Born in 1874, Lucy Maud Montgomery lost her mother when she was 21 months old. As her father traveled, she was placed in the home of her grandparents. She found some friendship in her cousins who lived nearby, but Montgomery primarily turned to writing to express her deepest thoughts. After starting her first diary at age nine, she published her first poem at age sixteen.

With her natural love of books, Montgomery studied with enthusiasm; in fact, she went on to Dalhousie College to earn an advanced degree that very few women pursued at the time. Her teaching career, however, was short-lived. Grandfather Macneill, who had cared for Montgomery during her childhood, died without any warning. Lucy was heartbroken. She also refused to let her grandmother enter a nursing home; Montgomery herself spent the next thirteen years caring for her.

Montgomery married Reverend Ewan Macdonald in 1911, just months after her grandmother passed away. They had three sons together—Chester, Hugh and Stewart—and ministered at various Presbyterian parishes for over 20 years. Anne of Green Gables (1908) and its seven sequels brought her international acclaim.

"Maud," as she came to be known, felt deeply about many things: her homeland of Prince Edward Island, her struggles with publishers, and her husband’s painful bouts with many illnesses. Like Anne, Maud stayed adventurous and determined throughout her life. Tragically, a nervous breakdown left her in a despondent condition during her last years. She died on April 24, 1942.