Have you ever wondered what inspired your favorite classic novelist to write their stories? What was happening in their lives to inspire their famous works? What was happening in the world at the time that they wrote those stories you love?
Join Host Bree Carlile while she helps to answer some of the questions you have always had about your favorite classic novelists.
For the next few weeks we will talk about the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery. What inspired her to write Anne of Green Gables? What else was happening in the world at the time?
Come with us as we release new episode to go along with each new author on the Bite at a Time Books podcast.
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Information for today's episode came from Wikipedia, don't judge us, we just want to give you a brief glimpse into the life. You can search the episode name in Wikipedia if you want to read for yourself. Thanks!
Transcripts
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Welcome to Bite at a Time.
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Books behind the story where we answer the questions you have about your favorite classic authors.
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What inspired your favorite author to write their novels?
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What was going on in the world at the time.
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Follow along with us as we tell you what was happening in the world while your favorite authors wrote your favorite classics.
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My name is bree Carlisle and I love to read and wanted to share my passion with listeners like you.
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If you enjoy our show, be sure to follow us so you get all the new episodes.
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We would also love for you to drop us a rating on your favorite podcast platform and share our show with your friends.
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You can catch us on all the social media's at bite at a time books if you would also like to hear a story by the author, we are currently featuring check out the bite at a Time books podcast wherever you listen to podcasts today, we'll be talking about lucy maud Montgomery's battles with depression and the spanish flu.
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Montgomery underwent several periods of depression while trying to cope with the duties of motherhood and church life and with her husband's attacks of religious melancholia, endogenous major depressive disorder and deteriorating health for a woman who has given the world so much joy.
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Life was mostly an unhappy one.
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In 1918, Montgomery was stricken with and was almost killed by the spanish flu pandemic that killed between 50 to 100 million people all over the world in 1918 to 1919, spending 10 days bedridden with the spanish flu in her diary on december 1st 1918, Montgomery wrote after a visit to Toronto in november.
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Toronto was then beginning to be panic stricken over the outbreak of the terrible spanish flu.
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The drug counters were besieged with frantic people seeking remedies and safeguards.
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Montgomery wrote in her diary about being infected with the spanish flu.
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I was in bed for 10 days.
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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.
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Montgomery is best friends, Fredricka Campbell McFarlane 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.
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In Canada until 1967, Between 1873 and 1901, there were only 263 divorces out of a population of six million.
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Ultimately, Montgomery decided it was her christian duty to make her marriage work after the First World War.
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A recurring character in Montgomery's journal that was to obsess her for the rest of her life was the piper who at first appeared as a heroic highlander piper from Scotland leading men into battle while playing traditional highland tunes, but who turned out to be the pied piper of Hamelin, a trickster taking Children away from their parents forever.
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The figure of the piper reflected Montgomery's own disillusionment with World War One and her guilt at her ardent support for the war, to inspire men to volunteer for the war.
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A piper had marched through the center of leaks dale daily for all four years of World War One playing highland war tunes, which had given Montgomery the inspiration of the figure of the piper.
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The piper first appears in the and books in Rainbow Valley 1919, inspiring the future grown Children of glen ST mary with this courage.
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In gorilla of ingleside 1921 the piper returns as a more sinister figure inspiring and son walter to enlist in the Canadian expeditionary force.
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While taking on the appearance and personality of the pied piper of Hamlin.
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The reverend Macdonald, a good calvinist who believed in predestination, had become convinced that he was not one of the elect chosen by God to go to heaven, leading him to spend hours depressed and staring into space.
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The reverend Macdonald often told his wife that he wished she and their Children had never been born, as they were also not of the elect, and all of them were going to hell when they died as he believed that they were all predestined to be among the damned Macdonald, refused to assist with raising the Children or the housework and was given over to erratic, reckless driving as if he was deliberately trying to get himself killed in a car crash.
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As perhaps he was Montgomery herself, was driven to depression by her husband's conduct, often writing that she wished she had married somebody else.
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Montgomery wrote in her diary that she could not stand looking at her husband's face when he had that horrible imbecile expression on his face As he stared blankly into space for hours.
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In February 1920, Montgomery wrote in her diary about having to deal with A letter from some pathetic 10 year old in New York, who implores me to send her my photo because she lies awake in her bed, wondering what I look like.
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Well, if she had a picture of me in my old dress, resting with the furniture this morning, cussing the ashes and clinkers, she would die of disillusionment.
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However, I shall send her a reprint of my last photo, in which I sat in rapt inspiration, apparently at my desk, with pin in my hand in gown of lace and silk with hair so amen!
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A quite passable woman of no kin, whatever to the dusty ash covered Cinderella of the furnace seller.
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For much of her life writing was her one great solace In 1920, Montgomery wrote in her diary, a quotation from the South African writer, Olive Scribner's book, the story of an African farm which defined different types of love, including a love without wisdom, sweet as life, bitter as death, lasting only an hour leading her to write.
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But it is worth having lived a whole life for that hour, emphasis in the original Montgomery concluded my love for Herman leered though so incomplete is a memory which I would not barter for anything save the lives of my Children and the return of feud Fredricka Campbell McFarlane.
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Her best friend Montgomery believed her spells of depression and migraine headaches she suffered from were both expressions of her suppressed romantic passions and Laird's ghost haunting her.
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Thank you for joining Bite at a Time Books behind the story.
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Today, while we answered some of the questions you have about one of your favorite classic authors.
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If you enjoy our show, be sure to follow us.
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So you get all the new episodes.
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If you want to see exclusive behind the scenes of our show, follow us on Youtube.
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We would also love for you to drop a separating on your favorite podcast platform and share our show with your friends.
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You can catch us on all the social media's at Byte at a Time Books.
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If you would also like to hear a story by the author, we are currently featuring, Check out the Bite at a Time Books podcast wherever you listen to podcasts again.
