Anne of Green Gables is one of my all-time favorite series, but I had minimal knowledge about L. M. Montgomery, the author behind the books. “House of Dreams” was fascinating because it opened my eyes to the author’s life, and I found it to be a gripping biography.

The author did an excellent job of highlighting the details of Montgomery’s life. In some ways, we see so many similarities between Maud and Anne. Both of them had a zest for life and wanted to learn as much as they could. She was forward-thinking in that era where she tried to reject the concept of marriage to pursue her education. However, as Maud got older and famous, we see how inevitable tragedies impacted her. I loved reading about Maud’s childhood days with the Macneill family on Prince Edward Island and her love for Cavendish.

Moreover, it was interesting to see how Maud’s perspective of life and relationships changed between Nate and Ewan. I mainly found her relationship with Ewan very interesting because of their contrasting personalities. Another one of my favorite moments is how she was inspired to write Anne of Green Gables by being inspired by events from her life and how she reacted to the fame. Another surprising fact which I was not aware of was the lawsuit between Maud and Page publishing. It was really fascinating with the various situations that Maud endured over her career.

Moreover, the black and white illustrations by Julie Morstad are breathtaking and compliment the story beautifully. I thought it gave the book a charming and sophisticated touch.

Overall, “House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery” is a beautiful biography of one of my favorite authors.

House of Dreams is a necessary addition to any collection that features titles by L.M. Montgomery. What a wonderful glimpse into the writer's life--I'm so thankful to see more books about Montgomery emerging and think this title is the perfect gift as well for readers who love Anne.

L.M. Montgomery is another of my favorite childhood authors, and I truly enjoyed this biography. She struggled with many difficult things throughout her life, including family strife, loss of loved ones, and depression. Yet, she was able to create a wealth of beautiful writing, and this biography provides a clear perspective on how her writing came together beside all of those life experiences. This was longer than I expected for a book promoted as a YA biography, but it provides a thorough depiction of her life. Additionally, the illustrations are a perfect complement to the story of her life and her writing style.

House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery
By: Liz Rosenberg
Candlewick Press
Children's Nonfiction 352 pages
#HouseOfDreamsThe LifeOfLMMontgomery#NetGalley
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This was a great book. It is already out for you to read. It was wonderfully done and I am grateful that I was given the chance to read this for review. It is a biography about the author of the Anne of Green Gable books. I learned a lot about the author that I didn't know much about. I didn't realize that she went by her middle name and had a rough childhood. I also learned that her books are based a lot on her life. I highly recommend that you read this book. I would have read this book in one setting if I didn't have a lot of other things happening this month.
The author of this book draws you in and you just don't want to stop reading.
I gave this book 5 stars and I will be buying this book to keep on my shelves.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." It's a lovely quote by the fiery, strong-willed redhead, Anne of Green Gables. And there's been a lot of Anne going around this month. But I realized I didn't actually know much about her creator, L.M. Montgomery

House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery is a biography for young readers (ages 10-14), and it's impressively comprehensive and well-researched for a young readers version of anything. Yet it's also written in a way that's totally palatable to middle graders, reading almost like fiction - I found it really easy to read. So what did I learn about L.M. Montgomery? Among other things, and in no particular order:

1. She suffered major losses as a child and even into adulthood and struggled with depression and anxiety.

2. She also struggled with trying to break free from her family's and society's strict expectations of both her and women generally.

3. Anne of Green Gables was created out of just two sentences: "Elderly couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent them."
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4. She once had a conversation with Earl Grey, the visiting governor general of Canada - who had come to see her - on the steps of a women's outhouse.

5. She got no money from a "talkie" version of Anne of Green Gables - the actress of whom later changed her name to Anne Shirley!

6. She was nonetheless one of the best paid authors of her time.

Another highly recommended read.

