L.M. Montgomery and the Matter of Nature(s)

L.m. Montgomery's Writings Are Replete With Enchanting, Yet Subtle And Fluid Depictions Of Nature That Convey Her Intense Appreciation For The Natural World. At A Time Of Ecological Crises, Intensifying Environmental Anxiety, And Burgeoning Eco-critical Perspectives, L.m. Montgomery And The Matter Of Nature(s) Repositions The Canadian Author's Relationship To Nature In Terms Of Current Environmental Criticism Across Several Disciplines, Introducing A Fresh Approach To Her Life And Work. Drawing On A Wide Range Of Montgomery's Novels As Well As Her Journals, This Collection Suggests That Socio-ecological Relationships Encompass Ideas Of Reciprocity, Affiliation, Autonomy, And The Capacity For Transformation In Both The Human And More-than-human Worlds, And That These Ideas Are Integral To Montgomery's Vision And Her Literary Legacy. Framed By The Twin Themes Of Materiality And Interrelationships, Essays By Scholars Of Literature, Law, Animal Studies, Anthropology, And Ecology Examine Place, Embodiment, And Difference In Montgomery's Works And Embrace The Multiplicities Embedded In The Concept Of Nature. Through Innovative Critical Approaches, L.m. Montgomery And The Matter Of Nature(s) Opens Up Conversations About Humans' Interactions With Nature And The Material Environment.-- Introduction / Rita Bode And Jean Mitchell -- Part I: Nature's Places. 1. Fire, Fantasy, And Futurity: Queer Ecology Visits Silver Bush / Catriona Sandilands -- 2. The Scotsman, The Scribe, And The Spyglass: Going Back With L.m. Montgomery To Prince Edward Island / Jennifer H. Litster -- 3. Romantic Novelist As Naturalist: John Foster And The Bird Woman / Nancy Holmes -- 4. L.m. Montgomery's Indoors And Out: Imagining An Organic Architecture / Rita Bode -- Part Ii: Nature's Embodiments. 5. Natural Bridge: L.m. Montgomery And The Architecture Of Imaginative Landscapes / Elizabeth Rollins Epperly -- 6. L.m. Montgomery's Neurasthenia: Embodied Nature And The Matter Of Nerves / Jean Mitchell -- 7. The Education Of Emily: Tempering A Force Of Nature Through Lessons In Law / Kate Sutherland -- 8. The Spirit Of Inquiry: Nature Study And The Sense Of Wonder In L.m. Montgomery's Anne Books / Tara K. Parmiter -- Part Iii: Nature's Otherness. 9. No London Street Arabs For Me: The Unnatural Orphan In Anne Of Green Gables / Paul Keen -- 10. Kindred Spirits: Kinship And The Nature Of Nature In Anne's House Of Dreams And The Blue Castle / Laura M. Robinson -- 11. The Empathic Poetic Sensibility: Discerning And Embodying Nature's Secrets / Lesley D. Clement -- 12. The Nature Of The Beast: Pets And People In L.m. Montgomery's Fiction / Idette Noomé. Edited By Rita Bode And Jean Mitchell. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 251-278) And Index.