A fascinating account of the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery (Maud) chronicles her difficult childhood and far more difficult adulthood. Raised by stern grandparents, Maud, unlike her literary hero Anne, was not openly cherished, although her grandmother quietly defied her grandfather and supported Maud’s education. As an adult, Maud was much admired by a number of suitors, but the man she fell passionately in love with was engaged to someone else. She was already a published author, caring for her aging grandmother, when she met the minister whom she would marry—a man she liked but did not love. Maud struggled with depression. Her husband suffered from mental illness that became incapacitating. Maud endured, raising their children while also taking her original publisher to court when she discovered he’d been cheating her—a protracted battle she eventually won. Occasional, judicious parallels between people in Maud’s early life and characters in Anne come up, but it is Montgomery’s own life that leaves a lasting impression, on its own, and in contrast to the idyllic account of girlhood and young womanhood she created. (Age 14 and older)