Anne of the Green Gables and Prince Edward Island

Ah, Anne Shirley, the girl with the indescribable charm and charming view of the world, how kids love her. She is the Anne of “Anne of Green Gables” books by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Of course, Anne Shirley is a fictional character, but her beautiful surroundings, as described in the book, are quite real. The author, Canadian writer Lucy Maud Montgomery, wrote about her own surroundings on the charmed island known as Prince Edward Island. Today, thousands of visitors flock to the area of the island known as “Anne’s Land,” to seek the lovely scenic vista’s that were a part of L. M. Montgomery’s stories.

Lucy Maud Montgomery started keeping a journal when she was nine years old. She also wrote many stories and poems from a young age on. When she started school in Prince Edward Island, she was smart and loved to read and learn, but she didn’t like school at first. However, then she met her favorite teacher, Hattie Gordon, who taught her to like and enjoy it.

In 1890, Lucy Maud Montgomery went to live with her father for a while in Saskatchewan. But, she missed Prince Edward Island sorely, and eventually went back to live with her grandparents. Later, she attended Prince of Wales College and became a teacher. After becoming a teacher and a newspaper journalist, Lucy Maud Montgomery began publishing stories and poems in newspapers and children’s magazines. Her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, about a spirited, independent orphan who wins the hearts of the elderly brother and sister who adopt her, was published in 1908. The book was a huge success right from the start. Mark Twain said that Anne of Green Gables was “the sweetest creation of child life yet.”

In 1903 Lucy Maude Montgomery met her future husband Ewan Macdonald, a minister, but they didn’t marry until after her grandmother, who she lived with and took care of, died in 1911. By this time, she was a published author. They moved to Leaskdale, Ontario, where she lived life as a ministers wife and mother of two sons. Lucy Maud Montgomery had much strife in her life, but continued to write and produce her wonderful books. She died in 1942.

“It is ever must be hallowed ground to me,” Lucy Maud Montgomery said of her beloved Cavendish home. Here she wrote her famous Anne of Green Gables book. She loved her grandparents home, but no building remains standing. However the homestead fields are there, the lanes she walked, the garden she tended, the old trees she sat under to dream her dreams are still there.

Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest, least populated but greenest province. It is approximately 5660 square kilometers or 2185 square miles, and it is separated from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by the Northcumberland Strait. The “smiley” crescent shaped island lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It’s largest city is Charlottetown and was named for Edward Augustus, duke of Kent.

The northern side of the island has beautiful white beaches protected by sea dunes. The southern side is bordered by bluffs of red sandstone. The climate of the island is mild and humid, and its small wooded areas consist mostly of spruce and birch trees. Wildflowers such as mayflowers, devil’s paint brush, and primroses abound, and geese, ducks, pheasant, partridge and snipe are some of the wildlife that live here. Clams, oysters, scallops, lobster, and cod are found in the offshore waters.

Prince Edward Island’s scenic, white sandy beaches, and fishing opportunities have made tourism one of the leading sources of income on the island. A national historic site commemorates Lucy Maud Montgomery, its most famous author. Green Gables, located in Cavendish in the Prince Edward Island National Park draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world each year.

If you are an “Anne” fan, or a nature lover, you will love visiting this beautiful region known as “Anne’s Land.”