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 their homestead.

At the time of L.M. Montgomery’s birth, the town of New London was called Clifton. L.M. Montgomery described her first home in her journals as a yellowish-brown house, but it is currently painted white and green, echoing the colors of Green Gables. When Anne visits her birthplace in Anne of the Island, Montgomery used her own birthplace as the model, weaving a personal thread into the fabric of her beloved story.

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 authentic 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 home overlooks the New London Harbour and sand dunes, which feature in Montgomery's writings.

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.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.

Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 9, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Through Lover's Lane: L.M. Montgomery's Photography and Visual Imagination

Through Lover's Lane: L.M. Montgomery's Photography and Visual Imagination by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly was published by the University of Toronto Press in 2007. In this book, Elizabeth Rollins Epperly examines L.M. Montgomery's photographs and draws connections between Montgomery's interest in photography and the compelling visual imagery in her writing.

Here is the description of the book:

It might surprise some to know that internationally beloved Canadian writer L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942), author of the Anne of Green Gables series, among other novels, and hundreds of short stories and poems, also held a passion for photography. For forty years, Montgomery photographed her favourite places and people, using many of these photographs to illustrate the hand-written journals she left as a record of her life. Artistically inclined, and possessing a strong visual memory, Montgomery created scenes and settings in her fiction that are closely linked to the carefully composed shapes in her photographs.

Elizabeth Rollins Epperly's Through Lover's Lane is the first book to examine Montgomery's photography in any depth; it is also the first study to connect it with her fiction and other writing. Drawing on the work of Montgomery scholars, as well as theorists such as Susan Sontag, Gaston Bachelard, Roland Barthes, John Berger, and George Lakoff, Epperly connects Montgomery's practice of photography with the writer's metaphors for home and belonging. Epperly examines thirty-five of the photographs, uncovering their role in the novelist's life and fiction. She argues that the shapes in Montgomery's favourite place in nature—Lover's Lane in Cavendish, P.E.I.—affected her other photographs, underpinned her colourful descriptions, and grounded her aesthetics. Through Lover's Lane demonstrates how an artist creates metaphors that resonate within a single work, echo across a lifetime of writing and photography, and inspire readers and viewers across cultures and time.

The book includes the following contents:

Acknowledgments
Permissions
Abbreviations

Introduction: Seeing Patterns
1 Montgomery's Visual Imagination
2 Montgomery's Photography
3 Picturing a Life: Selected Photographs
4 Picturing Home: Image as Threshold
5 Anne's Green Arches
6 Emily's 'Memory Pictures'
7 'My Castle in Spain': The Blue Castle and the Architecture of Images
8 Afterimage: Around the 'Bend in the Road"

Appendix: 'Cynthia's' 1902 Article on Photography
Notes
Works Cited
Illustration Credits
Index

ISBN-13: 978-0802094605


Image credit:
Book cover of Through Lover's Lane: L.M. Montgomery's Photography and Visual Imagination.

Purchase and read Through Lover's Lane: L.M. Montgomery's Photography and Visual Imagination:


Created March 30, 2007. Last updated December 19, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables (1994)

Anne of Green Gables (1994) is a play adapted by Jody Johnson Davidson from the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The play was produced by the Serendipity Theatre Company and made its world premiere at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA on April 15, 1994.

In the original production, Katy Killackey starred as Anne Shirley. The cast also included Caryn Ronis as Marilla Cuthbert, Kathy Kinney as Rachel Lynde/Mrs. Blewitt/Miss Harris, Joe Powers as Matthew Cuthbert, Jasmine Abdul Wahid as Diana Barry, and Kristipher Maschek as Gilbert Blythe. The play was directed by Joyce Guy.

The full-length play is 60 minutes long. The script is available through Pioneer Drama Service.

The play is described as follows:
"Share the adventures of Anne Shirley and her 'best friend for life,' Diana Barry, as they travel from childhood to maturity in this heartwarming adaptation which beautifully captures the highlights of the classic novel.

Maria Cuthbert asks for an orphan boy to help her and her brother take care of Green Gables, but the orphanage sends Anne with an 'e' — an independent, red-headed, freckle-faced girl who changes their lives and touches the hearts of all who come to know and love her. Delight in Anne’s high-spirited antics as she narrowly escapes Mrs. Blewett’s clutches at the orphanage, whacks Gilbert over the head with her slate, saves little Minnie May from her deathbed and, when she has come of age, finally lets Gilbert into her life. In the touching words of Marilla, Anne is 'the dearest mistake' that’s ever come into her life, and she doesn’t know how she could love her more.

