Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

Before Green Gables is a book by Budge Wilson about the early life of Anne Shirley prior to her arrival at Green Gables. The book was published in February 2008 to commemorate the centennial of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, which was published in 1908. Penguin Publishing and some of Montgomery's descendants designated the book as an "official prequel." In 2009, an anime called Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables was released that was based on Budge Wilson's Before Green Gables.

In Chapter V of Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery describes Anne's early years in a sad conversation between Anne and Marilla following Anne's arrival at Green Gables. The chapter, entitled "Anne's History," gives Marilla and the reader insight to Anne's early life. When Anne was three months old, her parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley, died of scarlet fever in Nova Scotia. Following their deaths, Mrs. Thomas and her drunken husband took Anne in. Anne lived with the Thomas family and took care of their four youngest children until Mr. Thomas's death when Anne was eight years old. Then Anne was taken in by the Hammond family. Anne spent over two years with the Hammonds, taking care of their eight children, which included three pairs of twins. When Mr. Hammond died, Anne was sent to the Hopeton Asylum where she lived for four months. From there, Anne was sent to Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert at Green Gables. From the succinct details Anne gives Marilla, we know that Anne's early life was harsh and that she was exploited as a housekeeper and babysitter. Anne's imagination guarded her from the lack of love and care she received in her childhood.

As the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables approached, Helen Reeves, an editor at Penguin, had the idea of publishing a prequel novel. In an interview with Randy Boswell of The Edmonton Journal, Reeves explained that Montgomery "gave us something to build on" by providing "little snippets about Anne's early life." Reeves continued saying, "We know Anne's had a very difficult time," and she felt, "It makes sense to dramatize it."

Helen Reeves approached author Budge Wilson to write the prequel. Budge Wilson is a Halifax-native and a prize-winning author who has written more than 30 books for children. She has won seventeen Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" Awards and the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Canadian Book Award. In 2004, Wilson was made a member of the Order of Canada.

Initially, Budge Wilson was daunted about taking on the project and took two months before she agreed to write the prequel. In an interview with CBC News, Wilson said, "it was like being asked to do a prequel to the Bible." Wilson worried about the project and told CBC News, "I was very concerned that L.M. Montgomery might not want this done." Furthermore, Wilson said she would not want another writer "to do something like this" with her own characters or books. Even after completing the novel, Wilson spoke of her concerns, telling Maria Kubacki of The Calgary Herald, "I wondered whether L.M. Montgomery would want me to do this, or anybody to do this."

In spite of these misgivings, Budge Wilson was drawn to the project telling The Calgary Herald, "One of the things that drew me in was the puzzle of how Anne came to be." Wilson wondered, "How did she get off that train such a feisty, spirited, forward-looking person?" In an interview with CBC News, Wilson explained, "I knew if I was going to do this book, it was my job to fill in the gaps and explain how she could go through all that and still emerge in P.E.I. as a feisty and mentally healthy and articulate, forward-looking person."

In a 2006 interview with The Edmonton Journal, Wilson emphasized that she would use her own voice in writing the prequel saying, "I will, of course, try to be true to the astonishing character that Lucy Maud Montgomery created." Wilson continued saying, "For this, I am grateful to her. But I would not -- in fact, could not -- presume to tell my part of Anne's history in Montgomery's voice. I will do this in my own voice, hoping that she would approve of the project if she were alive today." Upon re-reading the Anne series, Wilson remarked, "Anne really is a marvellous, marvellous character. I'm just anxious to be true to who she is."

Once she began the book, Budge Wilson wrote a chapter a day in longhand over the course of 71 days, and completed the 71 chapters of her draft on her 80th birthday, according to an article in Dalhousie Magazine. The prequel will enlighten readers about Anne's parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley, and she how they influence Anne's personality. Wilson explained her perspective to The Edmonton Journal saying, "I feel that genetics is important."

Helen Reeves realizes that the prequel may be controversial and that, "there are going to be a lot of people who think it should be left alone." With this in mind, Penguin sought approval for the prequel from some of L.M. Montgomery's descendants, who agreed to put their stamp of approval on the project in return for having a say in the creative process and a share in the profits. As part of this process, Wilson submitted a 38-page outline for the prequel as well as a sample chapter for approval by L.M. Montgomery's family. Montgomery's grandson David Macdonald stated, "I think my grandmother would have thought it appropriate for an author who grew up in Nova Scotia to write about Anne's life before she came to Prince Edward Island and Green Gables."

L.M. Montgomery's granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler told The Calgary Herald that she was glad her family published an Anne of Green Gables prequel before anybody else. Montgomery's family had been approached about doing a prequel previously, but had always said no. This time they agreed because of Penguin's assurance that they would have "complete creative control." Kate Macdonald Butler noted to The Calgary Herald that the prequel could make "a lot of money."

Budge Wilson was relieved that the family approved of her story telling The Calgary Herald, "The family is pleased and that's important to me," and although she will never know what L.M. Montgomery would think of the prequel, she said, "I hope she wouldn't have minded."

Penguin will release Before Green Gables alongside two other books to mark Anne's 100th anniversary. One is a commemorative edition of the original Anne of Green Gables with the 1908 cover art. The second is a book called Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery, which explores Montgomery's life in the years leading to Anne's publication.

