Spirit of Place: Lucy Maud Montgomery and Prince Edward Island is a book edited by Francis W.P. Bolger with photography by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay. The 96-page coffee table book was published by Oxford University Press Canada in 1982. The book begins with an introduction about L.M. Montgomery's life and literary career, and it describes her love of Prince Edward Island. Following the introduction, the main text contains quotations that Francis W.P. Bolger selected from L.M. Montgomery's autobiography, letters, and unpublished diaries about Prince Edward Island. L.M. Montgomery's quotes are accompanied by 86 glossy color photographs of Prince Edward Island by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay.
Here is the book's description from its inner jacket:
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY, the world-famous author of Anne of Green Gables, had a deep and passionate affection for the pastoral serenity and tranquil beauty of her native Island. ‘Old Prince Edward Island’, she wrote, 'is a good place in which to be born—a good place in which to spend a childhood. I can think of none better...Elsewhere are more lavish landscapes and grander scenery; but for chaste, restful loveliness it is unsurpassed.’ She went on to say, ‘And yet we cannot define the charm of Prince Edward Island in terms of land or sea. It is too elusive—too subtle. For lands have personalities just as well as human beings; and to know that personality you must live in the land and companion it and draw sustenance of body and spirit from it; so only can you know a land and be known of it.’
Spirit of Place is a pictorial study of the Prince Edward Island that Lucy Maud knew and loved. Passages from her autobiography and from her voluminous personal correspondence supply the text prepared by Francis W.P. Bolger, and the photographs by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay have been taken specially to illustrate the landscape she described. Word and picture together portray the Island that was always Lucy Maud Montgomery’s inspiration and strength.
Image credit:
Book cover of Spirit of Place: Lucy Maud Montgomery and Prince Edward Island.
Purchase and read Spirit of Place: Lucy Maud Montgomery and Prince Edward Island:
Created October 8, 1999. Last updated March 10, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com