Whether your audience already loves Anne’s story or is first discovering it, this sweet and sincere rendition of the classic novel will open their hearts and minds. Flexible staging makes this skillful adaptation suitable for all levels of performance from schools to professional theatres."


Image Credit:
Photograph of Katy Killackey as Anne Shirley in the world premiere of Anne of Green Gables at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles from Encore Performance Publishing (archived webpage).

Created March 9, 2007. Last updated June 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) Screening

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City is showcasing a film exhibition called "A View from the Vaults: Warner Bros., RKO Pictures, and First National Pictures, Inc." from February 9–24, 2007. This exhibition includes a screening of Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) on Saturday, February 10, 2007 at 3:45 p.m.

The film series includes a "selection of ten enduring films produced by Warner Bros., RKO Pictures, and First National Pictures, Inc., from 1938 through 1949. These films were all recently acquired by the Museum."

"A View from the Vaults" is organized by Anne Morra, the Assistant Curator in the Department of Film.

Here are the descriptions of the 10 featured films:

Jezebel. 1938. USA. Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston, based on the play by Owen Davis. With Bette Davis, Henry Fonda. Davis won an Oscar for her iconic portrayal of Julie Marsden, a woman whose assertion of independence is tragically misunderstood in 1850s New Orleans. Larger than life, Julie sets out to win back her lost social standing—but only on her own terms. 104 min. Friday, February 9, 5:45; Saturday, February 17, 6:00. T1

Gunga Din. 1939. USA. Directed by George Stevens. Screenplay by Joel Sayre, Fred Guiol, based on a story by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, adapted from the poem “Gunga Din” by Rudyard Kipling. With Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen. This account of the tragicomic exploits of three members of the French Foreign Legion and their fight against the corrupt Guru in India was voted to the National Film Registry in 1999. 117 min. Saturday, February 10, 1:30; Wednesday, February 21, 6:00. T1

Anne of Windy Poplars. 1940. USA. Directed by Jack Hively. Screenplay by Michael Kanin, Jerry Cady, based on the novel by L. M. Montgomery. With Anne Shirley, Patric Knowles. A follow-up to Anne of Green Gables (1934), this film follows a grown-up Anne as she moves to the remote Canadian town of Pringleton and builds a new life as a teacher at a small provincial school. 86 min. Saturday, February 10, 3:45. T1

They Drive by Night. 1940. USA. Directed by Raoul Walsh. Screenplay by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, based on the novel The Long Haul by Albert Isaac Bezzerides. With George Raft, Ida Lupino. Brothers Joe and Paul Fabrini haul produce from farms in northern California to Los Angeles. They refuse to drive for anyone else, and attempts are made to intimidate them into joining a ruthless competitor’s business. 95 min. Saturday, February 10, 5:30; Monday, February 19, 8:30. T1

The Man Who Came to Dinner. 1942. USA. Directed by William Keighley. Screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, based on the play by George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart. With Monty Woolley, Bette Davis. Radio personality Sheridan Whiteside slips and falls on an icy sidewalk in front of the home of a prominent Ohio family. With a broken leg, he cannot be moved—and soon the meddlesome Whiteside is interfering with the lives of his hosts. 113 min. Sunday, February 11, 5:00; Monday, February 19, 6:00. T1

Action in the North Atlantic. 1943. USA. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Screenplay by John Howard Lawson, based on the story “Heroes without Uniform” by Guy Gilpatric. With Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey. In this WWII thriller, Lieutenant Joe Rossi (Bogart) must navigate through enemy-filled waters on the perilous journey from Halifax to Murmansk. 128 min. Monday, February 12, 6:00; Saturday, February 24, 2:00. T1

The Corn Is Green. 1945. USA. Directed by Irving Rapper. Screenplay by Casey Robinson, Frank Cavett, based on the play by Emlyn Williams. With Bette Davis, Nigel Bruce. Schoolteacher Lily Moffat is determined to change the primitive education system in her tiny Welsh mining town. The townsfolk oppose her innovative pedagogy, but they cannot deter Lily from her efforts. 114 min. Monday, February 12, 8:30; Friday, February 16, 5:45. T1