Official Website:
100 Years of Anne at Penguin Books

Image Credits:
The Canadian, American, and British book covers of Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

References:
Boswell, Randy. (October 28, 2006). Anne of Green Gables gets a prequel: Nova Scotia Children's Author to Create Canadian Literary Heroine's Early Years. The Edmonton Journal. Canwest News Service. Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5482cc2e-dd52-40b3-94c3-621f8cb9fdf9&k=49996.

Gessell, Paul. (February 3, 2008). Survival of the Fittest: Credible Prequel Paints Grim Picture of Anne's Life Before Canada's Famous Orphan Found Green Gables. The Calgary Herald. Canwest News Service.

Kubacki, Maria. (February 10, 2008). How Anne Became Anne: Prequel Traces Life Before Green Gables. The Calgary Herald. Canwest News Service. Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/booksandthearts/story.html?id=83cefa6c-249e-4812-94a6-204be89b5371.

Wilson Tackles 'Daunting' Prequel to Anne of Green Gables. (February 11, 2008). CBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/02/11/green-gables-prequel.html.

Smulders, Marilyn. (June 25, 2008). Reading Between the Lines. Dalhousie Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.dal.ca/news/2008/06/25/budge.html.

Review:
Ward, Elizabeth. (February 17, 2008). How Anne Got to Green Gables. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/17/how-anne-got-to-green-gables/7877e8f2-c685-4abc-8458-f1377f7fa23d/.

Purchase and read Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson:


Created February 5, 2008. Last updated December 16, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning is a television film that made its world premiere at the Boston Film Festival on September 15, 2008. It then made its television premiere on CTV on December 14, 2008, airing from 7:00-10:00 p.m. The movie serves as both a prequel and sequel that bookends Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables miniseries trilogy: Anne of Green Gables (1985), Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987), and Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000). Set in 1945, the film's plot diverges from L.M. Montgomery's Anne series and re-imagines Anne Shirley's life.

Kevin Sullivan, who produced, directed, and wrote the film, explained, "I wanted to create a film that would offer a rare insight into Anne Shirley's personality. I tried to imagine what Anne would have become if she had grown up to be an author like Montgomery herself; a gifted storyteller who was haunted by her childhood her whole life."

Emmy and Golden-Globe winner Barbara Hershey plays Anne Shirley in her 50s during World War II, and Hannah Endicott-Douglas, a 12-year-old Toronto native, plays Anne Shirley as a child. Hannah Endicott-Douglas was chosen to play young Anne Shirley after a three-month search, including an open casting call on YouTube and auditions that took place across Canada. Her elder sister Vivien Endicott-Douglas co-stars in the film and plays Violetta. Rachel Blanchard plays Louisa Thomas, and Jayne Eastwood returns as Mrs. Hammond.

Patricia Hamilton, who appeared in the original Anne of Green Gables miniseries trilogy, reprises the role of Rachel Lynde, and her son Ben Carlson plays Anne's father Walter Shirley. In an interview with The Calgary Herald, Hamilton spoke about her family's involvement in the film: "We've just finished a new movie, you know"..."'I'm in it for a day in a wheelchair, looking like I'm 110,' Hamilton says, good-naturedly. 'But my son (Ben), who's a wonderful actor who's at the Stratford Festival this summer -- he's playing Hamlet -- plays Anne's original father.'" As a side note, Leslie Carlson, Hamilton's ex-husband and Ben Carlson's father, appeared as Mr. Lawson in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987).

Academy-award winner Shirley MacLaine plays matriarch Amelia Thomas, a powerful, rich, and unlikable widow, who runs a flourishing lumber town called Marysville. Kevin Sullivan glowingly issued the following statement when he announced that MacLaine had joined the cast: "Shirley MacLaine is a screen legend. To be able to cast her unique personality in the role of Amelia Thomas promises to bring both humour and pathos to this production, in a grand style that only a movie star of her stature can elicit."

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was filmed in Scarborough Valley, Toronto, Hamilton, Dundas, and Rockwood in Ontario, Canada from October 10 to November 15, 2007. The film's executive producer was Trudy Grant. The production features costumes by Martha Mann and music composed by Peter Breiner. The movie is 144 minutes in length.

In Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, Anne's history is not what it seems. Kevin Sullivan elaborated on his vision for retelling Anne's story, saying:

"I began to envisage what Anne would be doing if she were actually Montgomery herself, because Montgomery really wrote about her own childhood. She created Anne of Green Gables, partly due to the loneliness and estrangement that she felt from her own father. Her father deserted her when she was a child. Montgomery was brought up by very strict grandparents, and she created the characters of ‘Marilla Cuthbert’ and ‘Matthew Cuthbert,’ who were certainly loving parents. The issues with her father affected her life well into middle age. Her father remarried and had an entirely different family. It was out of all this that she imagined Anne as an alter-ego.

With the new film, I tell a story about Anne prior to Green Gables. In the new film we learn that Anne made up stories all her life. Anne, as an adult, learns that her father is still alive. She finds a letter under the floor boards of Green Gables. It was never revealed to anyone that her father tried to communicate with her. It is quite an emotional story."

Kevin Sullivan wrote a book based on his original screenplay for the television film entitled Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, which was published in 2008.


Image credit:
Photograph of Hannah Endicott-Douglas as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning. © Sullivan Entertainment

Official Website:
Anne of Green Gables: The Official Website

References:

A new Anne lands at CTV. thestar.com. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/267180. (archived).

