PEI Select Tours
For a trip to Prince Edward Island!
We are a Japanese tour company and all of our tours are conducted in Japanese.
LM Montgomery's Inspirational World - A Literary Tour
“The Inspiring World of LM Montgomery A Literary Tour”
Please see the original website !
* Please download the Japanese brochure distributed locally here .
At each spot there is a panel with this design of an unfolded book.
Lucy Maud Montgomery (30 November 1874 – 24 April 1942) was an OBE-winning Canadian author best known for Anne of Green Gables, which she first published in 1908 (and later as a series) under the pen name LM Montgomery.
"I have described in detail the circumstances and events of my childhood because they greatly influenced the development of my literary talent. Different circumstances might have led me in a different direction. Without my years at Cavendish, Anne of Green Gables would never have been written." (The Alpine Path, Chapter 6)
LM Montgomery's novel "Anne of Green Gables" published in 1908
A Glimpse of Beauty
A moment of sparkle
Bronze statue
Concept Design: Grace Curtis
Sculptor and Caster Nathan Scott
Designer's comment :
"I wanted to portray Montgomery in her late twenties, when she was living in Cavendish and struggling to write Anne of Green Gables. 'A Glimpse of Beauty' captures Montgomery's awe of instantaneous inspiration. She describes this creative moment as 'the flash'. Inspired by the beauty of nature, she looks up to the sky, takes a deep breath, and absorbs everything. It is a moment of joy, and a moment when the creative power that was latent within her is awakened. I remember as a girl being struck by the brush strokes that capture glimpses of beauty that are depicted throughout some of Montgomery's works. I later learned that this was something that Montgomery herself experienced. This wonderful and mysterious moment continues to fascinate me as an artist." Grace Curtis
Comment from the sculptor :
"This project was an extremely rewarding experience for me because it required me to capture all of the visions of the project's client group and the artists in order to bring to life the concept designs sent to us by Grace. I believe that LM Montgomery played a major role in letting the world know what a special place and secret gem this small island is. She created a rich imaginative world through characters in books such as 'Anne of Green Gables' and 'Dear Emily'. I am honored to have been a part of celebrating Montgomery's work and am grateful for the opportunity to return to the island." Nathan Scott
The Macneill Homestead
McNeill Farm (former residence)
Inspiration
LM Montgomery's Cavendish home is arguably the place that inspired and motivated her to write more than any other place. Having lost her mother (Clare MacNeill) at an early age, and then her father (Hugh John Montgomery) leaving for western Canada, Montgomery spent most of her life at the home of her maternal grandparents (Alexander and Lucy MacNeill), from the death of her mother when she was 21 months old until the death of her grandmother in 1911.
The MacNeill kitchen doubled as the village post office, allowing Montgomery to write while helping out with the postal service and secretly sending manuscripts to publishers in the hope of being accepted, including her masterpiece, "Anne of Green Gables," among hundreds of short stories and poems.
The main part of the house no longer exists, but the kitchen wing has been preserved and returned to its original site, where it is now open to the public.
"Today I cleaned my lovely room.
Tonight I shall sleep in my old nest, pure and peaceful. Oh, how I could ever leave it. There is no other place on earth like it for me. In moments of joy or sorrow I have sat at this window, gazing out at the green hills far away, and basking in joy or sorrow.
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, April 27, 1910)
Alexander McNeill and
Lucy McNeill's home at the time.
You can see the gabled window on the second floor where Montgomery lived.
Circa 1890, Cavendish, PEI
It was on the second floor of my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. McNeill's house.
A corner of LM Montgomery's bedroom.
Circa 1890, Cavendish, PEI
Path to LMMontgomery's Cavendish Home
Path leading to LM Montgomery's Cavendish House
Home
After her mother contracted tuberculosis, LM Montgomery went to live with her maternal grandparents (Alexander and Lucy) MacNeill in Cavendish, and it goes without saying that Montgomery had a lot of fun walking and exploring the estate. At the time, the farm extended onto the park land and onto the footpath on its south side, which Montgomery walked to her one-room school and which villagers used to get to the post office in the MacNeill kitchen.
