I finished this sweet little biography this morning and absolutely adored it! Each paragraph was such a treat. I truly find a "kindred spirit" in L. M. Montgomery--I sensed through her stories and characters that our souls were made of similar stuff--and so it was a great pleasure and delight to read through these tidbits of her own life (though it's easy to see how much of it was already reflected in her fictional literary creations.) It was charming to read about her girlhood and all her dreams and fancies; so interesting and inspiring to learn of her toils and trial and triumphs on the "Alpine Path" to literary success. A few fun little insights illustrate the "real life" spots from whence she gleaned the inspiration for places in her stories, like Lovers' Lane and The Lake of Shining Waters--though she says that only one of her characters was drawn specifically and unadulterated from real-life. Interesting, too, the little confessions with her thoughts on her own books, such as "The Story Girl" being her very favorite (at the time the biography was written--gosh, I really ought to read that novel again, then!) and the fact that she later regretted the fate of Matthew in "Anne of Green Gables." I also found it intriguing and fun to read excerpts from her journal from her honeymoon to the UK (she, like me, always dreamed of seeing that land!) and to hear of her opinions on some of the places I visited, like Abbottsford and Roslin Chapel--and that one journal entry was penned at their hotel on Prince's Street in Edinburgh--so near to the one where Annie and I stayed in June!!!

Most heartily recommended to anyone who loves L. M. Montgomery's books!


[It arrived! Hooray! The first "fun" package I received in my new mailbox. My edition doesn't have the pretty photo on the cover, but it's cool in that it was actually published in Canada. Also, tucked inside was a brochure from the L.M. Montgomery birthplace! So, I got a surprise bonus with my purchase--the house is very cute, white with green trim ("green gables???") and some inset photos show her wedding dress and the room where she was born.:]

Siamo pellegrini di ardui ed erti sentieri verso cui ci sospinge la brama di vita; una scalata lunga e faticosa, un'incessante battaglia contro lo sconforto, il dubbio, l'umiliazione.

É questo che ci racconta Montgomery all'interno di questa breve autobiografia in sei puntate: la storia della sua carriera. Una storia semplice, umana, fatta di ingenuità e di grinta, dolore e dolcezza.

L'attaccamento alla natura, lo sguardo dell'infanzia, l'invidiabile spinta creativa sono i tre caratteri che spesso ritornano all'interno della vita e della poetica di Montgomery.

La natura è la fonte sacra a cui la scrittrice canadese attinge costantemente per alimentare il fuoco creativo che arde in lei.

Il ricordo vivido della sua infanzia le permette di raccontarla come in pochi sono riusciti a fare, le permette di rispettare quel bambino che siamo stati e che così spesso ci dimentichiamo dietro di noi.

E poi la creatività, il bisogno di scrivere e scrivere e scrivere, l'incessante necessità di apprendere dalla vita, appropriarsi di essa, per creare personaggi e storie, facendo uso del reale per perfezionare l'ideale.

Alla fine dovremo procedere attraverso l'amara sofferenza, attraverso tutta l'oscurità, perché l'ascesa non sarà mai facile, perché chi teme non raggiunge, perché alla fine ad aspettarci sarà uno splendido tramonto nella nostra Città dell'Appagamento.

I kept hearing about Anne of Green Gables for years without showing the least interest in reading it. A chance viewing of Anne with an E on Netflix delighted me enough for me to pick up the book, and I was instantly hooked. I don’t necessarily think that all the Anne books were great but I really enjoyed the old-world charm of the books and the easy-going life of the characters. I tried to read the Emily of New Moon series but the first book left me cold. All this to say that I don’t think of L.M. Montgomery as a great writer but I was sufficiently intrigued to pick up The Alpine Path, in which she describes her rise to stardom.

The first half of the book describes her childhood, which is interesting. I caught snippets of Anne’s and Emily’s lives and that was delightful in a way. As if I knew Montgomery herself through her characters. Some of the anecdotes were funny while others were heart-warming. The tone changes in the second half as Montgomery marries and goes on a honeymoon. This portion is a description of her time in Scotland and England and makes a delightful, if short, travelogue.

This was a great read and the author comes across as humble and humorous. I began to like Montgomery as a person as I read this memoir, which is rather rare for me! I might now try to read some other stories, which are not as depressing as Emily. If you love Anne Shirley Cuthbert, this is a not-to-be-missed memoir.