Anne 4 News. Sullivan Entertainment. Retrieved from: http://www.sullivanmovies.com/anne4news.html. (archived).

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning starring Hannah Endicott-Douglas. CTV's blog. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.tvthrong.ca/movies/anne-of-green-gables-a-new-beginning-starring-hannah-endicott-douglas. (archived).

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning premieres Sunday, Dec. 14. CTV. Retrieved from: https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20081113/anne_announced_081113/20081113. (archived).

CTV announces plans for new 'Anne of Green Gables' miniseries to air next year. The Canadian Press. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcboATqgH6JW7l5gSZS1FueGvf6A. (archived).

Hunt, Stephen. Avonlea star takes chilly road to Calgary: Patricia Hamilton hits city stage. Calgary Herald. (February 21, 2008). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=abd68d38-83a4-45fb-8809-66adf9a0dec3. (archived).

Kubacki, Maria. 12-year-old blond to play Anne Shirley in TV movie. The Ottawa Citizen. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=f65fed17-bc60-4147-bbd0-9970b7a958c6.

McRanor, Graeme. Anne old story gets fresh legs. Vancouver 24 Hours. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20071023184403/http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Entertainment/2007/10/16/4579591-sun.html. (archived).

New 'Anne' prequel planned. The StarPhoenix. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/lifestyle/story.html?id=ec45b404-9d52-4ec0-9166-a1e98737a5f7.

Shirley MacLaine joins Green Gables movie. The Canadian Press. thestar.com. (October 23, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/269536. (archived).

Shirley of Greene Gables. The Globe and Mail. (October 24, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071024.wbuzzout24/BNStory/Entertainment/home. (archived).

Wheeler, Katrina-Kasey. An Interview with Kevin Sullivan. Pop Media Examiner. (October 9, 2008). Retrieved from: http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Entertainment-Examiner%7Ey2008m10d9-An-Interview-with-Kevin-Sullivan.

Purchase and watch Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning:


Created October 16, 2007. Last updated December 4, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner

After spending many hours searching through microfiche in my university's library, I rediscovered an 100-year-old short story by L.M. Montgomery. The story is called "Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner," and you can read it here exclusively. "Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner" was originally published in 1907 in The Housewife, the year before Anne of Green Gables was published. To my knowledge this story has never been republished since.

The story is about four sisters: Laura, Kate, Margaret, and Agnes, who narrates the tale. Each girl has her own ambitions. Laura wants to be an artist, Kate plays the violin, Margaret wants to get a college education, and Agnes wants to be a writer. Aunt Susanna faintly approves of Margaret's desire for an education, but disapproves of the artistic, musical, and literary goals of her other three nieces. The sisters try to please Aunt Susanna, hoping their wealthy aunt will send Margaret to college.

The story begins when Aunt Susanna arrives at her nieces's home. She's full of criticism, but also needs a favor. She is in a bind, and must travel from town to visit a sick relative. She needs the girls to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her and Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert upon their return home. Agnes has just told Aunt Susanna that she's a good cook, so she feels she must agree to prepare the meal. With trepidation, Agnes says she will cook dinner, and Kate volunteers to help her.

Despite the their best efforts, Agnes and Kate's Thanksgiving preparations turn out to be a disaster. Will they be able to save Thanksgiving and win Aunt Susanna's approval?

Read the original scanned story text below or download a PDF version here:





Updated to add: Long after I posted this story on my website, it was gathered into another collection online.

Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1907, November). Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner. The Housewife. pages 5 and 14.

Created October 2, 2007. Last updated November 24, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne (2007)

Anne is a television series created by the award-winning director Nalaka Swarnathilaka that was broadcast on Swarnavahini TV in Sri Lanka in 2007. The tele drama was based upon L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables, which was translated into Sinhala by Shanika Dulani Kumanayake.

Vinuri Ramanayake played the younger version of the title role of Anne Shirley, and Poorni Kamaladiwela played the older Anne. The younger and older versions of Anne's best friend Diana Barry were played by Piyumi Gamage and Buddhika Wimalasekara, respectively. The series had a large cast, including more than 50 people. Students from Sri Lankan schools played many roles in the series, which was filmed during a school vacation period in Diyatalawa, Bandarawela, and at the Elphinstone Theatre in Colombo.

In addition to directing the adaptation, Nalaka Swarnathilaka wrote the script for the series. The tele drama was produced by Ruchira Liyanaarachchi for R.S. Video. Anne was 28-episodes long and was telecast on Swarnavahini on Sundays at 8:30 p.m.

Director Nalaka Swarnathilaka recognized the need for children's programming in Sri Lanka. In his directorial debut, he created Danga Malla, a television drama based on Enid Blyton's novel The Naughtiest Girl in the School. The series was broadcast three times in one year due to its popularity. As a follow-up to this debut, he brought the story Anne of Green Gables to the screen.

Swarnathilaka reflected on the story Anne of Green Gables in an interview with Daily Mirror Life saying, “I always had a penchant for children’s stories, especially the stories outside our country. Even our children like stories and that’s why Harry Potter is so popular. This story will also definitely attract not only children but also adults because the theme is such. I hope people will see it and talk about the creation.”