The whole area made such a deep and indelible impression on her that Montgomery wrote many of her works here, including the internationally acclaimed Anne of Green Gables. Montgomery continued to live in the house until her grandmother's death in 1911, when she married the minister Ewan MacDonald. After her marriage, she moved to Ontario and never returned to PEI, although she did visit the island many times. Nineteen of Montgomery's twenty books are set on the island.
"I have left Cavendish behind and will be gone forever, except as an occasional visitor.
It makes me feel like I've left behind the only place on earth I truly love. There may be a house for me somewhere else in the world, but my deepest soul tells me that this house in that little village by the sea is the only one that I can be at home."
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, January 28, 1912)
Alexander McNeill and
Lucy McNeill's home at the time.
You can see the gabled window on the second floor where Montgomery lived.
Circa 1890, Cavendish, PEI
L. M. Montgomery (6 years old), known to her friends as Maude, with her maternal grandmother, Lucy McNeill, circa 1870
The Cavendish United Church
Cavendish United Church
community
As a child, LM Montgomery's maternal grandparents took her to worship at the original Cavendish Presbyterian Church, now the Cavendish Cemetery. On September 8, 1901, Presbyterian congregations formally opened a new church on the site. When a number of Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches merged to form the United Church of Canada in 1925, the historic church became part of the Cavendish United Church. Montgomery served as organist at the church from 1903 to 1911, and her funeral was also held there.
The exterior of the new Presbyterian Church.
Circa 1901, Cavendish, PEI
(now Cavendish United Church)
"It will probably rain on Sunday while people are listening to the sermon.
My thoughts go back to the old Presbyterian church. People who died here a quarter century ago and were buried here are rushing out of their graves and filling the usual pews in the church. I imagine this because of an old diary entry I read: "The rain fell during the sermon." Everyone is there, from the old Scotsman in the front center who looks like a remnant of an ancient Hebrew prophet, to the ill-mannered young people of my generation in the back. The minister continues to preach -- not the modern 15-minute lessons, but a stiff sermon that goes on for about an hour. The choir is in the mezzanine, and the rain is pouring like rivers against the tall white glass windows.
(From LM Montgomery's "Come Back with Me to Prince Edward Island" published in the May/June 1936 issue of "The Maritime Advocate and Busy East")
Beautifying the Windows of Cavendish United Church
The stained glass windows were donated by the Cavendish Area Resort Association and feature the month and year of LM Montgomery's birth.
The Cavendish Cemetery
Cavendish Cemetery
Death
LM Montgomery, who died in Toronto on April 24, 1942, was transported to PEI and buried here. Her funeral was held at the Cavendish United Church, the steeple of which can be seen in front of the tombstone.
She chose this place as her final resting place, and the cemetery is visited by many people from all over the world every year.
LM Montgomery's grave in Cavendish, PEI (northeast corner of the cemetery,
(Near the intersection.) Photo taken around 1942.
He died in Toronto on April 24, 1942, and was buried here on April 29.
"This evening I went to the cemetery and reunited with the deceased.
The familiar place was covered with snow-white clovers and was beautiful in the light of the setting sun. So I chose the place where I would one day rest. It may sound gloomy, but it was never a gloomy thing to me. When that time comes, I want to be buried in Cavendish Cemetery. I want to sleep in this place, which I love more than any other place on earth, surrounded by my loved ones. . . I chose a plot on a hill overlooking the beautiful scenery I have always loved - the pond, the beach, the sand dunes and the harbor. How many summer evenings I have stood there gazing at the view, begging for more noble words to express my feelings. I wanted my final resting place to be in such a setting. . . I will lie there some day, the breezes from the sea singing to me, and the familiar bay lulling me to sleep with its lullabies.
