Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) created one of the most enduring characters in world literature. Anne Shirley, the red-haired orphan with an irrepressible imagination, has been beloved by readers for over a century. Anne of Green Gables has been translated into 36 languages, adapted into films, television series, musicals, and anime, and has turned Prince Edward Island into a literary pilgrimage site.
But Montgomery was far more than the creator of a single character. She published 20 novels, over 500 short stories, an autobiography, and extensive journals that are now recognized as major works of Canadian literature in their own right.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on November 30, 1874, in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, Canada. Her mother died when she was 21 months old, and her father left her to be raised by her maternal grandparents in Cavendish.