In an interview with Susitha R. Fernando for The Sunday Times Online, Nalaka Swarnathilaka explained that Anne's story "makes you think about children and their world" in a serious way, and he feels that, "Adults should know that there are many lessons we can learn from children." When he was asked whether Sri Lankans would identify with Anne's Western setting, Swarnathilaka reflected on the common aspects, saying: "'Anne' is a story set in a rural village" involving "nature, family lives and children who were left alone" in the world. "The story is filled with local flavour and I hope it would suit our society as well."

Nalaka recounted the memorable moment when he discovered young Anne. He explained that "Vinuri Ramanayake who plays little Anne was just sitting in a classroom alone when I came across her at Visakha Vidyalaya. She had never acted and from the first audition I realized she was the ideal person for the role."

Synopsis (from Daily Mirror, April 30, 2007):

"Miss Marilla Cuthbert and Mr. Matthew Cuthbert, middle-aged siblings who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island, decide to adopt an orphan boy from the asylum as a helper on their farm. Through a series of mishaps, what ends up under their roof is a precocious girl of eleven named Anne Shirley. Anne is bright and quick, eager to please but dissatisfied with her name, her pale countenance dotted with freckles, and with her long braids of red hair. Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life, and adapts quickly, thriving in the environment of Prince Edward Island.

The rest of the story recounts her continued education at school, where she excels in studies very quickly, her budding literary ambitions and her friendships with people such as Diana Barry (her best friend), Jane Andrews and Ruby Gillis and her rivalry with Gilbert Blythe, who teased her about her red hair and for that acquired her hatred, although he apologised many times."

The following credits and cast for the television series were listed in an article by The Daily Mirror:

Credits:

Director and Script Writer: Nalaka Swarnathilake
Based on Translation by: Shanika Dulani Kumanayake
Producer: Ruchira Liyanaarachchi (RS Video)
Camera: Thrishula Deepa Thambawita
Music Director: Nuwan Vithanage
Art Director: Dinesh Jayashantha
Editor: Pujitha Kanchana Amaratunge
Make Up: Sameera Madhu Kindelpitiya
Dance Choreography: Harshika Rathnayake
Assistant Director: Asiri Priyani
Costumes: Tharanga Anthani
Vocals: Natasha Perera, Poorni Kamaldiwala
Lyrics: Amitha Rabbidigala, Nuwan Katugampola

Cast:

Vinuri Ramanayake - Anne Shirley (younger)
Poorni Kamaladiwela - Anne Shirley (older)
Piyumi Gamage - Diana Barry (younger)
Buddhika Wimalasekara - Diana Barry (older)
Kusum Renu
Athula Liyanage
Nilmini Sigera
Athula Pathirana
Malkanthi Jayasinghe
Maureen Charuni
Rebecca Nirmali
Chitra Warakagoda
Manel Wanaguru
Chaminda Jayasuriya
Wijeratne Warakagoda
Nilmini Buwaneka
Lanka Bandaranayake
Udayashantha Liyanage
Kumara Abeywardhana
Lakshman Rajapakshe
Tiran Gurusinghe
Nuwan Wijesinghe
Harshi Seneviratne
Sathya Gurusinghe
Tharuka Abeyratne
Kanchana Hewawitharana
Rebecca Hugebert
Ravishanka Alikewela
Chamitha Perera
Hasangi Minusha
Nisal Deelaka
Aparna Fernando
Navindu Yasas
Dulanjali Kumari Herath
Kavishka Dilshan
Ovini de Silva
Vishva Vidanagamage
Madusha Erandi Weeraddane
Amila Virajith
Sharon Hugerbert
Hasitha Herath
Chamalka Perera
Yesith Randula Abeysinghe
Poorni Shehara
Suwimali Dissanayake
Thidas Nimnaka Abeysinghe
Vinuri de Silva
Christein Deshapriya


This production is another wonderful example of how Anne of Green Gables appeals to audiences around the world. I hope to watch this series one day.


Image credit:
Photograph of Vinuri Ramanayake playing Anne Shirley in Anne (2007). © Swarnavahini

References:
Anne in the making... (April 30, 2007). Daily Mirror Life, Daily Mirror. Retrieved from: http://archives.dailymirror.lk/2007/04/30/life/6.asp.

Anne: A tale of playful girl. (September 16, 2007). The TV Times. The Sunday Times Online. Vol. 42, No. 16. Retrieved from: http://sundaytimes.lk/070916/TV/tv-times000021.html.

'ANNE' loved by children. (September 2, 2007). Daily Mirror. Retrieved from: http://archives.dailymirror.lk/2007/09/03/life/01.asp. (archived).

Fernando, Susitha R. (September 16, 2007). Nalaka's cause for the children. The TV Times. The Sunday Times Online. Vol. 42, No. 16. Retrieved from: http://sundaytimes.lk/070916/TV/tv-times000021.html.

Jayashan, Anjana. (February 15, 2010). Sri Lankan Celebrity: Vinuri, the school girl who shot to fame in one night. The Asian Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/02/15/sri-lankan-celebrity-vinuri-school-girl-who-shot-fame-one-night. (archived).

Created September 12, 2007. Last updated November 5, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables (2007)

Anne of Green Gables (2007) is a play adapted by Peter DeLaurier from the novel by L.M. Montgomery. The play premiered at the at The People's Light & Theatre Company in January 2007 as part of the Philadelphia New Play Festival. It was nominated for Outstanding New Play in the annual Barrymore Awards. The play was directed by Shannon O'Donnell.

