What can be said about Ms. Montgomery that hasn't already been said? But I will add what I can which is that reading her own life story as told in her personal journals gives me a greater understanding of Anne, of all of L.M. Montgomery's characters. Ms. Montgomery, or "Maud" was a sensitive, intelligent woman, a young girl who loved life and nature and the world around her as much as Anne. Tragedy and loss and loneliness that came to Ms. Montgomery in later life makes her world seem a little removed from Anne yet this enabled her to create characters such as Leslie Moore, Valancy, and even Rilla whose "soul growth" after her own sufferings makes me wonder if Ms. Montgomery did not have her own "soul growth" to inspire her. Ms. Montgomery should be remembered for her own beautiful spirit as well as the spirit of our ever beloved Anne.