The cover of this book really drew my attention and the illustrations of Julie Morstad that begin each chapter are wonderful. I am having a hard time reviewing this because it is coded as a middle grade biography and I feel that it is for more mature readers. Liz Rosenberg gets into some dark subject matter that I would be concerned with some younger children reading. I found this to be informative and a great eye opening read about Maud's life. We tend to take a lot of things for granted in this day and age and I always love getting an historical view about how it was to live back then. My take away was how very amazing she was that she could write such beautiful stories while she was suffering so much. I will definitely recommend to young adult and adult fans who love Montgomery's work and are interested in learning more about her. I now want to go and read all the books that I have missed starting with the Emily series.

I grew up on Anne Shirley. I read all of the Anne books as a girl and watched the 1985 miniseries countless times, so I jumped at the chance to read and review this new biography on the creator of Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery.

One thing that I found so fascinating is how much Maud Montgomery pulled from her own life and personality in the creation of Anne. The similarities go far beyond the setting of Prince Edward Island. Maud was raised by her grandparents; she was a lonely child with a vivid imagination; she was a bright student; her college years were very similar to Anne's; she worked as a teacher; she turned down many proposals. And I could go on.

Maud's life is a mixture of high highs and low lows. Maud dealt with some significant mental health issues in a time when treatment was very limited. She had an unhappy marriage and a child who brought on a lot of heartache. She was also wildly successful in an era when being a woman with a career was an uphill battle in every sense.

Liz Rosenberg's House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery conveys all of this in a compelling and very readable book.

As a kid (and still today!) I was obsessed with Anne of Green Gables and L. M. Montgomery's books but the author's own story was unknown to me. This book tells about Montgomery's life, which mirrored many of her own characters. Her life was accompanied by heartbreak and sadness, which influenced her writing. She was a determined woman, ahead of her time and I admire her. The book was well researched using Montgomer's journals and the story flowed well. Definitely a must for any Anne fan!

Thank you Netgalley and Candlewick Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Interesting and sometimes sad. This recounting of perennially favorite series "Anne of Green Gables"author Lucy Maude Montgomery deals with the sometimes sad and hard times she went through and how that related to her writing and depiction of her characters. For fans of Anne of Green Gables and biographies.

House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery is a biography of the beloved author most known for Anne of Green Gables. Each chapter opens with a simple sketch to illustrate a primary event in the upcoming pages. Liz Rosenberg's treatment is thorough and comprehensive and is particularly engaging when it reads as a novel.

I was a devoted fan of Montgomery's books growing up, but her biographical details were unknown to me. Maud's childhood experiences are reminiscent of details in the Anne stories. The death of her mother when Maud was young led her father to leave her with her grandparents. Maud was imaginative and dreamy and regularly named trees, homes, and walking paths. It seemed wherever she went, she drew interested gentlemen to her, although she rarely reciprocated in feelings beyond friendship.

Maud worked tirelessly on her writing -- she didn't often have family support, but writing is what sustained and grounded her. She may have struggled with marriage, with the uncertainties and heartbreak of parenthood, even with the accounts of World War I, but she was able to convey light, joy, and humor in her books. Her popularity was a double-edged sword; it allowed her financial independence, but there were many requests for financial help and she longed for solitude when, instead, she entertained callers, public speaking requests, and spats with her first publisher. However, she always found time to support young writers and offer advice.

I found this an informative, fascinating read, and I mourned as I neared the end and saw what Maud had struggled through.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I found this biography of L.M. Montgomery fascinating as well as heart breaking as I read about the difficult life she faced. I am a big fan of Anne of Green Gables and was very interested to learn more about how the book came to be. There was clearly a lot of thorough research done for this biography, but it still flowed very smoothly and was an engaging read.

I already knew a fair amount of the author’s early life through the novel Maud by Melanie Fishbane, which is a based on the author’s teen years (L.M. Montgomery went by Maud), but everything I knew about Maud’s life after that point has only come from internet searches.

She certainly faced a lot of difficulties and heart break. Her lack of love and acceptance in her early life clearly influenced the themes of her novels. A quote that stood out to me from the book and captured this idea is:

“Anne of Green Gables is a book about creating lasting family. It is a celebration of place, a story about belonging. No one but Maud Montgomery, with all her checkered history and heart-hungry longing, could have created it.”