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, July 21, 1923)
Around the time of the publication of Anne of Green Gables
L. M. Montgomery, age 34, 1908.
The Haunted Wood
Haunted Forest
imagination
In Anne of Green Gables, LM Montgomery wrote about a spruce forest she called "The Haunted Forest," a trail that now leads to Green Gables Heritage Place, home to Green Gables House and Lover's Lane.
Parks Canada has also created a modern multimedia centre to deepen understanding of Montgomery's life, places and literary legacy.
Lovers' Lane was Montgomery's favorite place throughout her life.
Located behind Green Gables House.
"Diana and I just imagined the forest was cursed.
Everything around here is sooooooo cliche, so we just came up with it for fun.
I started in April, and "The Haunted Forest" sounds so romantic, doesn't it, Marilla?
I chose that spruce forest because it's dark and eerie.
Oh, I just imagined something tragic happening."
(From Anne of Green Gables, Chapter 20)
The Haunted Forest Trail leads to the real farmhouse now known as "Green Gables," which once belonged to LM Montgomery's cousins, David and his sister Margaret McNeill, and was later passed on to their niece, Myrtle (McNeill) Webb and her husband, Ernest Webb.
Green Gables
Green Gables
discovery
Many people believe that Anne Shirley and the author Montgomery are the same person, but the fictional Anne and the real author are very different, as is clearly documented in Montgomery's diary. However, Montgomery also weaved many of her own experiences into her stories. For example, in Anne of Green Gables, she modeled her favorite real place, the farm of David and Margaret McNeill, on which she added her imagination. Regarding the main setting of the story, Montgomery wrote, "I have described the surroundings and scenery, rather than the house itself, as evidenced by all who know it."
The house now known as "Green Gables" was once the home of Montgomery's cousins, siblings David and Margaret McNeill, and was later inherited by their niece, Myrtle (McNeill) Webb and her husband, Ernest Webb.
"At the bottom of the hill there was a small valley, and beyond that a gentle slope was dotted with small, cosy farms.
The child's gaze traveled eagerly from house to house, until it stopped at one far to the left, set back from the road.
It is surrounded by a forest at dusk, lit up in a hazy white by the blossoming trees.
Above them, in the clear southwestern sky, a big, crystal white star shone like a beacon pointing to a bright future.
(From Chapter 2 of Anne of Green Gables, the scene when Anne first sees Green Gables)
Myrtle (McNeill) Webb and Ernest Webb made their home and raised their children at Green Gables, and this photo shows Montgomery's sons, Chester and Stuart MacDonald, frequent visitors, circa 1920.
Cavendish Shore
Cavendish Coast
Freedom
Montgomery's prose was first published in a newspaper in 1891, about the wreck of the Marco Polo, a three-masted wooden ship that was renowned at the time as the fastest sailing ship in the world, and which ran aground near this coast on July 25, 1883.
In addition to visiting the beach with family and friends, Montgomery often enjoyed solo walks along the Cavendish coast, and as a keen amateur photographer she took many pictures of the area.
Nora Lefergy taking photos on the beach in Cavendish
Cavendish, PEI, circa 1904. Photograph by LM Montgomery
On Cavendish Coast
L.M. Montgomery in a bathing suit (c. 1904)
"Arriving with our cameras and lunch baskets, we spent several afternoons on the shore. Upon arriving, we quickly changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed both water and land, splashing around, diving and taking photos. One day, we got drenched in the spray and had a swim we'll never forget.
It was so much fun.”
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, August 3, 1904, describing her time with Nora Lefargy)
LM Montgomery Birthplace
LM Montgomery's Birthplace
Family
LM Montgomery was born in this house on 30 November 1874, the daughter of Hugh John Montgomery and Clara McNeill Montgomery. Clara died of tuberculosis in the McNeill family home less than two years later. After her mother's death, Montgomery continued to live with her maternal grandparents, Alexander and Lucy McNeill, and it was this life there that inspired many of her stories and poems, including the world-famous Anne of Green Gables.
