My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - My Dear Mr. M Discussion

Do these letters give you a different view of LMM, or a different sense of who she was than other biographical/autobiographical writing about her life?

How do you reconcile these different “versions” of LMM?

rubyslippersreads, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean For me, this was the most fascinating aspect of reading these letters. Because of course we all present ourselves differently depending on the context—we‘re more vulnerable and open with our close friends, we may use a journal to vent our frustration and process our grief in ways that we wouldn‘t in front of others, and we likely try to put the best face on things for those we want to impress. But I got SUCH a different impression from ⤵️ 4mo

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d)… these letters than I did from the Rubio biography especially, but the tone felt so much warmer and more open than Alpine Path as well. I felt like these letters must have been much closer to the “real” Maud. And yet in one of her later letters she talks about how often she‘s hidden her difficulties. I feel like the truth must be somewhere between—not quite the letters, not quite the journals, and not quite the biographies. 4mo

lauraisntwilder Alpine Path is too short and too impersonal. But, to be fair, it's an autobiography, not a memoir. Rubio went into great detail, but again I felt like there was too little of LMM's personality represented. It's obvious that LMM didn't tell Mr. M everything, for a variety of reasons, including the amount of time that passed between letters. But, I felt like what we were left with was genuine. It wasn't the whole picture, but it was sincere. 4mo

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TheAromaofBooks I found it interesting to watch the arc of their friendship. Do you think the conversation about love/marriage/etc early in the correspondence was Mr. M feeling out her interest in romance with him? I found it interesting that early letters (when they were younger) were more about theories and Why Are We Here kind of discussions, vs the middle age letters more about everyday life. I loved LMM's wry sense of humor coming through (her poem ⬇ 4mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) about free verse poetry had me rolling) and was surprised at how much of what she said still felt relevant to me - her pg112 letter about how fast things are changing/being invented and how it's good but also bad I found very relatable.

I do think she kept some things from Mr. M, like @lauraisntwilder said, definitely due in part to the gaps in time, and I think also a natural reticence at a time period when one didn't really talk ⬇ 4mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) about feelings and especially didn't complain about one's husband to another man. Her final letter had me teared up. It's impossible to know whether she purposefully took an overdose or not, but I think it's obvious that she was definitely struggling with feelings of unworthiness and uselessness, and it's just so sad. I wonder what her life would have been if she had only had to bear the burden of her husband OR of Chester - I think it ⬇ 4mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) was the sheer loneliness of having both of them to carry that weighed her down - no one to share that burden with would just be so difficult.

Anyway, all in all, I just thoroughly enjoyed these letters. I feel like they really gave insight into another facet of LMM's personality and I really enjoyed it!! 4mo

lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks I second all of this! That last letter was a doozy. 4mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Alpine Path was very odd to me--it was so disconnected, and in some places she shared quite a bit and in others it felt like she was intentionally talking around anything personal! Here, I didn't get that sense that she was holding back. I loved being able to see her personality shine out in these letters. @TheAromaofBooks Definitely agree, some of the things she kept back were just due to what was/wasn't discussed at the time. 4mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh my gosh, yes--that “free verse“ poem was hilarious!! I wondered at the early discussions about love, too--whether there was a bit of testing the waters going on there. LMM might have been much more content living in Scotland married to dear Mr. M! I think about so many what ifs with LMM. If Ewan hadn't struggled, if Chester hadn't been so awful, if Frede had lived, if adequate mental health care or therapy had been available! 4mo

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BarbaraJean

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - My Dear Mr. M Discussion

What did you think of LMM‘s comments to MacMillan about her own writing? (Saying Ingleside wasn‘t “up to” the rest of the series, that she wrote Jane for love of the character, etc.) Did these line up with your own views about or perceptions of her writing? Do you think an author can be unbiased about their own work?

rubyslippersreads, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean There were SO many comments about her writing that I found fascinating. I felt so validated when I read that she felt like she‘d had to add a lot of superfluous material to flesh out Kilmeny to book length! I felt similarly validated by her judgment of Anne of Ingleside. And the discussion about the Windy Poplars/Windy Willows differences was fascinating. 4mo

lauraisntwilder I haven't read all her books (yet), but I definitely agreed with her on Ingleside and Poplars/Willows, and that the Anne series grows stale in general. However, it was strange to see her take on Island and the silly schoolgirls who needed to know what happened with Anne and Gilbert. 4mo

TheAromaofBooks I did feel like what I read here lined up more with my gut thoughts on the books (way better than crazy “Magic Island“ lady's interpretations 🙄). I actually personally love both Ingleside and Windy Poplars, but I can also see their weaknesses compared to earlier books. I loved that her alternate title for A Tangled Web was Crying for the Moon! @lauraisntwilder 4mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yes, her comments on Anne of the Island felt strange to me, too--it's one of my favorite books in the series! Her resentment over the clamor for more about Anne made sense, but I think there's far more depth to Island than just a way of satisfying silly schoolgirls who want to see Anne & Gilbert engaged. And from the biographies, it sounded she defended her books quite strongly against those who dismissed them as “just for girls.“ (edited) 4mo

