor and quaintness - for a wisp of fairyland - for the scarlet, purple and blue!'
When dreariness and fear threaten to overwhelm me I shall remember this letter and say to myself 'Take heart my child. As long as you can bring a little delight or comfort into the lives of others life is worth living. And there are countless lives waiting for you yet in the years of eternity and in stars yet unborn.'" (LMM 1938)


She certainly succeeded in bringing delight and comfort to the world, and I for one am very grateful.

As astute a writer as Lucy Maud was she had to be conscious of withholding a lot of information while writing her journals. of course she knew they would be published so it follows that we get in this volume a lot of information about what was going on but not what she was truly thinking. Nothing at all about her bitterness of being caught in a loveless marriage and saddled with a husband who was no help at all in her life. As a parent I know the agonizing one does over one's children and her thoughts about Chester are not included.
one has to do a lot of reading between the lines about the things that filled her with such despair. there's little doubt in my mind that her physical and mental breakdown was partly due to repression.

I am however, enjoying this book because I lived very near the Manse in Norval, Ontario and had a studio in Glen Williams so I can relate to all the events, names and buildings she speaks about.

There is a beautiful garden in her honor beside the Norval school and it's on the bank of the west credit river where you can go down the steps into the gully which is a nature reserve..a quick hide-a-way on the edge of a busy city.