Visiting Anne of Green Gables’ home of Prince Edward Island and speaking at the L.M. Montgomery Conference

My first visit to Prince Edward Island has been a long time coming and a dream come true. On Christmas morning 1999, The Kingfisher Book of Great Girl Stories sat wrapped in ribbons under the tree waiting to inspire a corkscrew curled 7-year-old. Inscribed with a loving note from my mother, “I hope you enjoy meeting each of the girls in this book as much as I will enjoy reading this with you,” it was filled with abridged classics featuring heroines (like L.M. Montgomery’s Anne Shirley) and was the catalyst for my lifelong love of literary heroines and their authors. This love has blossomed into a career I could have only ever imagined.

In January 2021, I launched an online book club I decidedly named “The Enchanted Book Club,” a warm and welcoming community where kindred spirits could gather to celebrate the stories that enchant us. The Enchanted Book Club is dedicated to providing our members with literary inspiration and honoring women writers. From virtual discussions with best-selling authors to real-life tours of literary landmarks, it is my greatest joy to give kindred spirits from all over the world the opportunity to connect with one another through our shared love of timeless stories.

Not only is it my hope to give our community the most beautiful experience possible, but to give back to the authors who have changed our lives. So this year, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s birth, I asked the L.M. Montgomery Institute if The Enchanted Book Club could sponsor this year’s L.M. Montgomery Conference.

As the conference committee and I discussed potential opportunities for The Enchanted Book Club to get involved (with consideration to the conference theme: Montgomery and the Politics of Home), I was thrilled when they invited me to moderate “A Conversation Between Literary Houses” at the conference in Prince Edward Island!

My deep appreciation for literary houses came about while on a literary tour of England alongside The Enchanted Book Club. I was astounded at the meticulous preservation of these homes and the important contribution they make to an author’s legacy. After having been enchanted by visits to literary houses in the English Countryside and in Concord, Massachusetts, this invitation was a chance to raise awareness about the significance of literary homes—a dream! We invited representatives from the homes of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Emily Carr, Louisa May Alcott, plus Green Green Gables Heritage Place to participate.

After much preparation with the L.M. Montgomery Institute, June finally arrived and it was time to embark on an adventure across North America to Prince Edward Island, the home of L.M. Montgomery and Anne Shirley. I landed in PEI the evening of June 17th and checked into Fitzroy Hall, a historic bed and breakfast in Charlottetown. The next day I would moderate A Conversation Between Literary Houses to kick off the 16th biennial L.M. Montgomery Conference where hundreds of avid Montgomery readers would gather from all over the world to celebrate the beauty of her words, her heroines, and her homes.

During the hours I wasn’t occupied with conference events, I made my way to Cavendish (known as Avonlea in the Anne of Green Gables series) to explore the places that spoke so deeply to Montgomery’s heart. While on PEI, I took two tours. The first tour was a gracious invitation from Linda Lowther who is extremely involved in the Cavendish community. She has served as President of the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island and built and ran Sundance Cottages in Cavendish for 32 years. She’s also married to a descendant of L.M. Montgomery!

I had already met Linda over Zoom calls as we worked together to plan The Enchanted Book Club’s trip to Prince Edward Island taking place this September. This tour with her was an opportunity to get sneak peek of our itinerary! Merely spending an afternoon with Linda and listening to her stories was a treat. In addition to playing a significant role in creating The Inspiring World of L.M. Montgomery Literary Tour (a self-guided walking tour designed to educate visitors about Montgomery)​, Linda has fought for federal grants to fund ​p​rojects that will expand the spotlight from Anne Shirley to Montgomery. 

Although our tour was quite speedy as I had to get back to Charlottetown to prepare for the first conference event, it couldn’t have been a better introduction to the island. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Linda! We returned to the B&B in the late afternoon and I freshened up before making my way to the University of Prince Edward Island to moderate A Conversation Between Literary Houses.

I was so delighted to wear the Emily dress from O Pioneers, a women-owned dress shop based in Marylebone, London. Donning flowers and puffed sleeves, I excitedly got into the cab that would take me to the University. As host of The Enchanted Book Club, I’ve interviewed 75+ literary figures from authors to publishers to bookstore owners to film directors. However, I had never participated in an event quite like this one. It was an honor to be a part of and I sincerely hoped that our guests would be inspired.

Any nerves I may have had were immediately calmed when I saw Jan Turnquist in the hallway leading to the auditorium. Jan is Executive Director of Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott and setting of Little Women. If you attended The Enchanted Book Club’s trip to Orchard House or read about our experience, then you know what a wonder Jan is. Seeing her in person again brought back the beautiful memories our book club made in Concord, Massachusetts and filled my heart with warmth. In a few minutes, our event would begin.

I stood at the podium, introduced myself, and handed it over to our panelists to give their presentations. In addition to Jan Turnquist, we were lucky to have Alan MacEachern (author of the newly released Becoming Green Gables) and Pascale Halliday (director of Emily Carr’s house). We even had two panelists tune in virtually from England, Lizzie Dunford (director of Jane Austen’s House) and Sherry Ashworth (guide at Elizabeth Gaskell’s house). What an inspiration they all are!