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BarbaraJean

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Sorry to be posting these so late! Today has been one thing after another—all good but very busy. Jump into the discussion when you can. 😊

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - My Dear Mr. M Discussion

What themes or topics stand out to you from LMM‘s correspondence with MacMillan? Which parts of these letters did you most enjoy?

rubyslippersreads, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean The early letters I found especially fascinating, because there was so much of an exchange of ideas—like the discussion about love! But I loved the middle letters that included so many delightful stories. LMM really was an engaging storyteller. And then the way they exchanged recommendations of books and poems was a thread all the way through that I found so endearing. 4mo

lauraisntwilder I think I most enjoyed, or perhaps related to, LMM's thoughts on how PEI changed over the years. For Christmas, I was in the house in the woods where I grew up and my nearby, small, TN hometown. While there obviously isn't a national park there because of me, there were so many small changes, like trees lost to ice damage or storms. Every time LMM would go back, she mentioned what had changed and what had blessedly stayed the same. 4mo

TheAromaofBooks I really enjoyed reading this book!! However, I was grateful for the biographies we had read, because I think I would have found this slightly confusing without the framework for reference. I was especially fascinated to get LMM's perspective on the entire Page lawsuit. Like @lauraisntwilder said, her thoughts on the changes on PEI were also interested - I definitely felt her Pat-side coming through in some of those letters. I could tell that ⬇ 4mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) her love of nature, which is a theme with all of her heroines, was definitely a part of her own life - I loved descriptions of trees, lanes, gardens, etc. The sheer level of industry that LMM was putting in by working at her writing and also all of her housewife/minister's wife duties (truly full-time work in and of itself!) made me feel like a lazy bum in comparison! 4mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yes, it was so interesting to hear about the changes she described in Cavendish, and heartbreaking to read the passage where she sneaked into her old home that was closed up & abandoned. @TheAromaofBooks I thought of Pat of Silver Bush, too, especially when she talked about the loss of trees! And yes, the passages about the Page lawsuit--that man still infuriates me! 4mo

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BarbaraJean

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I‘m only just starting the December #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead—discussion on Saturday 😆 How‘s everyone else doing?!

rubyslippersreads, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I actually read about 10-15pgs/day starting at the beginning of the month so I finished. I found this to be really engaging, so I'm looking forward to our discussion!!! 4mo

lauraisntwilder I still haven't started it, but I still have high hopes of finishing in time. Fingers crossed! 4mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I've been dragging on my daily reads, feeling resentful of “assignments“ this month.😂 In that way, I'm glad I didn't plan a schedule for myself. But I read the whole first section yesterday, so I don't think I'll have a problem finishing in time for Saturday! @lauraisntwilder I have high hopes for you, too! As Sarah said, it's really engaging. Also, I have commitments Sat. morning, so I'll probably post questions late in the day. 4mo

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LitsyEvents

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery | Lucy Maud Montgomery, George Boyd MacMillan

Reposting for @barbarajean
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2667848

LitsyEvents #BuddyRead 5mo

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BarbaraJean

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery | Lucy Maud Montgomery, George Boyd MacMillan

The #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead pick for December is My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery. Our discussion will be on Saturday, December 30. I‘m really looking forward to this one. I mean, it‘s pretty much guaranteed to be better than November‘s pick. 😆

I currently have @lauraisntwilder @rubyslippersreads and @TheAromaofBooks on my tag list for December. All are welcome—let me know if you‘d like to be added to the list!

quietjenn, Linsy, Jerdencon, Bkwrm7, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, AnneCecilie, Prairiegirl_reading, Centique, megnews, StayCurious, kwmg40, sblbooks, LitsyEvents, julieclair

julieclair I will pass on this one… too much going on in December… but I‘m looking forward to picking back up in January! 5mo

BarbaraJean @julieclair I'll make sure you're on the list for January! 5mo

TheAromaofBooks Okay, I do have a copy of this coming and am actually really interested to read some of LMM's own writing, after reading so much of other people's opinions about it haha I don't have my copy yet, so I don't know how long it is. Hopefully doable during this busy month!! 5mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks It‘s a little over 200 pages—totally doable! I thought about chapter-a-day style since it‘s letters but I didn‘t want any more daily reading assignments than I‘ve already given myself in such a busy month! 5mo

TheAromaofBooks Right? Every month I say I'm going to show some restraint... and then I DON'T 😂 5mo

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BarbaraJean

My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Last week I went on a little book-buying spree justified by needing some books for the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. This is the first to arrive… of course, it‘s the book for December! I‘m really excited about this one. The back cover says LMM‘s letters “show the full range of her interests”—including “her cats and gardening.” 😍 I have a feeling I will enjoy this one much more than I did this month‘s pick. 😬

TheAromaofBooks I'm very interested to read this year's nonfiction picks, including this one!! 1y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Me too! All of the books on the list this year will be first-time reads for me, and I think I‘m most interested in the nonfiction picks. Not just because Anne of Manhattan fell flat. 😆 1y

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