Playbill described the story as follows: "Matthew Cuthbert and his no-nonsense sister Marilla send for an orphan to help with the farm at Green Gables. But instead of a sturdy boy, they get skinny Anne Shirley, an accident-prone redhead with a natural flair for drama. It doesn't take long though for this imaginative young heroine to work her way into the hearts of her reluctant new parents, and to transform their stodgy, old-fashioned neighbors on Prince Edward Island into a host of 'kindred spirits.' This new adaptation captures all the spirit of the beloved classic. Best appreciated by ages 7 and up. www.peopleslight.org."

Anne of Green Gables was published by Playscripts, Incorporated in 2009, and is available for purchase at the Playscripts website.

Image Credit:
Promotional artwork for Anne of Green Gables (2007) from the Playscripts website.

Acknowledgement:
Thank you to Peter DeLaurier for sending me info about his play.

Reference:
Jones, Kenneth. (2006, December 28). Nine Theatres to Sprout Premieres in First Philly New Play Fest in Early 2007. Playbill. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191530/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/104459.html

Created September 9, 2007. Last updated May 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Green Gables Heritage Place

Nestled in the picturesque village of Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, the Green Gables Heritage Place is a charming farm that inspired L.M. Montgomery to write the beloved novel Anne of Green Gables. Now a designated National Historic Site within Prince Edward Island National Park, Green Gables Heritage Place offers a unique celebration of literature where reality and fiction seamlessly intertwine. Explore the enchanting grounds that inspired Montgomery's timeless story and experience the magic of stepping into the world of Anne Shirley.

The farmhouse was the home of David Macneill and Margaret Macneill (pictured below), two siblings who were cousins of L.M. Montgomery's grandfather. In 1896, their niece Ada Macneill and her 13-year-old daughter Myrtle returned to Cavendish to help on the farm. L.M. Montgomery lived nearby and became friends with her cousin Myrtle. Montgomery often walked through their property. She called the spruce grove by the farmhouse the Haunted Wood, and she was fond of spending time in a forested pathway that she called Lover’s Lane.



After Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, readers recognized that this location had inspired the setting for L.M. Montgomery’s novel. Fans of the story began visiting the farmhouse, which became known as “Green Gables.” In 1909, Myrtle Macneill Webb and her husband Ernest Webb bought the farm. In the 1930s, Parks Canada developed the region into a national park with Green Gables as the centerpiece.

On January 27, 1911, L.M. Montgomery wrote in her journals about how she had not drawn any of the characters in her stories from real life although she “used real places and speeches freely.” She continued, writing, “Nevertheless I have woven a good deal of reality into my books. Cavendish is to a large extent Avonlea.”

Montgomery went on to write, “Green Gables was drawn from David Macneill’s house, now Mr. Webb’s—though not so much the house itself as the situation and scenery, and the truth of my description of it is attested by the fact that everybody has recognized it.”

Later in the same entry, L.M. Montgomery wrote about Anne Shirley, saying:

“When I am asked if Anne herself is a “real person” I always answer “no” with an odd reluctance and an uncomfortable feeling of not telling the truth. For she is and always has been, from the moment I first thought of her, so real to me that I feel I am doing violence to something when I deny her an existence anywhere save in Dreamland. Does she not stand at my elbow even now—if I turned my head quickly should I not see her—with her eager, starry eyes and her long braids of red hair and her little pointed chin? To tell that haunting elf that she is not real, because, forsooth, I never met her in the flesh! No, I cannot do it! She is so real that, although I’ve never met her, I feel quite sure I shall do so some day—perhaps in a stroll through Lover’s Lane in the twilight—or in the moonlit Birch Path—I shall lift my eyes and find her, child or maiden, by my side. And I shall not be in the least surprised because I have always known she was somewhere.”

Although Anne Shirley may not have been a real girl, L.M. Montgomery's creation feels close to real in this setting. Anne is somewhere in this space. You can almost feel Anne’s presence when exploring the grounds, strolling down Lover’s Lane, or walking through the Haunted Wood. You think of Anne when you see the geranium plant she named “Bonny” on the kitchen window sill or peek into her cheerful bedroom where her cherished puffed-sleeve dress hangs prominently.

You can tour each room in Green Gables. The rooms were thoughtfully decorated with Victorian pieces and with special touches from the novel. It feels like Anne, Marilla, and Matthew just stepped out and left visitors to explore their home. Each room was corded off, so sometimes I found it difficult to take good photos that captured the spaces, and it felt crowded when other visitors were nearby.

Here are some photos I took during my visit in 2006. This is a view of the horsehair sofa and decor in the parlour.



This is the formal dining room at Green Gables. It has pretty lace curtains and diamond-patterned vine wallpaper.



Here is the kitchen table with the stove in the foreground. Anne, Marilla, and Matthew would have spent much of their time here.



I smiled seeing the geranium on the window sill in the kitchen, thinking of the scene in Anne of Green Gables when Anne asks Marilla about the geranium's name:

"'What is the name of that geranium on the window-sill, please?'

'That’s the apple-scented geranium.'

'Oh, I don’t mean that sort of a name. I mean just a name you gave it yourself. Didn’t you give it a name? May I give it one then? May I call it—let me see—Bonny would do—may I call it Bonny while I’m here? Oh, do let me!'