Murder, My Sweet. 1945. USA. Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Screenplay by John Paxton, based on the novel Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. With Dick Powell, Claire Trevor. Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired to find the missing girlfriend of an ex-convict. This must-see thriller, steeped in film noir atmosphere, features the disappearance of a dame and some dirty double-crossing—not to mention the iconic stature of Marlowe himself. 95 min. Wednesday, February 14, 6:00; Saturday, February 17, 2:00. T1

Flamingo Road. 1949. USA. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Screenplay by Robert Wilder, Edmund H. North, based on the play by Robert Wilder, Sally Wilder. With Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott. Crawford plays Lane Bellamy, a woman with an unfavorable reputation who attempts to climb the social ladder in a sinister Southern town run by a corrupt political boss. 94 min. Wednesday, February 14, 8:00; Saturday, February 17, 4:00. T1

Mighty Joe Young. 1949. USA. Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack. Screenplay by Ruth Rose, based on a story by Merian C. Cooper. With Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore. For twelve years Jill Young has tenderly nurtured her pet gorilla Joe in Tanzania. When a Hollywood promoter arrives and convinces Jill to bring Joe to Tinseltown, the trouble begins. Winner of the 1950 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. 94 min. Thursday, February 15, 6:00; Wednesday, February 21, 8:30. T1

Please visit the MOMA website for further details.

Thank you to Julia Crimmins for sending along this news.

Image credit:
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) film poster featuring Patric Knowles and Anne Shirley, RKO Pictures.

Created January 21, 2007. Last updated June 9, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Valentines - Set 2

Here's a second set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines to give to your kindred spirits, friends, classmates, and loved ones. Save the Anne-inspired Valentines shown below. Then print the Valentine cards out on cardstock paper in landscape mode, cut them out, and share them!



To design this set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines, I used images from Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987), Nippon Animation's Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An, the 1934 Anne of Green Gables film, and Anne & Gilbert: The Musical.

Download and print more Anne of Green Gables Valentines here: Set 1, Set 3, and Set 4.

Created January 15, 2007. Last updated January 26, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed

After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed was published in 1991. The book contains 18 of L.M. Montgomery's short stories that were rediscovered and edited by Rea Wilmshurst. The collection includes tales with themes of absence, separation, lost love, and returning home. The stories contained in the volume are listed below with their original publication dates in parentheses:

"After Many Days" (1903)
"The Bride Roses" (1903)
"The Romance of Jedediah" (1912)
"Elizabeth's Child" (1904)
"In the Old Valley" (1906)
"The Prodigal Brother" (1906)
"Robert Turner's Revenge" (1909)
"For a Dream's Sake" (1935)
"The Price" (1930)
"A Golden Wedding" (1909)
"Mrs. March's Revenge" (1904)
"An Unpremeditated Ceremony" (1907)
"Missy's Room" (1907)
"The Story of Uncle Dick" (1906)
"The Romance of Aunt Beatrice" (1902)
"The Setness of Theodosia" (1901)
"Between the Hill and the Valley" (1905)
"The Man Who Forgot" (1932)

Purchase and read After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed:



Created January 15, 2007. Last updated March 27, 2021.
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Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily

Emily of New Moon aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily (translated to English as "Emily, the Wind Girl") is an animated television series that was based on L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon trilogy.

The Emily of New Moon anime series was a single season with 26 episodes. Each episode was roughly 25 minutes in length. The series was produced by Hideaki Miyamoto, and the series music was by Akira Miyagawa. The series aired on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Educational TV from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007.

The protagonist Emily Byrd Starr was voiced by actress Tomoko Kawakami. The anime's plot primarily follows that of the novel Emily of New Moon with some scenes from Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. Set on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the series follows the growth of a young girl Emily Starr. The story begins with Emily, who lives alone with her father. When her father dies, Emily is adopted by her strict Aunt Elizabeth and moves to New Moon Farm. Facing loneliness and isolation, Emily writes letters to her dead father. Emily meets and becomes close friends with Ilse Burnley, Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller. Each of the friends has a special talent. Emily loves to write and dreams of becoming a novelist.

