Maud by Melanie J. Fishbane

Fourteen-year-old, Lucy Maud Montgomery (known as Maud to her friends) lives in Prince Edward Island with her grandparents. She has dreams and aspirations of becoming a famous writer, just like her hero, Louisa May Alcott. Her grandfather has strong views on a woman’s place in the world and believes Maud’s “scribblings” are intolerable. Fortunately, she has a teacher who encourages and believes in her, along with good friends for support.

Maud’s life is turned upside down when she is moved out West to Saskatchewan to live with her father and his new wife. While her new hometown offers several new opportunities, frictions between her stepmother start to jeopardize Maud’s future.

Although the story is not a biography – the plot, characters, and places are based on many primary and secondary sources of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life. For anyone that enjoyed Anne of Green Gables growing up, Maud is a must read as Anne was loosely based on the experiences Mrs. Montgomery herself had while growing up.

Melanie Fishbane holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a MA in History from Concordia University. She has been obsessed with Anne of Green Gables since she was in Grade 6 and lives in Toronto with her partner and their furbabies: Merlin Cat and Angel Dog.