Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of Prince Edward’s Icons. Her name is inseparable from Anne of Green Gables and she is one of the main reasons many people love PEI. Born in 1874, she was an Islander through and through. She was a teacher…do you remember Anne became a teacher also. She was born in what is now called New London, She lived for some time in Cavendish and she also visited her relatives in Park Corner frequently. It is rumoured that Park Corner was the site of her inspiration to write. From her cousin’s home, you can see the “lake of shining waters.”
After working for a Halifax newspaper for a short time, she returned to PEI and wrote poetry that she struggled to get published. In 1905 she wrote Anne of Green Gables but was unable to get it published. What I understand is that “Lucy” could not get recognition as a woman but when she tried with another publisher under the ambiguous gender “L. M. Montgomery”, she found a receptive ear and became an instant success.
Lucy was an avid scrapbooker. In 2008, on the hundredth anniversary of the publication of her first book, there was a release of a souvenir album that featured some of her scrapbooks: Imagine Anne. I believe you can also see her original scrapbooks at her birthplace in New London.
After Lucy died in 1942, the heirs took care of preserving her memory. One of the ways they ensure this is by licencing “Anne” products. This means that you cannot offer anything proposing to be “Lucy” or “Anne” without obtaining permission from the heirs. So that is why you will see, on several places on the Island, logos that say: Licenced Anne Products. Here are a few examples:
The Shining Waters Giftshop in Park Corner is part of the Anne of Green Gables Museum. They sell a variety of “Anne” themed products.
The Anne of Green Gables Store is located in downtown Charlottetown. They also have an online store where you can purchase dolls, books, music, gifts, etc.
The government website lists several vendors on their website where you can research your ANNE products.
And in doing my research, I came upon another blog: Trails of Hats’n Hospitalitea where today they talk about the scrapbooking Experience: ”Then because I’m a L.M. Montgomery fan, we have developed an experience for the garden loving, tea sipping, scrapbooking artsy kind of person.” I found another Scrapbooking and Lucy Maud Montgomery enthusiast.
I hope you enjoy Lucy Maud Montgomery as much as I do. Tune in tomorrow for M=Music.
Granny ~oo~