Cast:
Tomoko Kawakami as Emily Byrd Starr
Akemi Okamura as Perry Miller
Kôki Miyata as Teddy Kent
Sachiko Kojima as Ilse Burnley
Emi Shinohara as Kaze no Oba-san (Mrs. Wind) (narration)
Masako Ikeda as Laura Murray
Rokuro Naya as Jimmy Murray
Toshiko Fujita as Elizabeth Murray
Akio Ohtsuka as Mr Carpenter
Atsuko Enomoto as Rhoda Stuart
Aya Hisakawa as Aileen Kent
Chiemi Ishimatsu as Jennie Strang
Kiyoyuki Yanada as Allan Burnley
Misaki Sekiyama as Carrie Strang
Niina Kumagaya as Miss Brownell
Shigenori Sôya as Douglas Starr
Touko Aoyama as Grace and Saucy Sal
Youko Matsuoka as Aunt Ruth

External Link:
Official Emily of New Moon (2007) Website

Image credit:
Drawing of Emily Bryd Starr from Emily of New Moon (2007) aka Kaze no Shoujo Emily. © NHK

Created December 11, 2006. Last updated April 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery (2008)

The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery is a musical written by Adam-Michael James and composed by Leo Marchildon. Based on L.M. Montgomery's life, this musical biography premiered at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island on June 20, 2008. The musical premiere occurred on the exact day of the 100th anniversary of the publication of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. The musical celebrates the life and the characters created by the legendary Canada's author.

Adam-Michael James documented the progress of the musical in his blog The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery, which provides detailed information on how the production developed.

The official website for the musical provides the following description of the show:

"Maud" soars as she creates her most famous character, "Anne of Green Gables", then additional heroines Kilmeny, Sara, Emily, Valancy, Marigold, Pat, and Jane - making up her nine lives. But when Maud forgets that the power of imagination can change our lives for the negative as well as the positive, her heroines come to life to amuse, enlighten, and entertain!

The creation of Emmy-nominated composer Leo Marchildon and author Adam-Michael James, Nine Lives is an epic multimedia experience that has real-life and fictional characters backed by video footage, archival photos, evocative period music and sumptuous underscore.

Premiering on the 100th anniversary of the publication of "Anne", Nine Lives has been praised for its accuracy and importance to Canada and literature, twice nominated for the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation's Wendell Boyle Award.

The original cast recording for The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery was released in 2009 by Nine Lives Musicals, Inc. with the following CD release notes:

You've read her books - but how much do you know about her lives? In this dazzling musical by Leo Marchildon and Adam-Michael James, L.M. Montgomery is determined to become a writer and eventually becomes famous the world over for creating Anne of Green Gables. But, as her fictional characters materialize to help her through her increasing struggles, they discover that the power of imagination can change our lives in more ways than one.

Marchildon's sumptuous arrangements traverse the moods and styles of Montgomery's lifetime, from the Scottish reels of the 1880s to the Big Band flavor of the 1930s, while James' insightful lyrics constantly advances the story. The only musical on the life of the quintessential Canadian author comes to CD virtually complete, featuring the original 2008 cast and including Marchildon's "Character Themes Suite" that paints delightful portraits of all eight of Montgomery's fictional heroines. Whether you're a casual L.M. Montgomery fan or a self-professed die-hard, The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery brings all her lives to you in a fresh, exciting way! For more information about the show, visit ninelivesoflmm.com. Label: Nine Lives Musicals, Inc.

The album includes the following songs and character suites:

ACT I
1. Blank Verse/The Alpine Path
2. It's in My Nature
3. I Like You Best
4. An Orphan No More
5. So I Say Farewell
6. More Important Things
7. The Correspondence of Edwin
8. I Am a Newspaper Woman!
9. What Do You Propose
10. An Epoch in My Life
11. Island Hymn
12. Maud Meets Her Public
13. Too Late

ACT II
14. I Hate Interruptions
15. The Race That Knows Joseph
16. 1917
17. Eternally Lost
18. Grumble Book
19. The Dream Life Waltz
20. Character Analysis
21. Two-Timin' Timmy
22. Where is My Happy Ending?
23. The Alpine Path" (finale)

Character Theme Suites
24. Kilmeny
25. Sara
26. Emily
27. Valancy
28. Marigold
29. Pat
30. Jane
31. Anne

Official Site:
The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery (archived)

Image Credit:
Album cover for The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery.

References:
The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery - Original Broadway Cast 2008. Broadway World. Retrieved from: https://www.broadwayworld.com/recordings/The-Nine-Lives-of-L-MMontgomery-2008-Original-Broadway-Cast

Created December 2, 2006. Last updated May 12, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com