'Goodness, I don’t care. But where on earth is the sense of naming a geranium?'

'Oh, I like things to have handles even if they are only geraniums. It makes them seem more like people. How do you know but that it hurts a geranium’s feelings just to be called a geranium and nothing else? You wouldn’t like to be called nothing but a woman all the time. Yes, I shall call it Bonny. I named that cherry-tree outside my bedroom window this morning. I called it Snow Queen because it was so white. Of course, it won’t always be in blossom, but one can imagine that it is, can’t one?'"

The dairy porch is a small room off the kitchen.



This is Matthew Cuthbert's room on the ground floor.



Upstairs is Anne Shirley's bedroom. You can see her cheerful room with a geranium in the window. Hanging on the closet door is the deep brown dress with puffed sleeves that was a gift from Matthew. There's even a broken slate in the room (My photograph of it was blurry, so I haven't posted it).



Here is Marilla Cuthbert's bedroom. I liked her bedspread.



The spare room was very comfortable looking and had a lovely quilt.



The sewing room was a pretty and practical room. The sewing machine was located in front of the window and a spinning wheel was nearby.



The hired boy's bedroom was a simple room located upstairs.



Outside the house were several barns. Matthew's buggy was in front of one, and you could sit in it and pose for a photo.



Here's a photograph of the inside of a barn at Green Gables.



There was a large plot of vegetables being grown in front of a barn.



Lastly, here's a view of the flower gardens at Green Gables. I think Anne would have enjoyed the blooms.



The Green Gables Heritage Place has a large visitor centre with exhibits on L.M. Montgomery that opened in 2019. I visited back in 2006 when the centre was much smaller. The exhibits included L.M. Montgomery's typewriter, which she used to prepare the typeset version of Anne of Green Gables, and her handwritten lyrics for "The Island Hymn," which is today the official provincial anthem of Prince Edward Island. I have not seen the new visitor centre in person, but the photos of it online look impressive.

After touring the house and vistor centre, you can stop by the restaurant on site to buy snacks and raspberry cordial. There is also a gift shop that sells Anne-related merchandise and L.M. Montgomery's books.

In addition, the Green Gables Heritage Place includes two special trails. You can take a walk in Anne Shirley or L.M. Montgomery’s footsteps on the Haunted Wood Trail and the Lover’s Lane and Balsam Hollow Trail. Both places were important to Montgomery, and she portrayed these settings in Anne of Green Gables. The Haunted Wood Trail connects with the Cavendish Cemetery, where L.M. Montgomery's grave is located, as well as the Site of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish Home, where Montgomery once lived and where she wrote Anne of Green Gables. You can visit these sites and the nearby Cavendish Post Office, which has a great exhibit on Montgomery, and then return to Green Gables along the Haunted Wood Trail.


Official Websites:
Green Gables Heritage Place, Parks Canada
Green Gables House, Parks Canada
Virtual Tour: Green Gables Heritage Place

Location:
Green Gables Heritage Place
PE-13, Cavendish, PE C0A 1M0, Canada



Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.

References:
Green Gables House. Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/activ/maison-house

MacEachern, Alan. L.M. Montgomery’s Green Gables. The Anne of Green Gables Manuscript. Retrieved from: https://annemanuscript.ca/stories/l-m-montgomerys-green-gables/

MacEachern, Alan. Myrtle Webb & Her World. The Green Gables Diary. Retrieved from: https://greengablesdiary.ca/myrtle-webb-her-world/

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. L.C. Page & Company, 1908.

Montgomery, L.M. The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume II: 1910–1921. ed. Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston. Oxford University Press, 1987. page 38–40.

Virtual Tour: Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/OgXR54HZxKGSfQ?hl=EN


Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 15, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Haunted Wood Trail at Green Gables Heritage Place

Embark on a spine-tingling adventure through the eerie Haunted Wood Trail at Green Gables Heritage Place in Prince Edward Island National Park. As a child, L.M. Montgomery believed these woods were haunted, a fear she vividly brought to life in Anne of Green Gables. In the novel, Anne Shirley's overactive imagination transforms the path between Green Gables and the Barry home into a realm of ghosts and shadows. Experience the haunting beauty of the trail that inspired such unforgettable scenes, and let your own imagination wander as you walk in the footsteps of Anne and Diana.

The interpretative trail is a short, 1 mile (1.6 km) path that begins in front of Green Gables and heads east through the forest. Along the trail, you can see the site where L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish School was once located. It inspired the Avonlea School in Anne of Green Gables. The Haunted Wood Trail winds past the Cavendish Cemetery, where L.M. Montgomery's grave is located, and it connects to the Site of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish Home. You can visit these sites and the nearby Cavendish Post Office and then return to Green Gables through the Haunted Wood.



Interpretive signs placed along the trail provide L.M. Montgomery's own descriptions about her imagination and inspiration.

As a child, L.M. Montgomery shared many adventures with two little boys who came to board at her grandfather's house to attend school. Their names were Wellington and David Nelson, and they were known as Well and Dave. Well was the same age as Montgomery, and Dave was a year younger. The two boys are pictured on the sign below.

