As a kid, I devoured the Anne of Green Gables books and I’ve reread them multiple times since. Those novels got me into reading and, almost seamlessly, writing. I have vague memories of constructing terribly cheesy poems about trees and brooks, which I then eagerly shared with my mother, a fellow Green Gables fan, expecting praise on par with being awarded the Pulitzer. I won’t even pretend I was a cool kid. But I’ll be forever glad Anne turned me into a bookworm.
And so, while exploring the east coast of Canada a few months ago I had to honour that literary gift and make dreams come true for that little Polish girl poring over the adventures of Anne-with-an-e. Which is how I ended up on Prince Edward Island where the story is set.
It could’ve been a huge mistake. Writers take a lot of creative licence and when a trusting reader, enchanted with descriptions of exotic settings, goes on to visit the places that jigged the imagination of the author, they can find themselves feeling somewhat disappointed. Oh, the pressure of high expectations. But I’m happy to report this was not the case and Prince Edward Island is just as advertised by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
The red sands, white and green wooden houses, friendly people and vast potato farms were just as described in the books. And that’s over a century later. In a strange way the island felt almost familiar; perhaps it’s the bias of having read the books so many times. What I didn’t expect was for PEI to be rather quiet – it turned out the season had ended the week before our arrival at the start of September. The weather duly retired too. We skipped the beach, but there was plenty to see and for the first time during my Canadian trip it didn’t feel like distances were huge. We drove around to find the best lobster roll (Richard’s), explore the lovely Charlottetown and see the striking coastline, much of which sadly took a hit during storm Fiona in 2022.
But the main event was visiting ‘Anne’s house’. The place that inspired Green Gables forms part of a heritage site and museum dedicated to Montgomery’s life and writing. It very much lived up to expectations. The level of detail as you walk through the farmhouse is lovely; from various pieces of furniture described in the books through to signature items of clothing belonging to the characters – all the way down to a certain amethyst brooch which sparked one of the more blood-curdling scenes (I may or may not be exaggerating ever so slightly).
We then followed Anne’s walking trails near the house which is how I learnt the site is right next door to a golf course. I tried not to fixate on that too much. It was still a pretty magical experience.
Cherished childhood ideals often crumble when confronted with real life, but my love for Anne’s world remains intact. In fact, the visit to Prince Edward Island inspired me to reread the books once again. Phew.
monika morgan 