An Article on Anne of Green Gables and Grief by Julie Z. Weil

There's a beautiful article by Julie Z. Weil, entitled "How the Anne of Green Gables books guided me through grief," in today's publication of The Washington Post. Weil reflects on many moments in her life where she turned to L.M. Montgomery's novels for comfort and guidance. Weil writes, "I first read the Canadian author’s books when I was 8, and for years they had served as a guide for me. Starting at 12, I wrote letters to my future self on my birthday once a decade, inspired by Montgomery’s 'Emily of New Moon.'" At age 23, Weil writes about her realization that she wasn't in love with someone who said they loved her, and she turned to Anne of the Island.

Later, Weil married a man whose proposal included memorized paragraphs from Montgomery’s The Blue Castle. When she and her husband lose their first baby, she writes, "my parents asked what they could bring to the hospital for me. I told them to bring my childhood boxed set of the Anne of Green Gables books." Remembering that Anne's first baby died, Weil turned to Anne's House of Dreams for comfort and to find her way forward. After many rounds of fertility treatments, she gives birth to her daughter, who she calls "My Anne."

Weil reflects, "Over a lifetime of reading, books teach us how a whole wide catalogue of heartbreaks unfold before we live any of them." She goes on to say, "We have no promise that the stories of our lives will unfold with the structure imposed on novels." She's right, books teach us and give us a window to a wide array of emotional experiences, and they can provide us with ideas and guidance on ways we can move forward. Montgomery's stories of Anne, Emily, and Valancy provide comfort in challenging times.


Image credit:
Screencapture from The Washington Post.

Reference:
Weil, Julie Z. (2026, January 18). How the Anne of Green Gables books guided me through grief. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/01/18/anne-green-gables-grief-stillborn/

Created January 18, 2026.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Food & Wine on Prince Edward Island and Lobster

In July, Wendy Pramik wrote an article for Food & Wine entitled "On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life." It's all about Prince Edward Island and lobster. She writes, "I haven’t come to relive storybook memories. I want to see how lobster, once considered poor people’s food, has become a regional symbol – and how it still connects people across the island."

Wendy Pramik visits several restaurants, including Dalvay-by-the-Sea, known to Anne of Green Gables fans as the White Sands Hotel, where executive chef Jamie Power serves lobster pho (yum!). She enjoyed a lobster roll sampler plate at Fin Folk Food (pictured above), the Lobster Thermidor at Sea Rocket, a seafood bake at Peake’s Quay in Charlottetown, and a meal at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.

It's the kind of article that makes your stomach grumble and your heart miss Prince Edward Island. I remember when I visited years ago, my husband and I ate freshly caught lobster on the beach, prepared by a local lobster fisherman. It was such a special meal. I'd love to go back one day and try out some of the restaurants mentioned in Pramik's article.

Link:
On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life by Wendy Pramik, Food & Wine, July 22, 2025.

Image credit:
Photograph of a Prince Edward Island Lobster Roll Sampler Plate from "On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life" by Wendy Pramik, Food and Wine.

Created October 1, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Article on Rediscovering Jane of Lantern Hill at JSTOR Daily

In an article entitled "L. M. Montgomery’s Plain Jane," which was published yesterday by JSTOR Daily, Emily Zarevich discusses L.M. Montgomery's overlooked novel Jane of Lantern Hill. Zarevich poses the question, "What’s it like to be the forgotten child of a celebrity?" Despite receiving positive reviews, Jane of Lantern Hill never gained the same recognition as L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. While Anne has been celebrated and adapted numerous times for television, film, and stage, there is only one film adaptation of Jane of Lantern Hill directed by Kevin Sullivan in 1990.

Zarevich highlights some of the scholarship on Jane of Lantern Hill that highlights the novel's feminist undertones and drawing parallels between Jane's struggles and Montgomery's own life. Likewise, Jane has similarities to Anne Shirley. Both Anne and Jane are optimists, and both are "young women compelled to assert themselves in a stifling atmosphere that offers them no legal rights or agency."

Maybe it's time for a Jane re-read.


Image credit:
Screencapture from JSTOR Daily.

Reference:
Zarevich, Emily. (2024, September 13). L. M. Montgomery’s Plain Jane. JSTOR Daily. Retrieved from: https://daily.jstor.org/l-m-montgomerys-plain-jane/

Created September 14, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com