4.5 actually. Set in the late nineteenth century. Concerning Anne Shirley an 11-year old orphan sent by mistake to Murilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Two middle-aged siblings. The story recounts Ann's life as it unfolds with the Cuthberts.
The story highlights the very unfortunate life of orphans at that time. The orphanage was called an "Asylum". The children were really unpaid child labour. At age 8 Anne had been put out to look after one ladies THREE sets of twins!
Unputdownable

I loved this book so much! It was like a letter from a very cherished friend from beyond the grave. I was lucky to read this book whilst on a camping trip in a rainforest by a waterhole that had a waterfall running into it, and it was the perfect setting for reading a book about/by someone who swooned so much over the beauties of the natural world.

If you're an Anne of Green Gables/Emily of New Moon fan this is a must read. Lots of stories about her upbringing, which draw a lot of parallels with Annes/Emilys. Her mum died when she was 21 months old, and she was raised by her grandparents, and loved letting her imagination run away from her, and naming trees, lanes, lakes etc just like her characters do. Also the tale of her progression as a writer, and the writing of Anne of Green Gables, and diary entries from her honeymoon.

Short, but charming.

tää suomalainen versio jossa on sisko ylimartimon teos mukana montgomeryn alpine pathin lisäksi on upea tutkimusmatka yhteen merkittävimmistä kirjailijoista. alppipolku itsessään on hurmaava ja ylimartimon tutkielma montgomeryn tyttöjen elämien eri aspekteista tekee tästä aarreaitan montgomeryn ystäville. kirjailijan elämän traagisemmat osiot kiinnostaa mua aikuisena enemmän ja enemmän, ja erityisesti niiden kontrasti kirjojen tematiikkaan. montgomery on eskapismia parhaimmillaan, niin lukijalleen kuin kirjoittajalleen.

Nice insight into Montgomery's mind and career, though the section describing her visit to the British Isles was a little out of place.

I enjoyed this book. I read somewhere that someone loved it so I put it on hold. I don't think I am the intended audience. Maybe I am. I didn't even know L.M. Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables. I may or may not have read an Anne book or two when I was young. I don't remember. I have a vague memory of watching one of the movies. I remember I liked it.

This book is probably enjoyed a lot more by fans of her books. She refers to different places and people in her real life that had influence on her writings. I think I'll read the books.

It makes sense that part of her motivation for writing this was to encourage other writers. So I guess I am part of the intended audience; I've attempted to write from time to time. Montgomery didn't give up despite numerous rejections. She worked very hard and continually submitted her work. Also, it's interesting what she used from her real life. She generally changed names of places and people, but not always.

I like the autobiographical aspects of this book. Clearly she was a sensitive and extremely imaginative child. She acknowledges that helped shape her career.

Her descriptions of Prince Edward Island is what will stick with me. I'd love to see the red sand, green vegetation, and the trees surrounded by the turquoise sea. I looked up images of the island and now I want to visit! I've long wanted to go to Nova Scotia. My husband put the destination on our wish list.

I like how she shares her visit to Britain and how, compared to the descriptions of certain places she'd read about in books, the actual places weren't as grand. She preferred her imagined version. Ha! I relate. It shows that we as readers really are co-creators of what we read.

I live near the mountains, so I appreciate this quote written about part of her journey to Scotland:

"If I were to live near mountains for any length of time I should learn to love them almost as much as I love the sea."

What a lovely, fascinating, charming book! I loved reading about LMM's life (except for all the journal entries from when she was traveling in Scotland). Greatly enjoyed this one and now I want to check out LMM's journals.

Me ha gustado mucho la parte en la que explica su infancia y juventud hasta la publicación de Anne of Green Gables.

Sin embargo, la parte final en la que solamente copia fragmentos de su diario durante su luna de miel a UK rompe mucho el estilo del texto escrito hasta el momento. Y el final me ha parecido muy abrupto.

This disappointed me. I feel like she could’ve delved much deeper into her life.

This autobiography includes memories from Montgomery's childhood and also brief explanations about her writing rituals.
There are many descriptions of P.E.I and they are all delightful and beautiful, as you would expect from her. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the excerpts from her journals, as they were not related to her writing.
The most surprising fact was discovering that her favorite book was The story girl. I wish she had given us information about Emily of New Moon, but n  The Alpine Pathn was written before Emily existed.