The Accidental Pastor's Wife

I've been saving this author because she's probably my favorite of all time. I think I've grown to love her more with time because she was a minister's wife, and kind of a reluctant one at that. I resonate with her.

She wrote the famous book for young women called Anne of Green Gables, about a red headed orphan named Anne Shirley who goes to live with an aging brother and sister at their family farm on Prince Edward Island. Withtout spoiling too much of the story, let's just say she has a vivid imagination and her temper is as hot as her hair color! Montgomery wrote an entire series about her: Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside. These books were written for teenage girls in the first part of the twentieth century, but they still captivate readers today. The themes of acceptance, discovering your place in the world, navigating romance, education, and the role of women are just as important today as during Anne's time.

Kevin Sullivan has also produced some amazing movies based on the first three books: Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (which is a combination of books 2 & 3). He has also made a movie called Anne-The Continuing Story but it is completely unlike the books and, I think, misrepresents who Anne is. It's entertaining in its own right, but it's NOT the Anne Shirley that Montgomery created.

Although Montgomery is best known for her character of Anne Shirley, she has also written a number of entertaining stories. Her personal favorite (and a favorite of mine) is The Story Girl, a story about Sara Stanley who spins the most marvelous tales and spends the summer with distant relatives on Prince Edward Island.

She wrote many short stories for magazines, too, that have been collected into books such as After Many Days, Against the Odds, By the Sea and Akin to Anne. Additionally, she carried on with tales of the fictional Avonlea, which was based on her hometown of Cavendish, with Further Chronicles of Avonlea and with Anne Shirley's family in The Road to Yesterday, which I just started.

I am a HUGE L.M. Montgomery fan. I am so looking forward to reading them with my sweet baby girl someday!