Compiled by Kevin McCabe, edited by Alexandra Heilbron
Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1999

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album is a 500 page coffee-table book, full of articles about Montgomery’s life and legacy. It is heavily illustrated with photographs, newspaper cliippings, scrapbook artifacts and various documents from Montgomery’s own life.

The short, magazine-style articles in this compilation covers a wide range of topics of Montgomery interest, from Montgomery’s fashion preferences, to her various beaux, to profiles of her friends and relatives, a guide to her haunts in Halifax as a college student, or excerpts of her earnings and spendings from her balance sheet.  Articles on the legacy she left, and influence she has worldwide in film, tourism, and academia is just as varied and comprehensive:  Montgomery’s bookcovers, many museums and tourist attractions, film adaptations, the Anne of Green Gables musical, festivals held in celebration of her works, are each given a detailed spread.

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album will delight any avid fan with its wealth of information and images.  This book was a veritable “candy store” to me when I found it, so eager was I to revel in the landscapes and society of Anne’s creator.  Perusing this book is like walking through a museum exhibit: it is full of carefully grouped artifacts (photos, letters, quotes) to examine, on frivolous and serious subjects.  It is an easy, accessible, and generally lighthearted way to learn about the Montgomery world.