House of Dreams - BookWyrm

No cover — Liz Rosenberg, Julie Morstad: House of Dreams (2018, Candlewick Press)

352 pages

English language

Published Feb. 17, 2018 by Candlewick Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-7636-6057-4

(1 review)

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books; she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L.M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables.

For many years, little was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, unaffectionate grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her troubled married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished journals.

House of Dreams is the first biography of L.M. Montgomery for young readers to include the recent revelations about the author’s last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and …

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, “I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.” Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books; she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L.M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables.

For many years, little was known about Maud’s personal life. Her childhood was spent with strict, unaffectionate grandparents, and her reflections on writing, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her “year of mad passion,” and her troubled married life remained locked away, buried deep within her unpublished journals.

House of Dreams is the first biography of L.M. Montgomery for young readers to include the recent revelations about the author’s last days and to encompass the complexity of a brilliant and checkered life. Kindred spirits of all ages who, like Maud, never give up “the substance of things hoped for” will be captivated by the life story of this remarkable woman.

3 editions

the_lirazel reviewed House of Dreams by Julie Morstad

Review of 'House of Dreams' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

4.5 stars

Oh, what a lovely book! I hadn't dared to hope it would be as good as it is.

Rosenberg doesn't talk down to her audience, using vocabulary that's probably a little challenging for her target audience, but in just the right way so that they can learn the words in context. She doesn't shy away from themes of mental illness, loss, and even despair, and yet her affection for Maud shines through on every page. It's a blend of hope and loss, ambition and failure, happiness and sorrow in just the way that Lucy Maud Montgomery's own writings were.

This book feels like a L.M. Montgomery book, and I can't think of higher praise than that.

Subjects

Women authors
Authors, juvenile literature
Women, biography
Canada, juvenile literature

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