Well and Dave believed in ghosts and loved to tell frightening stories, and their stories "infected" young L.M. Montgomery with a belief in ghosts. The trio shared a deep fear of the spruce grove near their home, especially after dark. These childhood memories inspired Montgomery's "Haunted Wood" in Anne of Green Gables. In her autobiography, The Alpine Path, Montgomery writes:

"Readers of Anne of Green Gables will remember the Haunted Wood. It was a gruesome fact to us three young imps. Well and Dave had a firm and rooted belief in ghosts. I used to argue with them over it with the depressing result that I became infected myself. Not that I really believed in ghosts, pure and simple; but I was inclined to agree with Hamlet that there might be more things in heaven and earth than were commonly dreamed of — in the philosophy of Cavendish authorities, anyhow.

The Haunted Wood was a harmless, pretty spruce grove in the field below the orchard. We considered that all our haunts were too commonplace, so we invented this for our own amusement. None of us really believed at first, that the grove was haunted, or that the mysterious 'white things' which we pretended to see flitting through it at dismal hours were aught but the creations of our own fancy. But our minds were weak and our imaginations strong; we soon came to believe implicitly in our myths, and not one of us would have gone near that grove after sunset on pain of death. Death! What was death compared to the unearthly possibility of falling into the clutches of a 'white thing'?"

In Anne of Green Gables, Anne's imagination goes too far and she frightens herself in Chapter XX ("A Good Imagination Gone Wrong"). She describes the "Haunted Wood" and her fear of "white things" to Marilla, saying:

"Diana and I just imagined the wood was haunted. All the places around here are so—so—commonplace. We just got this up for our own amusement. We began it in April. A haunted wood is so very romantic, Marilla. We chose the spruce grove because it’s so gloomy. Oh, we have imagined the most harrowing things. There’s a white lady walks along the brook just about this time of the night and wrings her hands and utters wailing cries. She appears when there is to be a death in the family. And the ghost of a little murdered child haunts the corner up by Idlewild; it creeps up behind you and lays its cold fingers on your hand—so. Oh, Marilla, it gives me a shudder to think of it. And there’s a headless man stalks up and down the path and skeletons glower at you between the boughs. Oh, Marilla, I wouldn’t go through the Haunted Wood after dark now for anything. I’d be sure that white things would reach out from behind the trees and grab me.”

Some parts of the Haunted Wood seemed very peaceful...during the day...



In The Alpine Path, L.M. Montgomery wrote, "Everything was invested with a kind of fairy grace and charm, emanating from my own fancy."

This next sign reminds visitors to use their imaginations: "L.M. Montgomery worked a special magic on her quiet Cavendish surroundings. Use your own imagination to discover how real-life people, places and events inspired the enchanting world of Anne."



There were many bare trees along the path, which were a bit spooky.



Keep an eye out for birds, chipmunks, and other woodland creatures as you walk through the Haunted Wood. I saw this downy woodpecker.



This sign explained that L.M. Montgomery had an imaginary friend in her childhood named Katie Maurice. She later used these memories to give Anne Shirley an imaginary friend with the same name in Anne of Green Gables.



I didn't notice any ghosts here.



L.M. Montgomery went to school in a one-room schoolhouse called the Cavendish School. In her autobiography, The Alpine Path, L.M. Montgomery wrote,

"The Cavendish school-house was a white-washed, low-eaved building on the side of the road just outside our gate. To the west and south was a spruce grove, covering a sloping hill. That old spruce grove, with its sprinkling of maple, was a fairy realm of beauty and romance to my childish imagination. I shall always be thankful that my school was near a grove — a place with winding paths and treasure-trove of ferns and mosses and wood-flowers. It was a stronger and better educative influence in my life than the lessons learned at the desk in the school-house."

Although L.M. Montgomery's old school no longer stands, you can visit the site where it once stood, which is marked by a sign. L.M. Montgomery's school inspired the Avonlea School in Anne of Green Gables where Anne Shirley, Diana Barry, and Gilbert Blythe attended class.



L.M. Montgomery, like her fictional creation Anne Shirley, often gave the places around her special and fanciful names. Some of the fictional places she described in her stories are based on real ones like Lover's Lane and the Haunted Wood.

I found these bare trees pretty spooky. Maybe it was just my imagination taking effect. For fans of Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables miniseries, exterior filming was done along this pathway.



The Haunted Wood Trail is a special place where you can use your imagination and pretend to be Anne Shirley or a young L.M. Montgomery. Just watch out for the spooky ghosts and "white things!"

Official Websites:
Haunted Wood Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park, Parks Canada
Trails at Green Gables, Green Gables Heritage Place

Location:
Haunted Wood Trail
8619 Cavendish Rd. 9 (Route 6), Cavendish, PE C0A 1M0, Canada .


Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.

References:
Haunted Wood Trail. Hiking PEI. Retrieved from: https://www.hikingpei.ca/Trails/PEIPark/Cavendish/HauntedWood.html

Haunted Wood Trail. Prince Edward Island National Park. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/activ/sentiers-trails/haunted-hantee

Krzewinski, Agatha. The Original Homes of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables. Sullivan Entertainment. Retrieved from: https://www.anneofgreengables.com/blog-posts/the-original-homes-of-lucy-maud-montgomery

Montgomery, L.M. The Alpine Path. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1997.

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. L.C. Page & Company, 1908.