L. M. Montgomery's birthplace, circa 1890.
Clifton, PEI
"And that yellowish-brown house around the corner.
I have always looked at that little house by the road with a fascination. It was the house where my parents lived after they got married, where I was born, and where I spent the first year of my life. As the years passed, the little brown house became a little shabby, but to me, its charm never faded.
Whenever I turned the corner, my eyes followed the house with unchanging enthusiasm.
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, December 31, 1898)
Clare McNeill Montgomery
Portrait, 1870 (age 17)
Anne of Green Gables Museum – Silver Bush
Anne of Green Gables Museum - Silver Forest
A place of comfort for the soul
The Campbell family farm, now called Silverbush, was the home of L. M. Montgomery's cousins and was a frequent visitor to the family during her childhood and adolescence and throughout her life.
She was married to the Reverend Ewan MacDonald on 5 July 1911 in the drawing room of the house.
She also wrote other novels set on the Campbell farm, including "The Story Girl" (1911), "Pat of Silver Bush" (1933), and "Mistress Pat" (1935).
"It was a faithful old house that always gave a warm welcome to those who loved it. When you step inside, the house itself feels like a friend. It is full of love and nostalgia for the distant past and days gone by. Generations have woven together the subtle differences of beauty and charm. A lot has happened in this house, and nothing has been forgotten. Love and sorrow... tragedy and comedy. Babies have been born, brides have dreamed... fashions have come and gone, reflected in the ancient mirror. Even the walls of the house seem to hold a smile."
(From "Pat of the Silver Forest", Chapter 39)
The home of my uncle John Campbell,
Circa 1890s. Park Corner, PEI
The Lake of Shining Waters
Sparkling Lake
Beauty
LM Montgomery used the impression and inspiration she got from this pond as the "Shining Lake" in her novel "Anne of Green Gables." Anne, who liked to give romantic names to beautiful places that attracted her, imaginatively named "Barry's Pond" "Shining Lake."
"Below was a pond, long and winding so that it looked like a river. About its midst was a bridge, and from there, on the lower outskirts, a belt of amber sand dunes stretched out and bordered the deep blue bay. The water in the pond was full of many changing and shimmering hues--the most sublime crocus and rose I have ever seen, faint shades of green, and stranger hues that are more elusive and nameless.
"That's Barry's pond," said Matthew.
"Oh, I don't like that name either. I'd call it... well... Shining Lake."
(From Anne of Green Gables, Chapter 2)
Sparkling Lake
"Shining Lake is commonly modelled on Cavendish Pond, but in fact it is not.
The pond at Park Corner is exactly what I had in mind."
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, January 27, 1911)
Senator Donald Montgomery House
/ Inn at Ingleside
Senator Donald Montgomery's Home / Ingleside Inn
Reminiscence
This is the house where LM Montgomery's paternal grandfather, Donald Montgomery (January 19, 1808 - July 31, 1893), who was a Canadian Conservative Senator and was affectionately known as "Big", lived.
Montgomery deeply respected her grandfather and loved spending time with him.
She reimagined the house as "Ingleside" and it appears in several of the Anne books, including Anne of Rainbow Valley, Anne of Fireside Inn, and Anne's Daughter, Lilah.
L.M. Montgomery's grandfather, Donald Montgomery, circa 1870
The house is now the Ingleside Inn, not a museum.
There are guests staying here. Please feel free to take photos of the building and gardens.
Yes, but please respect the privacy of our guests and refrain from entering the building or
Please refrain from looking out the windows.
"When I was a child, I often visited my Grandfather Montgomery's house.
At that time, my grandfathers lived in a very elegant old house, and I would often go there to play.
It was a great pleasure.”
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, June 2, 1931)
Kensington Train Station
Kensington Station
Journey
Kensington Station, PEI, circa 1905.
