L.M. Montgomery was the pen name of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942) who is best known for her series of novels featuring orphan girl Anne Shirley, beginning with Anne of Green Gables. The novels and character in part reflect events in her life. Her mother died before her second birthday, and she was raised in a strict manner by her maternal grandparents in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.  Her childhood was idyllic but isolated, giving her imagination room to blossom with imaginary friends and events.  She began keeping a diary at age nine and published her first poem at age fifteen. In 1893 she obtained a teaching certificate, then studied literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She started having her stories accepted by magazines in 1897 and published over 100 stories over the next ten years. Anne of Green Gables started taking shape in spring 1904. In her words, “....she soon seemed very real to me and took possession of me to an unusual extent.” After many rejections, the book was published in 1908 and became a huge success, spawning many sequels and eventually helping Prince Edward Island become an international tourist destination. She married Presbyterian minister Ewan Macdonald in 1911 and settled in Uxbridge, Ontario, raising three children and continuing to write prolifically, producing 20 novels, 500 poems, 530 stories and 30 essays during her life. She received numerous honors, joining the Royal Society of Arts in Britain and being named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.