Trails at Green Gables: Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/activ/sentiers-trails


Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 12, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Lover’s Lane and the Balsam Hollow Trail at Green Gables Heritage Place

Immerse yourself in the enchanting woodland walk of the Balsam Hollow Trail, located on the grounds of the Green Gables Heritage Place in Prince Edward Island National Park. This delightful 0.5-mile (0.8 km) interpretative trail begins behind Green Gables, winding south through serene forests and along a babbling brook, before looping back to the historic house.

The trail's journey begins along a path that L.M. Montgomery fondly called Lover’s Lane. Once a route from the barnyard to the pastures, this tranquil lane was a treasured retreat for Montgomery, offering her peace and rejuvenation. She captured its beauty in numerous photographs, preserving its essence.

Montgomery's penchant for naming places was a trait she shared with her most beloved creation, Anne Shirley. In Anne of Green Gables, Anne names the path below the orchard "Lover's Lane," mirroring Montgomery's own cherished pathway. L.M. Montgomery writes:

"Lover’s Lane opened out below the orchard at Green Gables and stretched far up into the woods to the end of the Cuthbert farm. It was the way by which the cows were taken to the back pasture and the wood hauled home in winter. Anne had named it Lover’s Lane before she had been a month at Green Gables.

“Not that lovers ever really walk there,” she explained to Marilla, “but Diana and I are reading a perfectly magnificent book and there’s a Lover’s Lane in it. So we want to have one, too. And it’s a very pretty name, don’t you think? So romantic! We can’t imagine the lovers into it, you know. I like that lane because you can think out loud there without people calling you crazy.”

There’s something magical about walking in the very place where L.M. Montgomery found her inspiration. As you meander along the trail, interpretive signs guide your journey, offering Montgomery's own poetic descriptions of nature from her journals and letters. Discover the parallels between fiction and reality as you stroll through the landscapes that inspired her timeless storytelling.

L.M. Montgomery had a deep appreciation for nature. It consoled her and encouraged her. In 1909, she wrote about Lover's Lane in her journals, saying:

"This evening I spent in Lover's Lane. How beautiful it was—green and alluring and beckoning! I had been tired and discouraged and sick at heart before I went...and it...stole away the heartsickness, giving peace and newness of life."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of August 1, 1909.



Here's a view of the peaceful forested pathway. For fans of Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables miniseries, some exterior filming was carried out along Lover's Lane.



Much of the pathway follows along a stream, and lovely bridges cross it at several points.



In L.M. Montgomery's day, Lover’s Lane was longer, but it was shortened due to the construction of the Green Gables Golf Course.



After walking along Lover's Lane, the Balsam Hollow trail continues. The interpretive signs have additional quotes about the woods and provide the names and images of plants, such as the ferns, trees, and flowers, that grow along the trail.

L.M. Montgomery enjoyed spending time alone in nature. In 1896, she wrote:

"...I would like to go away on Sunday morning to the heart of some great solemn wood and sit down among the ferns with only the companionship of the trees and the wood-winds...and I would stay there for hours alone with nature and my own soul."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of July 26, 1896



There are sweet wildflowers along the path.



L.M. Montgomery shared her observations and thoughts about nature with her longtime pen pal G.B. MacMillan. In 1904, she wrote:

"A brook was laughing to itself in the hollow. Brooks are always in good spirits. They never do anything but laugh. It is infectious to hear them, those gay vagabonds of the valleys."
-My Dear Mr. M.: Letters to G.B. MacMillan, November 9, 1904.



Here's another view of the woods in Balsam Hollow.



This sign has L.M. Montgomery's description of the brook, wind, light, and ferns. In 1899, she wrote:

"Once and again, I stray down and listen to the duet of the brook and wind, and watch the sunbeams creeping through the dark boughs, the gossamers glimmering here and there, and the ferns growing up in the shadowy nooks."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of July 24, 1899



Here's a view of the brook with ferns and plants growing on its banks.



Writing to her lifelong pen pal in 1906, L.M. Montgomery shared that she felt at home in the woods, saying:

"The woods always seem to me to have a delicate, subtle life all their own...in the woods I like to be alone for every tree is a true old friend and every tip-toeing wind a merry comrade...I always feel so utterly and satisfyingly at home..."
-My Dear Mr. M. Letters to G.B. MacMillan, September 16, 1906



Prince Edward Island National Park was established in 1937. According to this sign:

"When Prince Edward Island National Park was established in 1937, many of L. M. Montgomery's favourite haunts were preserved. Now we and future woodland wanderers can share in the natural beauty of this area which gave her so much joy and inspiration throughout her life."



I'm glad this region was preserved so that we can visit and walk along the same paths that L.M. Montgomery once did.

Official Websites:
Balsam Hollow Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park, Parks Canada
Trails at Green Gables, Green Gables Heritage Place

Location:
Lover’s Lane and the Balsam Hollow Trail
8619 Cavendish Rd. (Route 6), Cavendish, PE C0A 1N0, Canada.


Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.

References:
Balsam Hollow Trail. Hiking PEI. Retrieved from: https://www.hikingpei.ca/Trails/PEIPark/Cavendish/BalsamHollow.html

Balsam Hollow Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/activ/sentiers-trails/balsam

Krzewinski, Agatha. The Original Homes of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables. Sullivan Entertainment. Retrieved from: https://www.anneofgreengables.com/blog-posts/the-original-homes-of-lucy-maud-montgomery

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. L.C. Page & Company, 1908.

Trails at Green Gables: Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/activ/sentiers-trails


Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 7, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com