The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf
"It goes without saying that I was passionately fond of reading."
- The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career (1917)
L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) was a voracious and enthusiastic reader throughout her life. She read widely and constantly, enjoying novels, histories, explorations of science, plays, essays, poetry and a variety of other genres. She kept a home library, and frequently reflected on her reading in her journals and correspondence. Her writing, too, is full of allusions that reveal her reading life and literary tastes. Montgomery left behind a fascinating trail of evidence about her favourite texts and about the literary world in which she lived.
The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf is a physical and digital collection of some of Montgomery's most-loved or most interesting reads.
Thanks to the generosity and vision of L.M. Montgomery Institute Research Associate and benefactor Dr. Donna Jane Campbell, and to the work of a community of Montgomery collectors and scholars, the Robertson Library and the L.M. Montgomery Institute are excited to share this Bookshelf in order to foster increased awareness, appreciation, and enjoyment of the ways in which a devotion to books and reading contributed to the creation of an enduringly popular and enriching literary legacy.
Each item on the Bookshelf includes high-quality digital scans of representative pages or the item's full-text, along with curatorial notes explaining the significance of the text to Montgomery or literary history.
Items in the collection include:
Association Copies
Books bearing Montgomery's handwriting or other clear indicia of her use, ownership, or gifting to others.
Contemporaneous Copies
Identical editions of, or similar to, those books read or owned by Montgomery.
Other Material
Other texts or material of interest to Montgomery or her reading life.
The Bookshelf is a gift of Donna & Ian Campbell as part of the ongoing Ryrie-Campbell Collection KindredSpaces project.
Curator: Emily Woster
