Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery



Anne Shirley's creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up on Prince Edward Island but wrote Anne of Green Gables and her other books while living in Ontario and Toronto, Canada. The Toronto Star has a very interesting article about Montgomery's life and her home, Journey's End, the only house she ever owned.

The house she fixed her gaze on was brand new. So new, that the For Sale sign sat on the lawn and the builder/owner met her on the path and took her through the place.

There was a vestibule, a proper panelled hall, and a living room with a fireplace and big casement windows at either end. There was a breakfast nook, a bright, tiled kitchen, and a dining room with another big window. Upstairs there were two bathrooms — one of them in the big bedroom — and downstairs there was a recreation room. And everywhere there were lots and lots of closets. It might have looked like a bit of old England from the outside, but inside it had everything 1935 could offer. For one thing it was just full of electrical outlets for appliances, such as they were at the time.

But for Maud it was the trees and the valley behind the house that sealed the deal. There were oaks in the front and pines in the back. The back yard tumbled westward into the valley of the Humber River where in summer the ferns grew up to your waist. Maud's beloved cats could roam the valley to their hearts content, she could garden, write, live.

Even though she was a well known figure in her community and had received the Order of the British Empire, her last years were difficult. An interesting look at an author who created an unforgettable character in Anne.

2 comments:

Norma said...

I had some problems with your link to the Star, but went to the main page and did a 7 day search and found it. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1105183744689

Not sure what the problem was, but thanks for the pointer.

Camille said...

Blogger does some interesting things with REALLY long links sometimes. Thanks for letting me know.-C