3 'kindred spirit' novels that match the feminist ethos of L.M. Montgomery
Alicia Cox Thomson shares three books that channel the spirit of L.M. Montgomery's red-headed protagonist
Alicia Cox Thomson is a Toronto-based writer and columnist for The Next Chapter who loves reading about women and girls who march to the beat of their own drum.
For over 100 years, the tales of Lucy Maud Montgomery's plucky, red-headed girl from Avonlea have inspired generations of readers.
Nov. 30, 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery's birth — and to commemorate the occasion, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) is adding the original Anne of Green Gables manuscript to the Canada Memory of the World Register.
The Memory of the World recognizes, safeguards and promotes works of national significance and makes them accessible to educators, researchers and the general public.
The beloved Canadian classic Anne of Green Gables follows orphaned redhead Anne Shirley through adolescence on Prince Edward Island, where she is raised by her adopted parents, siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. First published in 1908, the book remains one of Canada's most celebrated pieces of literature adapted many times over for screen and stage.
Thomson recently spoke with The Next Chapter contributor Mirian Njoh about three books that draw from the legacy of L.M. Montgomery's classic works.
The enduring legacy of Anne Shirley
In 1908, after languishing in a box for two years due to rejection, Anne of Green Gables, by Prince Edward Island writer Lucy Maud Montgomery, was published. Although she had been earning money as a writer of poems, serials and essays, Anne of Green Gables was Montgomery's first novel and it became an immediate bestseller. It introduced the world to Anne Shirley, a bright, dreamy, red-headed orphan with a temper, as well as the natural, unspoiled beauty of Prince Edward Island.
Born in P.E.I., on Nov. 30, 1874, Montgomery's mother died when she was 21 months old and her father moved out West, leaving her to be raised by her grandparents. While not a complete orphan, she was a young child growing up with elderly parents, much like Anne does with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert at Green Gables. Her father remarried and she saw him rarely.
Montgomery wrote most prolifically about childhood on the Island — girlhood, to be specific — focusing many stories on orphaned girls coming of age and into their own in bucolic Island villages. Anne may be the most recognizable, but there's also Emily of New Moon and Sara Stanley, from The Story Girl.
- Why people still love Anne of Green Gables
- LMM's original Anne of Green Gables manuscript added to prestigious United Nations registry
Like Anne, Montgomery studied English at university, a rare achievement for a woman in the 19th century, she taught in one-room country schools and she gave up her job to help her grandmother save their land after her grandfather died. She married late in life, moved to Ontario with her Presbyterian minister husband and had three sons. Until her death in 1942, she published 20 novels, books of essays, short story collections, poetry, journals and an autobiography.
Independence is a recurring theme throughout Montgomery's work, as is self-discovery, thirst for knowledge, passion for nature, power of friendship and security of found family.- Alicia Cox Thomson
Reading Anne of Green Gables feels like a rite of passage for a certain type of bookish Canadian girl. I first read it as a kid and had the miniseries taped on VHS from the CBC. Author Lesley Crewe, whose semi-autobiographical novel Nosy Parker features a precocious 12-year-old strawberry blonde named Audrey, also fell in love with Anne early on.
"I was so enamoured with Anne because she was around my age when I read the book and I was always longing to go back to Cape Breton, my island," Crewe says from her home in Cape Breton where she has lived for 45 years.
As a 12-year-old, Crewe briefly lived in Montreal, where Nosy Parker is set, in the diverse Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood. In the book, Audrey's mother died when she was a baby and she yearns for female mentorship, meeting several women who fill that maternal hole. "Audrey was so wise beyond her years, but she also wanted to be loved," Crewe says.
"You always get that sense of loneliness with Anne — she's an orphan, not like the others. The other girls in Audrey's class all have mothers, so she's automatically sort of set apart. She has that in common with Anne."
Montgomery lived a life both bound by traditions — marriage, children, religion — and freed by her talent, she worked outside the home and earned her own money, contributing to the household while raising children. In comparison, the heroines of Montgomery's work often find themselves on the outside, whether that's due to a lack of parents, wealth, health or station in life. Either way, both the author and her characters faced it all with plenty of gumption.
That type of independence is a recurring theme throughout Montgomery's work, as is self-discovery, thirst for knowledge, passion for nature, power of friendship and security of found family. Inspired by her entire oeuvre, these three books feature similar themes as well as plucky, creative, lonely, underestimated girls and women — and some men, too.
Nosy Parker by Lesley Crewe
Nosy Parker, by Canadian author Crewe, is a self-proclaimed "semi-autobiographical" coming of age story spanning a year in the life of 12-year-old Audrey. It's 1967 in Montreal. Audrey's mother died when Audrey was quite young and she's determined to solve the mystery of who her mother was. After moving with her dad to a new neighbourhood, Audrey navigates the end of middle school and start of high school, all while bonding with several mother figures in the neighbourhood.
Crewe writes so clearly about girlhood, the NDG neighbourhood and Montreal in the late '60s because it's based on her memories and women she knew. Audrey is a memorable child protagonist, and I do believe that Anne and Audrey would be kindred spirits. Crewe lends importance to the story of a young girl, because young girls are important. Montgomery would agree.
Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison
We continue with a book that spends some time in girlhood, but is ultimately about the journey of a woman who challenged expectations and norms, valued creativity and passionately embraced the arts. Peggy, by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison, is a fictionalized account of the life of modern art collector and heiress Peggy Guggenheim.
Guggenheim lived from 1898 to 1979 and she was one of the major art collectors of the 20th century, a champion of edgy new art styles like Surrealism, Dadaism, Cubism and Abstract Expressionism. The novel covers Guggenheim's artistic evolution, her volatile marriages and a torrid romance with the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. She was a bohemian free spirit who tried to live life on her terms. Even for a wealthy woman in the types of rarefied circles in which she existed, Guggenheim's life was exceptional.
Peggy author Godfrey spent 10 years researching and writing before she died in 2022. The book was completed by her friend, author Jamison, and released in 2024. The sad beauty of Jamison finishing her friend's work would have touched Montgomery, who wrote so movingly about female friendship. Perhaps Montgomery even knew about Guggenheim's artistic exploits in the '20s and '30s. She liked independent thinkers and Peggy Guggenheim was definitely that.
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
The final book is a madcap comedy with hijinks, heart, and a cast of eccentric characters straight out of Avonlea. How to Age Disgracefully by English author Clare Pooley is about a group of 70+ seniors, a teen father, a daycare full of toddlers and a 53-year-old woman named Lydia who band together to save their community centre. It's found family and friendship at its best, with a dash of irreverence and plenty of perseverance — all characteristics close to Montgomery's heart.
When 53-year old empty nester Lydia takes a job running a local seniors social club, she expects a quiet, easy time playing cards and drinking tea. On her first day, the ceiling collapses, which leads the city to consider shutting down the community centre. Lydia meets Daphne, a mysterious and stern 70-year-old with a dodgy past and plenty of chutzpah, who is venturing out into the world after being in hiding for 15 years. The other seniors are equally as colourful, and when they join forces with Ziggy the teenage dad and the daycare next door to save their shared space, hijinks ensue.
Pooley has written a heartfelt, charming novel about people who have been underestimated, overlooked and ignored, only to prove that true connection builds community.
It's refreshing to read about older characters who still have dreams and strive to achieve them, and Montgomery would've enjoyed Pooley's group of unlikely underdogs-turned-family.
This column has been edited for length and clarity.
