Lucy Maud Montgomery

Writer - author of 'Anne of Green Gables' She published 20 novels as well as 530 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays. Born on Prince Edward Island, Lucy's mother was Clara Woolner MacNeil Montgomery, who dies when Lucy =was 21 mos old (of TB). He father, Hugh John Montgomery was "stricken with grief" and placed her with her maternal grandparents and when Lucy was 7, her father moved to what is now Saskatchewan. Despite the fact that many of her maternal relatives were close by, Lucy stated that she was extremely lonely during this time, which led to her creating "invisible playmates". Lucy married Ewen ("Ewan") Macdonald in 1911 and they had children Chester, 1912-1963, Hugh, 1914-1914, and Stuart, 1915-1982. About the "Spanish flu" (1918-1920): Lucy (according to Wikipedia): "was stricken with and was almost killed by the "Spanish Flu" pandemic that killed between 50-100 million people all over the world in 1918–1919, spending ten days bed-ridden with the Spanish flu. In her diary on December 1, 1918, Montgomery wrote after a visit to Toronto in November: "Toronto was then beginning to be panic stricken over the outbreak of the terrible "Spanish flu." The drug counters were besieged with frantic people seeking remedies and safeguards". Montgomery wrote in her diary about being infected with Spanish flu: "I was in bed for ten days. I never felt so sick or weak in my life," going on to express thanks to God and her friends for helping her survive the ordeal. Montgomery's best friend Frederica Campbell MacFarlane was not so lucky and died after contracting the Spanish flu on January 20, 1919. Montgomery was upset that her husband had been indifferent to her as she was dying of the Spanish flu, which drove her to think about divorce (something very difficult to obtain in Canada until 1967; between 1873 and 1901, there were only 263 divorces out of a population of six million). Ultimately, Montgomery decided it was her Christian duty to make her marriage work." Lucy battled depression throughout her life. On April 24, 1942, she died in her bed in her home in Toronto. Her death certificate stated that she died of coronary thrombosis. In 2008, her granddaughter said her depression may have led her to take a drug overdose. A note next to her on her night table said: ".. I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best" Some view this as a suicide note, some view it as a note for her journal. There is no consistent or verifiable explanation - all that is known is the note exists.