Kensington Station is a National Historic Site of Canada. It was designed by Prince Edward Island architect Charles Chappell and built between 1904 and 1905 by local construction firm MF Squerman for the Prince Edward Island Railway Company. The current station was built in 1905, but the original station was built on the same site, and it was here that a remarkable event awaited the young Montgomery in her life. On August 11, 1890, she was setting off to visit her father, Hugh John Montgomery, in western Canada accompanied by her grandfather, Senator Donald Montgomery. On that day, they happened to meet Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister, on the train. Seven days later, Montgomery and her grandfather, the senator, were picked up by her father in Regina and traveled to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, where his father lived.
Pressed flowers in Montgomery's scrapbook.
Note left behind: [Given to me by Mrs. MacDonald (with "me" crossed out). "Goodnight, my hometown." Souvenir of my first train journey. Farewell, everyone!
Monday, August 11, 1890.
(Courtesy of Confederation Center Art Gallery)
"We finally got to Kensington Station where we heard about a "special train" due to arrive in about an hour, carrying Sir John MacDonald and his wife, who were visiting the island. Grandpa, a Senator and good friend of Sir John, immediately sent a telegram to Hunter River requesting that the train stop at Kensington and we would be welcome to join him. I should mention how excited we were at the prospect of meeting the Prime Minister of Canada! I had never been on a train before and found this first experience extremely enjoyable."
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, August 11, 1890)
The Bideford Parsonage Museum
Bidifudd Parsonage Museum
Connection
On July 28, 1894, Montgomery graduated from Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, aged 19, and was a newcomer to the area, taking up a teaching position at Biddyfurd School and boarding in the parsonage of the local Methodist Reverend Estee and his family. The school grounds have now been turned into a memorial park, a picnic spot for the community and visitors.
After a year at Bidifudd and then a year studying literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Montgomery returned to Prince Edward Island to take up a teaching position at Belmont School on the west side of the island.
Located in Bidifad
Archival photo of the parsonage, PEI.
"Reverend Estey is a Methodist minister, and his family consists of him and his wife.
"Mrs. E., and a little girl called Maud, a pretty girl of seven years of age, who is one of my pupils. The parsonage is about half a mile from the school, and is a comfortable house with a fine garden."
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, July 30, 1894)
Montgomery and her students at Belmont School, circa 1897.
Two years after her first teaching position at Bidifudd, Montgomery took up a teaching position at Belmont School.
The Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead
Sir Andrew MacPhail's Farm
praise
In September 1910, Governor General of Canada Earl Grey requested to visit Prince Edward Island to meet LM Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, whose novel had just been published and which the Governor General had been completely captivated by. The meeting was to take place at the home of distinguished scholar and writer Dr. Andrew MacPhail, who had been his childhood home and summer residence in Orwell. During the luncheon, Governor Grey and Montgomery went for a walk to talk about her work, and had a "heart-to-heart conversation" sitting on the steps of the outhouse of MacPhail's house. Montgomery was trying hard not to laugh, but Governor Grey had no idea what kind of place they were in.
MacPhail House in Orwell, PEI, when Montgomery was invited to meet Earl Grey in September 1910. From the diary of Countess Grey
The Charlottetown Guardian article:
The paper reported that "Miss Montgomery" was a guest on the visit of the Governor General of Canada, Earl Grey, to Prince Edward Island, and on a visit to the home of Dr. Andrew MacPhail.
"I was having so much difficulty in keeping my laughter under control that I had no idea what I was saying. The Earl thought I was nervous, and asked me if I was quite embarrassed to meet him. 'I was quite frightened,' I replied. He laughed and said, 'You'll be all right now, won't you?' I said, 'Yes,' but if I'd sat there a little longer I might have gone into hysterics, and I could never have explained why. I was so worried about the poor soul behind us who couldn't leave the house to use the toilet."
