House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery
Age 10+
Children's & Young Adult: General Non-Fiction
An affecting biography of the author of Anne of Green Gables is the first for young readers to include revelations about her last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and sometimes troubled life.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, not a great deal was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, undemonstrative grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her difficult married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished personal journals. Through this revealing and deeply moving biography, kindred spirits of all ages who, like Maud, never gave up “the substance of things hoped for” will be captivated anew by the words of this remarkable woman.
Creators
Liz Rosenberg is a poet, best-selling novelist, professor, and writer of numerous acclaimed books for children. She has edited several poetry anthologies for young readers, including Light-Gathering Poems, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Prize. She lives in Binghamton, New York.
Julie Morstad is the illustrator of numerous books for young readers, including When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano and Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Reviews
What a wonderful biography, of the girl known as ‘Maud’, who was the wonderful writer behind Anne of Green Gables. There are lovely line-drawings at the front of each chapter, summarising the topic of each chapter – the passions, the depressions and more of Maud as her life plays out.
The Reader (NZ)
Beautifully produced and charmingly illustrated.
Magpies Magazine
Rosenberg paints a deep, complex portrait of a vibrant, brilliant, yet troubled woman
Booklist
Each chapter is fronted by a nostalgic and delicate pen-and-ink illustration that adds piquancy by capturing the light-hearted side of the beloved author
BCCB
