Booked: A Traveler's Guide to Literary Locations Around the World

My husband and I were roaming in a bookstore recently, and he was looking through a travel book of literary locations. He came over to show it to me because the book featured Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables, and he knew I'd love to see it. The book is titled Booked: A Traveler's Guide to Literary Locations Around the World, and it's by Richard Kreitner. I love to read and explore, so I thought the concept was really fun.



Booked was published in 2019 by Black Dog & Leventhal, which is part of the Hachette Book Group. Here's the book's description from the publisher's website:

A practical, armchair travel guide that explores eighty of the most iconic literary locations from all over the globe that you can actually visit.

A must-have for every fan of literature, Booked inspires readers to follow in their favorite characters footsteps by visiting the real-life locations portrayed in beloved novels including the Monroeville, Alabama courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird, Chatsworth House, the inspiration for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, and the Kyoto Bridge from Memoirs of a Geisha. The full-color photographs throughout reveal the settings readers have imagined again and again in their favorite books.

Organized by regions all around the world, author Richard Kreitner explains the importance of each literary landmark including the connection to the author and novel, cultural significance, historical information, and little-known facts about the location. He also includes travel advice like addresses and must-see spots.

Booked features special sections on cities that inspired countless literary works like a round of locations in Brooklyn from Betty Smith’s iconic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn and a look at the New Orleans of Tennessee Williams and Anne Rice.

Locations include:
Central Park, NYC (The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger)
Forks, Washington (Twilight, Stephanie Meyer)
Prince Edward Island, Canada (Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery)
Kingston Penitentiary, Ontario (Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood)
Holcomb, Kansas (In Cold Blood, Truman Capote)
London, England (White Teeth, Zadie Smith)
Paris, France (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo)
Segovia, Spain, (For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway)
Kyoto, Japan (Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden)

Image credits:
Photograph of a page on Anne of Green Gables in Booked by Richard Kreitner taken by World of Anne Shirley and cover image of Booked by Black Dog & Leventhal.

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Created May 20, 2024.
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The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables

The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables: The Enchanting Island that Inspired L. M. Montgomery is a book by Catherine Reid explores the environment of Prince Edward Island and how L.M. Montgomery used nature as a source of creativity to write Anne of Green Gables. Published in 2018, the book is filled with lush photography, biographical information about L.M. Montgomery, and L.M. Montgomery's own photos and quotes. It was published by Timber Press in Portland, Oregon, which is part of the Hachette Book Group. The book was acclaimed as one of Smithsonian magazine’s Ten Best Books About Travel of 2018.

Here is the book's description from the Hachette Book Group:

The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables explores L. M. Montgomery’s deep connection to the landscapes of Prince Edward Island that inspired her to write the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. From the Lake of Shining Waters and the Haunted Wood to Lover’s Lane, you’ll be immersed in the real places immortalized in the novels.

Using Montgomery’s journals, archives, and scrapbooks, Catherine Reid explores the many similarities between Montgomery and her unforgettable heroine, Anne Shirley. The lush package includes Montgomery’s hand-colorized photographs, the illustrations originally used in Anne of Green Gables, and contemporary and historical photography.

Reviews

“This book will be treasured by Montgomery’s legions of fans.” —Carolyn Strom Collins, author of The Anne of Green Gables Treasury; editor of After Many Years: Twenty-one “Long-Lost” Stories by L. M. Montgomery

“In L. M. Montgomery’s beloved book, Anne of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, Canada, played a role that is arguably just as important as the series’ protagonist, Anne Shirley. Wanting to bring the island to life years later, author Catherine Reid explores the very places that inspired Montgomery and became immortalized in her prose.” —The Smithsonian Magazine

“There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing gorgeous pictures of sunsets, shores, and gardens alongside snippets of Montgomery’s musical, flowery prose. Reid’s love letter to Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery, and Prince Edward Island is sure to delight. Anne enthusiasts will learn more about what inspired Montgomery, while nature lovers will find a kindred spirit in Reid, who clearly has a passion for all things green and growing.” —Booklist starred review