(From the Diary of L. M. Montgomery, September 11, 1910)
The Confederation Center of the Arts
Confederation Centre of the Arts
Creativity
One of the most enduringly popular musicals based on Montgomery's work is the musical "Anne of Green Gables." Produced by the Confederation of the Arts and the Charlottetown Festival, the musical first premiered in 1965 and is now recognized as the longest-running annual musical in the world. It has toured Canada three times and represented Canada at the 1970 Osaka Expo. It has also been performed in London's West End, where it won the Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical in 1969. It was also performed Off-Broadway at the New York City Center in 1972.
The Confederation Centre's Art Gallery has a permanent collection that includes "Anne of Green Gables" and 15 of Montgomery's original manuscripts, as well as her scrapbooks and memorabilia, such as her wedding dress and wedding shoes.
The strawberry water scene from the 1967 Charlottetown Festival production of "Anne of Green Gables," starring Jamie Ray as Anne Shirley and Susan Anderson as Diana Barry. (Photo: George Wotton)
Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" manuscript (ink on paper, 22 x 16.4 x 5.3 cm), 1905 (published in 1908). Acquired and kept by the Confederation Center of the Arts in 1967.
(CM 67.5.1.)
"Anne, Anne, the naughty little redhead,
You make all kinds of things happen."
(From the Diary of LM Montgomery, November 29, 1910, after a visit to LC Page, a publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, where she was given the honour of a celebrity.)
Robertson Library
and the LM Montgomery Institute at UPEI
Robertson Library and LM Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI)
heritage
In 1993, the LM Montgomery Institute (LMMI) was established at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) to further the study of the widely acclaimed author LM Montgomery and her work. The Institute holds the largest and most significant long-term collection of Montgomery's legacy materials (publications, artifacts, and other items related to Montgomery and her life) anywhere in the world. For security, preservation, and access reasons, these collections are housed in UPEI's Robertson Library. The Library's long-term collecting efforts, particularly its Prince Edward Island research collection, support and enrich the LMMI's materials. Montgomery studied at Prince of Wales College (PWC) from 1893 to 1894. The College merged with St. Dunstan's College in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island. When Montgomery attended PWC, it was located on Weymouth Street in downtown Charlottetown, where Holland College now stands. Holland College was founded in 1969 when Montgomery's school, PWC, became part of the new University of Prince Edward Island.
"When I went to Prince of Wales College, there were no cars anywhere in the world, and there weren't even traffic cops in America.
No one flew except Darius Green. No wireless. No radio. No movies. No X-rays. No bobbed hair. No Charleston dancing. No jazz. No Lloyd George. No leftists. The Spanish-American War and the Boer War were still a long way off, and the seeds of the "bloody end" of 1914 had not even been sown. It was a peaceful world.
From "The Day Before Yesterday," a memoir essay by Montgomery about her time at Prince of Wales College, published in the May 1927 issue of The College Times, Vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 29-34.
Bronze statue of LM Montgomery in the Robertson Library, by Claude Roussel, Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada.
Photo: Mike Needham, UPEI
The inspirational LM Montgomery Literary Tour was created in collaboration with the resort communities (Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico), the Government of Prince Edward Island, the Government of Canada, Cavendish Beach Tourism Association, Central Coast Tourism Association and many other enthusiastic partners.
"LM Montgomery Signature and Cat Design", LM Montgomery , " Emily of New Moon ", " The Blue Castle" , and other names and images are the creations of LM Montgomery and are trademarks of Heirs of LM Montgomery Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
" Anne of Green Gables " and other Anne related terms are trademarks and official Canadian marks of Heirs of LMMontgomery Inc. and Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority Inc. owned by the Province of Prince Edward Island. Use by permission. All rights reserved.
Book/diary images courtesy of LM Montgomery Institute
Photo courtesy of the LM Montgomery Collection, Archives and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library. XZ1 MS A097
Bronze statue of LM Montgomery at Robertson Library (photo by Mike Needham, UPEI Photography), sculptor Claude Roussel, Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada
