Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery (1874-1942) began her career writing for a newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before returning to her native Prince Edward Island. Her short stories soon began appearing in the Family Herald and children's magazines. Anne of Green Gables (1908) was actually written first as a serial for a Sunday school paper, but it quickly became her immensely successful first novel, bringing her international recognition. That title was followed by eight more books about Anne and Avonlea and a number of other entertaining novels, including her Emily series, which began in 1923 with Emily of New Moon. But it is Anne Shirley, praised by Mark Twain as "the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice," who remains a popular favorite throughout the world.