Maud overcame a lot and I really admired her optimism and ability to push through things or find comfort through her imagination. Her struggles and burdens in her later life were really heart breaking as things kept piling on top of each other and she was so worn down. Both Maud and her husband struggled with mental illness and I think it’s important that it was fully described here and shown how a lack of understanding in the time period made it that much more difficult.

I felt like this biography enriched my understanding of her novels as I found out many of the inspirations or influences for characters, plots, and settings. I learned about many of the people who had a book dedicated to them and I am going to always look at those dedications and remember those important people in her life as I read or reread her books. There are some L.M. Montgomery books I haven’t read yet and I look forward to reading them with an even greater understanding of where they came from.

The biography is listed and intended as a middle grade level biography, but it does contain a lot of heavy subjects as well as discussion of passion between men and women. If I didn’t know that’s how it was listed as I probably would have thought it was an adult biography (except for the occasional illustrations). Personally I wouldn’t pass it on to an elementary school or middle school aged child, but I definitely think it’s worth reading for more mature readers.

I am glad to have read this book and to have received additional insight into a beloved author.

Recently I was given the opportunity to review an advanced copy of House of Dreams, a biography of the author who gave life to the little red-headed orphan with a vivid imagination. I’ve never been big on biographies but I couldn’t pass up this one.
Let me just say that I was not disappointed in the slightest. I felt like I was on a roller coaster of emotions as I was reading. Until the last few years I’ve never really considered the author of any of the books that I read. Unless it was an incomplete series, of course. 📗📘📙📖 📝
Maud (without an E, please) is now a very real person to me. Her joys and triumphs are encouraging bright spots in the middle of many sorrows and hardships. They say that you should write about what you know. Maud took what she knew and made it beautiful. We all have a house of Dreams, real or imagined. Maud’s imagination is such that we can easily enter her home of Dreams with her.

When I want to escape reality for a while, I read. Which means I will always be grateful for authors who, like Maud, escape their reality by writing. There was much in her life that she would choose to escape. Most of her closest relationships were extremely complicated and less than supportive.
Maud was a fighter. She fought for the chance to be a teacher, and through the legal battles with extremely unfair treatment by her publisher, to name a few battles. Her perseverance is something that inspires me to keep fighting for what I believe in. I hope you will too!
Mark Twain was a fan, too!
Reading House of Dreams, I had so many “Oh, So THAT’S what really happened!” moments. Maud did not Make the liniment cake, it was served to her, in case you were wondering!

The book!!! The illustrations are five stars alone let alone the story! I did not know much about Maud Montgomery before reading this; just that I had read and loved Anne of Green Gables growing up. Now I love the books even more and need to reread! If you love Anne as much as I do I think you will love this this book.

This novel follows Anne’s whole life and it was really interesting to learn more about her, which experiences and people inspired her books, and how many hardships she overcame to be one of the most beloved authors in history.

I have been a long time reader of Anne of Green Gables and have just recently read Emily of New Moon for the first time. I was unfamiliar with the life of L.M. Montgomery and loved reading this biography that Liz Rozenberg has put together from L.M. Montgomery’s journals. L.M. Montgomery had a tough upbringing after the death of her Mother and her Father moving out west. She was raised by her grandparents who were not always supportive of the choices she made. It was evident that she loved writing from an early age and wanted to pursue it but knew that she could not financially support herself with it from the start and pursued an education to become a teacher. Living during this time was hard for a woman as society believed that they needed a husband. Maud was resistant to this ideology for a long time before choosing to marry a minister, Ewan MacDonald. They both suffered from mental illnesses and these sections of the book were hard to read as they weren’t recognized as much during that time and therefore harder to treat.

After reading this book, I’ve come to appreciate her books even more after seeing the challenges that she went through to get them published. I enjoyed seeing where her inspiration came from and the people in her life that she based her characters around.