“This is not just a book filled with beautiful photos; it’s a satisfyingly rich and layered combination of the visual and intellectual. Readers will gain a new appreciation not only for Montgomery but also for the landscape that meant so much to her.” —Library Journal

“Whether you read the Anne saga growing up (particularly popular with young girls) or are brainstorming now for a summer vacation jewel, this new The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables is certain to delight. Author Catherine Reid exuberantly jumped into Montgomery's archives—her journals, scrapbooks, photographs—to create this lush tribute to Montgomery, Green Gables and PEI. It is graced with positive quotes, poems and anecdotes; festooned with fascinating history; dressed in scores of images from yesteryear and today. . . . Reid herself deserves ample applause for this wet-kiss, well-crafted ode to all that makes Prince Edward Island and its most esteemed native resonate with readers and visitors. Oh, Canada!” —Forbes

“For readers looking for a deeper understanding of the book, the author, and how they both came together to create a timeless classic, this is a must-read. Filled with beautiful colour images and original illustrations from the book's 1908 edition, The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables is an easy, enjoyable read, but it is packed with much more fascinating information than your average coffee-table book. . . . readers are prompted to reflect on how the landscapes of their worlds speak to their own internal lives.” —The Cardinal Press

Image credit:
Photograph of The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables by Timber Press.

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Created May 16, 2024.
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Finding Anne on Prince Edward Island

Finding Anne on Prince Edward Island is a guidebook that features locations that inspired L.M. Montgomery to write Anne of Green Gables. The travel guide was published by Ragweed Press as part of their "Island Pathways" series. The book was edited by Kathleen Hamilton and Sibyl Frei. The color photography is by John Sylvester, and the book includes many archival photos from the Prince Edward Island Public Archives.

It's a small spiral bound travel guide. I own a copy of the third printing, which was published in 1998. The guidebook features quotes from L.M. Montgomery's journals and from the Anne of Green Gables novels. The book's introduction states:

"This guidebook is designed for all those who are looking for ANNE and her creator, L.M. Montgomery, and it features the Island locations that you will most want to visit. The chapters are arranged alphabetically by location; each describes a different community on the Island, outlining the places of importance to L.M. Montgomery, and the ANNE attractions to be found there. Entertaining quotations from Anne of Green Gables and the other ANNE books are sprinkled through the chapters."

The contents include the following chapters:

Introduction
Belmont
Bideford
Cavendish
Charlottetown
French River
Hunter River
Kensington
Lower Bedeque
Malpeque
New London
Park Corner
Anne Day Tour
Select Bibliography
Index of Featured Attractions

Each chapter is subdivided into three sections: (1) The Setting, (2) About L.M. Montgomery, and (3) Attractions and Activities. Although so much information is readily available online, I still like to have a guidebook on hand when traveling. I like this one because it is focused on L.M. Montgomery's experiences and perspectives.


Image credit:
Photograph of the Finding Anne on Prince Edward Island book cover by World of Anne Shirley.

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Created May 9, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island

The L.M. Montgomery Institute was founded in 1993 to promote research on the life and writings of L.M. Montgomery. It is part of the University of Prince Edward Island, a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The L.M. Montgomery Institute is located in the Robertson Library at the University of Prince Edward Island, which houses a large collection of publications and artifacts about L.M. Montgomery.

From 1893–1894, L.M. Montgomery attended school at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. In 1969, Prince of Wales College was amalgamated with St. Dunstan's University to form the University of Prince Edward Island. The former Prince of Wales College buildings from L.M. Montgomery’s time are now part of Holland College in downtown Charlottetown.

During my visit to Prince Edward Island, I visited the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the Robertson Library. The librarian there was very kind and helpful. There was a bronze bust of L.M. Montgomery in the library by Claude Patrice Roussel.


