L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery

Born on November 30, 1874, in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, she was raised mainly by her maternal grandparents in nearby Cavendish after her mother died when she was very young. That Island setting stayed with her for life and became the emotional heart of much of her fiction.

She published poems and stories for years before her breakthrough novel, Anne of Green Gables, appeared in 1908 and became an immediate success. She went on to write many more novels, short stories, essays, and poems, and her work helped make Prince Edward Island famous to readers around the world.

Montgomery spent much of her married life in Ontario, where her husband was a Presbyterian minister, and she continued writing while managing family and community responsibilities. She died in Toronto on April 24, 1942, but her books have remained in print for generations and still draw readers with their lively characters, strong sense of place, and deep feeling.