This panel sparked an even bigger conversation around an exciting possibility…A Literary House Network! I’m working with our panelists to create a network that will inspire armchair travelers, visitors, tour guides, scholars, and readers from all around the world. So far, my role in this network has been representing the literary community’s interests. We would be so grateful if you participated in the survey below so that this new network can understand how to best inspire you!

Off the heels of a successful first event, I felt almost obligated to celebrate. It was on to Claddaugh Oyster House for dinner and a glass of prosecco. I would return to Claddaugh two more times before returning home. Yes, it is that good!

The next morning, I was out the door at 7:45am for a more comprehensive tour of the island. This time I was accompanied by Jan Turnquist and our tour guide was Jack Des Roches of Jack’s Tours PEI. (Jack is Linda’s cousin!). Our first stop was The Haunted Wood and Montgomery Park. With jitters of the first conference event behind me, wandering through The Haunted Wood on a serene June morning became my first memory of truly soaking in PEI’s beauty. I know Montgomery wrote many of her books about PEI but in this particular case, it seemed as though life was imitating art. Maud’s vivid descriptions of PEI that had painted pictures in my mind for years, had come to life before me. It was everything I’d hoped for.

Isn’t she beautiful? Linda was quite involved in the installment of this gorgeous statue at Montgomery Park. They were given funding to commission a statue under the strict condition that the artist and sculptor must be Canadian. They received several artist submissions and chose this depiction of Montgomery as it is meant to represent “the flash,” a moment of inspiration and hope that both Emily of New Moon and Montgomery herself experienced. Next, it was time to find a Canadian sculptor who could bring this art piece to life. After much searching, Linda and her team commissioned a sculptor who honored Montgomery with this stunning tribute. When completed, it traveled across Canada until it reached Montgomery Park where it was installed and unveiled. Linda couldn’t help but shed a tear.

You know how Anne Shirley always gives names to places? On the way to the Anne of Green Gables Museum, we passed by a flower field like I had never seen. I named it The Lupine Field of Dreams (not terribly original, I know —  although fitting). It may have been the most beautiful scene on the island and I couldn’t help but get a closer look.

I wasn’t expecting to be so taken with the Cavendish Post Office! As you can see, it’s covered in the most charming floral wallpaper. While Montgomery pursued a writing career, she worked at the town post office which was actually located inside her home. This allowed her to secretly mail her writing submissions without anyone the wiser. To highlight this part of her career, the Cavendish Post Office features an exhibit all about Montgomery. Tip: when you send a postcard from the Cavendish Post Office it will be postmarked from Green Gables!

A candid photo of Jan and I in front of the Anne of Green Gables Museum. That’s Jack behind us! If you’re visiting PEI, I highly recommend touring with Jack. He’s kind, gentle, knowledgable, and a joy to spend time with.

Because The Enchanted Book Club is dedicated to honoring the legacies of women authors, I was especially proud that our community sponsored this year’s L.M. Montgomery Conference. More specifically, we sponsored a birthday reception held in honor of Montgomery’s 150th. I worked with the catering team to design a cake adorned in flowers, requested raspberry cordial, floral tea party plates, and Anne of Green Gables napkins for an added dash of enchantment!

After the birthday reception, I was excited to interview Kate Scarth again (she was an Enchanted Book Club guest earlier this year), to explore the relationship between Montgomery’s heroines and their homes. We talked about how Montgomery portrays her heroines in the home, the books Montgomery owned and loved, and even her heroines’ favorite books.

It’s an undeniably meaningful experience to gather together in celebration of shared passions. One of the reasons I created The Enchanted Book Club is to provide people with the opportunity to connect with those who love what they love and understand a part of their hearts that others might not. I felt that kindred magic during this conversation as the room marveled over the stories that have made us feel less alone—the stories that brought us together.

That evening, I was thrilled to meet Kate Macdonald Butler, L.M. Montgomery’s granddaughter. I’m a big fan of Kate’s Anne of Green Gables Cookbook and previously interviewed her for The Enchanted Book Club but this was the first opportunity to meet in person. Kate is the daughter of Dr. Stuart Macdonald who was L.M. Montgomery’s youngest son. She is the President of Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc., a family owned company that oversees all L.M. Montgomery related inquiries and projects. As you might imagine, she does wonderful work to preserve her grandmother’s legacy in addition to protecting the integrity of Anne Shirley. It would’ve been special to meet Kate under any circumstance but it was particularly memorable to meet while celebrating her beloved grandmother together!

If you can believe it, I could keep writing and writing to you, sharing countless more details from this literary adventure. I visited Montgomery’s birthplace, saw Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, and interviewed historical fiction authors, Logan Steiner (After Anne) and Melanie Fishbane (Maud). I chatted with a bartender about the decade of his life in which he portrayed Gilbert Blythe. He said he hopes to “get grey enough” to portray Matthew one day. I picked up a copy of Montgomery’s journals at an independent bookstore in Charlottetown which inspired me to start journaling again.

I feel like just about the luckiest girl in the world to be returning to PEI this September, this time alongside kindred spirits of The Enchanted Book Club. There will be 36 of us experiencing all this magic amongst each other which I am positively sure will make it all the more enchanting ❤️

If you have taken the time to read about my adventure, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our kindred community means so much to me. It is a true gift to delight in our shared enthusiasm for the stories that have made a difference in our lives and I can’t wait to keep sharing inspiration with you!