'Life would be sorry without ideals'

 

“You have the itch for writing born in you. It's quite incurable. What are you going to do?  You might as well use it?” – L.M. Montgomery

 

The marvelous Lucy Maud Montgomery, born in 1874, rocketed to worldwide acclaim with her very first book, Anne of Green Gables and really never looked back.  The book has sold more than 50 million copies in 20 languages worldwide.    Over a 45-year writing career, Montgomery authored 20 novels, many featuring her lead character Anne Shirley.  And she wrote a remarkable 530 short stories.

 

Anne Shirley made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following even from fellow authors.   Mark Twain called Anne, “the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice.”  (I believe he was referring to that one who made that visit to Wonderland). 

 

Montgomery – who died in 1942 – also wrote some 500 poems and 30 essays and been honored as the first female in Canada to be named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in England.  In 1935 she was invested into the Order of the British Empire, one of the highest British honors. 

 

“We must have ideals and try to live up to them, even if we never quite succeed,” Montgomery noted.   “Life would be a sorry business without them. With them it's grand and great.”