Official Websites:
L.M. Montgomery Institute
Robertson Library at the University of Prince Edward Island

Location:
L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island
550 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Created July 17, 2007. Last updated July 2, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Cavendish Cemetery

The Cavendish Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The cemetery is the final resting place of L.M. Montgomery. She is buried alongside her husband, the Reverend Ewen Macdonald.

The entrance to the Cavendish Cemetery has a large metal archway reading, "Resting Place of L.M. Montgomery, Cavendish." The cemetery is located in walking distance from the Green Gables Heritage Place and the site of L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish Home. It is open to the public, and visitors can enter and pay their respects at L.M. Montgomery's grave.



L.M. Montgomery's mother, Clara Woolner Macneill Montgomery, is buried nearby in the Cavendish Cemetery. Clara died of tuberculosis in 1876 when L.M. Montgomery was 21 months old.

L.M. Montgomery grieved the loss of her mother throughout her life. On December 29, 1921, L.M. Montgomery wrote in her journals, "Somehow, I have an odd feeling that mother is very near me as I write. Does human personality survive death? And is it possible that when we think of our dead it summons them irresistibly to us?"



After the death of her mother in Cavendish, L.M. Montgomery remained there with her maternal grandparents, Alexander Macneill and Lucy Woolner Macneill, who raised her at the Macneill homestead. Alexander Macneill died in 1898, and Lucy Woolner Macneill died in 1911. L.M. Montgomery's grandparents are buried next to L.M. Montgomery's mother.


Location:
Cavendish Cemetery
PE-13, Cavendish, PE C0A 1M0, Canada.

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume III: 1921-1929. ed. Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston. Oxford University Press, 1992. page 33.

Created July 17, 2007. Last updated June 28, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lower Bedeque School

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Lower Bedeque School is a historical museum located in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island.

L.M. Montgomery taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Lower Bedeque from 1897–1898. This was her third and final teaching position. She enjoyed her time in Lower Bedeque, finding it a lively and friendly place with many young people. During L.M. Montgomery’s year in Lower Bedeque, she boarded with Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Leard. She fell in love with their son, a young farmer named Herman Leard, and wrote about him in her journals. In March 1898, L.M. Montgomery’s grandfather Alexander Macneill died, and she returned home to live with her grandmother in Cavendish.



The Lower Bedeque School that L.M. Montgomery taught in was restored. It represents a typical one-room, country schoolhouse in Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s. You can stand at the front of the class at the podium and imagine teaching a class of students. The original desks are more than a century old and so are the slates. There are displays of old books, educational materials, and school supplies.



There were several replica dresses on display that were worn at performances of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical. The school was registered as a Heritage Place by the province of Prince Edward Island in 2005.



The Lower Bedeque School was originally located on Route 112. I visited the museum at its original location in 2006. In 2019, the museum was closed due to a lack of volunteers. In 2021, the entire building was moved to a new location in Central Bedeque to a park across from the Bedeque Area Historical Museum.

The Bedeque Area Historical Museum currently maintains and manages the school museum. There are several exhibits in the Lower Bedeque School, namely: Introduction to the Schoolhouse, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Time in Bedeque, Maud's Secret Bedeque Romance, Saving the Lower Bedeque School, Early Education in Prince Edward Island, and Montgomery's Loyalist Roots.

Official Website:
Lucy Maud Montgomery Lower Bedeque School at the Bedeque Area Historical Museum

Location:
Lucy Maud Montgomery Lower Bedeque School
950 Callbeck St, Bedeque, PE C0B 1C0, Canada.

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

References:
School museum where L.M. Montgomery taught forced to close its doors. (2019, June 24). CBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-bedeque-schoolhouse-lucy-maud-montgomery-1.5187652

P.E.I. school where L.M. Montgomery taught being moved to new site. CBC News. (2021, June 9). CBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-lower-bedeque-school-montgomery-moving-1.6059539

Lower Bedeque School Gets a New Home. (2021, June 1). Bedeque Area Historical Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.bedequemuseum.ca/historical-society/lower-bedeque-school-gets-a-new-home


Created July 17, 2007. Last updated June 27, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Bideford Parsonage Museum

The Bideford Parsonage Museum is a historical museum located in Bideford, Prince Edward Island.