Thank you NetGalley and Candlewick Press for an advanced copy of this book.

"An affecting biography of the author of Anne of Green Gables is the first for young readers to include revelations about her last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and sometimes troubled life.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, not a great deal was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, undemonstrative grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her difficult married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished personal journals. Through this revealing and deeply moving biography, kindred spirits of all ages who, like Maud, never gave up “the substance of things hoped for” will be captivated anew by the words of this remarkable woman."

Yes, yes, Anne of Green Gables, but will you look at that cover!

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this children's nonfiction biography in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

house of dreams (Liz Rosenberg)
Title: house of dreams: the life of l. m. montgomery
Author: Liz Rosenberg
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: Tomorrow!!! (hardback/e-book)
ISBN: 978-0763660574
Source: NetGalley

Anne with an E is one of me favourite characters of all time. I have reread the stories about Anne Shirley often. L.M. Montgomery was featured in Broadside No. 18. I even made the ma (hi ma!) take me to PEI as a wee girl so I could visit this beloved island in person. So when I saw this title on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it and luckily got a copy.

At first I found this hard to get into. It was rather slow and had a curiously odd writing tone that is difficult to explain. As I got used to it, I truly was fascinated by Maud's life. It was altogether a bleak one at times. Her relationship with her grandparents, step-mother, and husband were extremely disheartening to read about. Yet many of the circumstances in Maud's upbringing were used as fodder for her writing. Maud and her husband also suffered from mental illness. Ye also get an interesting look into the treatment of women in general, women as teachers, and women as professional writers.

Maud was truly an unique and fascinating woman. She was prolific, intelligent, and endearing. I was very happy to get a more in-depth understanding of her life, her stories, and her legacy. I do recommend this read for all folk who love this author's work.

So lastly . . .
Thank you Candlewick Press!

NetGalley's website has this to say about the novel:

An affecting biography of the author of Anne of Green Gables is the first for young readers to include revelations about her last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and sometimes troubled life.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, not a great deal was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, undemonstrative grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her difficult married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished personal journals. Through this revealing and deeply moving biography, kindred spirits of all ages who, like Maud, never gave up “the substance of things hoped for” will be captivated anew by the words of this remarkable woman.

To visit the author’s Goodreads webpage go to:
Liz Rosenberg - Author

To buy the novel go to:
house of dreams - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

I have always loved L.M. Montgomery's books, particularly some of the later ones in the Anne of Green Gables series, so the opportunity to read more about this author drew me in. Maud's life was much more complex than I imagined and I enjoyed that the author connected parts of her works with her real life. It was clear how much of Maud's own experiences came into play and influenced her writing. Maud's story is a sad one though - after reading it, I am not sure that I would recommend it for middle-grade readers. There is a lot of mental illness and difficult situations in Maud's life and the book takes a darker turn than I had anticipated. I felt that this book would be great for older readers and adults, but marketing to children would not be my first choice due to the complexity and topics addressed. Overall, I truly enjoyed this read!

Instead of consuming this book, I feel like this book consumed me. I fell into it and was wholeheartedly immersed in L. M. Montgomery's life. Even while not reading it, I still felt as though my heart and mind were with L. M. Montgomery. Certainly, I couldn't stop talking about it, as my husband could attest. It's been quite a while since I've been completely absorbed in a book, and reading this was such a wonderful experience.

L. M. Montgomery, or "Maud," as she was called, is absolutely one of my favorite authors ever. I've read a good chunk of her works (and she was a prolific writer!), so to learn more about her experiences and what inspired her stories--especially those of Anne Shirley and Emily--was a lovely experience to begin with. It's clear to see that Rosenberg loves Montgomery and her stories as well, because reading this as almost as close as reading a memoir, it was so filled with empathy and emotion. I felt like I was in a conversation with a friend, talking about another friend. It was a sort of: "Did you hear about Maud? She published a book!" kind of thing. I was joyous over Maud's triumphs and saddened over how much loss and sadness she had within her life, but it's a comfort to know that for all her struggles, she loved her writing, and those stories live on for us today thanks to her.

