Description
University of Toronto Press A Name for Herself Selected Writings 1891–1917 by L.M. Montgomery Benjamin Lefebvre
Years before she published her internationally celebrated first novel, Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) started contributing short works to periodicals across North America. While these works consisted primarily of poems and short stories, she also experimented with a wider range of forms, particularly during the early years of her career, at which point she tested out several authorial identities before settling on the professional moniker "L.M. Montgomery."A Name for Herself: Selected Writings, 1891-1917 is the first in a series of volumes collecting Montgomery's extensive contributions to periodicals. Leading Montgomery scholar Benjamin Lefebvre discusses these so-called miscellaneous pieces in relation to the works of English-speaking women writers who preceded her and the strategies they used to succeed, including the decision to publish under gender-neutral signatures. Among the highlights of the volume are Montgomery's contributions to student periodicals, a weekly newspaper column entitled "Around the Table," a long-lost story narrated first by a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage and then by the man she wishes she had married instead, and a new edition of her 1917 celebrity memoir, "The Alpine Path." Drawing fascinating links to Montgomery's life writing, career, and fiction, this volume will offer scholars and readers alike an intriguing new look at the work of Canada's most enduringly popular author. List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments A Note on the AuthorAbbreviationsPrefaceA Note on the TextPart 1: Early and Student PublicationsThe Wreck of the "Marco Polo" A Western Eden From Prince Albert to P.E. IslandThe Usual WayExtracts from the Diary of a Second Class MouseHigh School Life in Saskatchewan Valedictory"Portia" - A Study"Which Has the Most Patience under the Ordinary Cares and Trials of Life - Man or Woman?" Crooked AnswersThe Bad Boy of Blanktown School James Henry, TruantA Girl's Place at Dalhousie CollegeTo the Editor Part 2: Maud Montgomery, Newspaper WomanA Half-Hour in an Old CemeteryAround the TableHalf an Hour with Canadian MothersChristmas Shopping in Halifax Stores Many Admiring Glances Bestowed upon GraduatesNetted DoilyInnocent IrreverencePart 3: The Upward Climb to Heights SublimeTwo Sides of a Life StoryThe Alpine Path: The Story of My CareerAfterword Notes BibliographyIndex