L.M. Montgomery lived in this parsonage with the Reverend and Mrs. Estey from 1894–1895 while she taught in Bideford. This was L.M. Montgomery’s first teaching position after leaving Prince of Wales College. Montgomery’s early experiences as a teacher at Bideford’s one-room schoolhouse were later reflected in her portrayal of Anne Shirley’s experiences as a new teacher at the Avonlea School in Anne of Avonlea. During her time in Bideford, Montgomery wrote a great deal, but she continued to receive rejection letters for her stories.

One of the most memorable scenes from Anne of Green Gables originated from an event at the Bideford Parsonage. In chapter XXI, titled “A New Departure in Flavorings,” Anne accidentally flavors a layer cake with anodyne liniment instead of vanilla and then serves it to the minister and his wife.

L.M. Montgomery wrote about the real event that inspired Anne’s tea-time mishap in her autobiography The Alpine Path:

“The notable incident of the liniment cake happened when I was teaching school in Bideford and boarding at the Methodist parsonage there. Its charming mistress flavoured a layer cake with anodyne liniment one day. Never shall I forget the taste of that cake and the fun we had over it, for the mistake was not discovered until tea-time. A strange minister was there to tea that night. He ate every crumb of his piece of cake. What he thought of it we never discovered. Possibly he imagined it was simply some new-fangled flavouring.”

The Bideford parsonage served as the home to many clergy members until it passed into private hands. In 1999, members of the local community came together to obtain provincial government funding to purchase, preserve, and carefully restore the parsonage. The museum opened in the year 2000, after which restoration of the building continued to return the structure to its appearance in the late 1890s.

The museum is now filled with information on the culture and lifestyle of the era, and it holds many artifacts contributed by the community. Along with learning about the time period, you can view L.M. Montgomery’s old bedroom (pictured below) and look out the window, which faces the bay.



Here's the lovely view of the bay from the yard of the Bideford Parsonage Museum:



Official Website:
Bideford Parsonage Museum

Location:
Bideford Parsonage Museum
North Cape Coastal Drive, 784 Bideford Road, Rte 166, Bideford, PE C0B 1J0, Canada

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. The Alpine Path. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1997. pages 74–75.

Created July 17, 2007. Last updated June 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace is a historical museum located in New London, Prince Edward Island.

L.M. Montgomery was born in this house on November 30, 1874. Her parents, Hugh and Clara Montgomery, lived here after their marriage and during L.M. Montgomery’s infancy. Sadly, Clara died of tuberculosis when L.M. Montgomery was just 21 months old. After her mother’s death, L.M. Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents, Alexander and Lucy Macneill, in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

At the time of L.M. Montgomery’s birth, the town of New London was called Clifton. Her birthplace overlooks the New London Harbour and sand dunes, which feature in Montgomery's writings. L.M. Montgomery described her first home in her journals as a yellowish-brown house, but it is currently painted white and green, similar to Green Gables.

The house is now a small museum where visitors can explore Montgomery's first home, including the bedroom she was born in (shown below).



The house has been furnished with non-original Victorian pieces to give visitors a sense of what the home might have looked like at the time of Montgomery’s birth. There are quilts, flowers made from human hair, and a stove and cooking utensils from the time period.

The special exhibits include a replica of L.M. Montgomery's wedding dress, veil, and shoes from her marriage to Ewen MacDonald.



The Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace also displays her personal scrapbooks from the time when she was a student at Prince of Wales College and from her years as a teacher and writer. The scrapbooks contain copies of her stories and poems, mementos, and personal treasures that she saved.



Throughout the museum, there are articles, rare books, dolls, press clippings, photos and memorabilia related to L.M. Montgomery’s life and legacy.

Official Website:
Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace

Location:
Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace
6461 PE-20, New London, PE C0A 1M0, Canada. At the intersection of Routes 6 and 20.

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Created July 17, 2007. Last updated June 25, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com