Rosenberg gives a comprehensive overview of Maud's life, from early childhood to late adulthood. I love that she was able to include direct quotes from the personal journal of L. M. Montgomery, which added a great touch of personality and authenticity to situation. It's nicely paced--I never felt as though too much or too little time was spent on one thing. I LOVED some of the humorous anecdotes told. L. M. Montgomery could be one funny lady.

What I most appreciated, however, was the frank discussion of mental illness. Both Montgomery and her husband seem to have had some forms of depression and anxiety, and I am so grateful to Rosenberg for tackling that head-on. The more we talk about these things, the more we share both the struggles and successes of people who live with this diseases, the more we normalize them and are able to seek help in managing them. It's especially important for young people who might not know how to deal with what they're feeling and what they may be experiencing to know that even those we look up to struggle with the same thing. I'm so glad this was included.

This biography is magical, truly. I felt completely transported reading it and it's been one of my absolutely favorite reads this year. Every Montgomery fan will find something to love about it, and I'm so glad I was able to learn more about L. M. Montgomery's life and experiences. Thank you so much to Liz Rosenberg for writing this and Candlewick Press for publishing this. It's extraordinary.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
L.M. Montgomery is probably best known as the creator of one of the best-loved book characters every written: Anne Shirley. I first encountered Lucy Maud Montgomery the when I picked up Anne of Green Gables for the first time. I later met some of her other creations: Emily, the Storygirl, and my favorite: Valancy Stirling. I hadn't given Montgomery's life much thought beyond her profession as a written and thought I knew most everything about her. But, I found myself learning a lot about her in Liz Rosenberg's biography House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery.
House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery follows the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery from her birth, through the ups and (many) downs of her life, and ends with her death-a suicide in 1942. Readers are introduced to the people and places who inspired Montgomery's characters and settings, as she drew from her own life to write her beloved books. It was so neat to learn the backgrounds of such familiar people and places. As the woman behind one of the most optimistic and joyful characters I have ever encountered, I was surprised to find that Maud's life wasn't the happy one her literary counterpart, Anne Shirley, lived. Much of her life was spent battling depression, yet that didn't prevent her from writing her books. They were as much a part of her life as breathing was.
Rosenberg relied on Montgomery's diaries to write her biography, so a lot of the content is in Maud's own words. She was a fascinating person and House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery does a wonderful job sharing her life with readers. It is an engrossing read and succeeds in making a such a (to me at least) mythic figure human and very relatable.

I am obsessed with Anne of Green Gables and all of L.M. Montgomery's novels. She is what drew me into reading, and whenever I need a "comfort read" I pull out one of her books. To me, there is nothing better than reading about Anne and Gilbert.

That said. I'm torn about this book.

I requested an advanced copy from Netgalley and Candlewick Press because although I have read most of L.M. Montgomery's books, I haven't read about her own life, and I was interested in learning about her.

The beginning was rough - it felt like Liz Rosenberg kept starting a paragraph with a thought and then the next paragraph would be the same idea, only written slightly differently. The writing also felt a little juvenile. I reminded myself that this was a "young adult" read - but it felt even younger than that.

It felt that way until midway through.

Then it became more than just a young adult read. It became more intense, certainly because Maud's life became more complicated, she faced demons and was no longer the young author who had created Anne Shirley. So it makes sense the book became darker and more complex, but it felt so at odds with the writing style at the beginning of the book. I can only liken the beginning to feeling like this was an essay and the author had kept in all her research and forgot to trim the fat before submitting it to her professor.

That said - this is a super well researched book - you can tell that Liz Rosenberg has a love and appreciation for not only the books written by Maud Montgomery, but also for the person. She treated her subject with the utmost respect.

If this had been edited a little stronger I believe I would have given this a 4 star rating. Thank you for the advanced read in return for an honest review.