The Golden Road and the Brattle Book Shop, Part II

Sometimes I feel like L.M. Montgomery is following me around. Last summer, I spotted a postcard with an image of L.M. Montgomery's The Golden Road in the Brattle Book Shop in Boston, Massachusetts. Then, early this year, I saw an old edition of the book when my husband and I were out to dinner. I began feeling that these encounters weren't so random, so I decided to look for the book myself.

This summer, I was on a trip back to Boston, and I returned to the Brattle Book Shop.


I browsed through the books in the children's section, but I didn't see anything by L.M. Montgomery. Then I headed upstairs to the room filled with collectible books. After looking around for a while, I spotted a treasure—an old edition of The Golden Road sitting on a shelf labeled "Illustrated & Children's." After staring at it in astonishment, I took the book off the shelf and gently opened it up. Following a few moments of wonder, I headed downstairs to the cashier with the book in hand thinking I was meant to find it.


The woman at the register looked at the book, and then looked up at me and smiled.

"She's one of my favorites," she said.

"Mine too," I replied.


Happy 150th birthday, L.M. Montgomery. Your writings have touched so many. And I seem to run into your stories and the people who love them all the time.

Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Created November 30, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

The Golden Road and the Brattle Book Shop

A few months back, I wrote about how I encountered an old copy of The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery unexpectedly. Today, I was looking through old photos on my phone, and I realized I had another encounter with The Golden Road last summer.

At the time, I was exploring the Brattle Book Shop in Boston. It's one of the oldest book shops in the U.S., having been established in 1825, and it's one of my favorite places. While I was wandering through the store, I spotted a postcard-sized image of the 1913 cover of The Golden Road with art by George Gibbs. The picture was affixed to the side of a bookshelf. 

The Golden Road was first published in Boston by L.C. Page & Co in 1913. The Page Company was once located at 53 Beacon Street, just across the Boston Commons from the Brattle Book Shop. It's a short, less than 10-minute walk, between the publisher's office and the book shop. I imagine that first editions of L.M. Montgomery's novels were once sold in the Brattle Book Shop. I looked for an old copy of one of Montgomery's novels there, but had no luck finding one. Maybe next time.

Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Created May 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Lover’s Lane and the Balsam Hollow Trail at Green Gables Heritage Place

Immerse yourself in the enchanting woodland walk of the Balsam Hollow Trail, located on the grounds of the Green Gables Heritage Place in Prince Edward Island National Park. This delightful 0.5-mile (0.8 km) interpretative trail begins behind Green Gables, winding south through serene forests and along a babbling brook, before looping back to the historic house.

The trail's journey begins along a path that L.M. Montgomery fondly called Lover’s Lane. Once a route from the barnyard to the pastures, this tranquil lane was a treasured retreat for Montgomery, offering her peace and rejuvenation. She captured its beauty in numerous photographs, preserving its essence.

Montgomery's penchant for naming places was a trait she shared with her most beloved creation, Anne Shirley. In Anne of Green Gables, Anne names the path below the orchard "Lover's Lane," mirroring Montgomery's own cherished pathway. L.M. Montgomery writes:

"Lover’s Lane opened out below the orchard at Green Gables and stretched far up into the woods to the end of the Cuthbert farm. It was the way by which the cows were taken to the back pasture and the wood hauled home in winter. Anne had named it Lover’s Lane before she had been a month at Green Gables.

“Not that lovers ever really walk there,” she explained to Marilla, “but Diana and I are reading a perfectly magnificent book and there’s a Lover’s Lane in it. So we want to have one, too. And it’s a very pretty name, don’t you think? So romantic! We can’t imagine the lovers into it, you know. I like that lane because you can think out loud there without people calling you crazy.”

There’s something magical about walking in the very place where L.M. Montgomery found her inspiration. As you meander along the trail, interpretive signs guide your journey, offering Montgomery's own poetic descriptions of nature from her journals and letters. Discover the parallels between fiction and reality as you stroll through the landscapes that inspired her timeless storytelling.

L.M. Montgomery had a deep appreciation for nature. It consoled her and encouraged her. In 1909, she wrote about Lover's Lane in her journals, saying:

"This evening I spent in Lover's Lane. How beautiful it was—green and alluring and beckoning! I had been tired and discouraged and sick at heart before I went...and it...stole away the heartsickness, giving peace and newness of life."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of August 1, 1909.



Here's a view of the peaceful forested pathway. For fans of Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables miniseries, some exterior filming was carried out along Lover's Lane.



Much of the pathway follows along a stream, and lovely bridges cross it at several points.



In L.M. Montgomery's day, Lover’s Lane was longer, but it was shortened due to the construction of the Green Gables Golf Course.



After walking along Lover's Lane, the Balsam Hollow trail continues. The interpretive signs have additional quotes about the woods and provide the names and images of plants, such as the ferns, trees, and flowers, that grow along the trail.

L.M. Montgomery enjoyed spending time alone in nature. In 1896, she wrote:

"...I would like to go away on Sunday morning to the heart of some great solemn wood and sit down among the ferns with only the companionship of the trees and the wood-winds...and I would stay there for hours alone with nature and my own soul."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of July 26, 1896



There are sweet wildflowers along the path.



L.M. Montgomery shared her observations and thoughts about nature with her longtime pen pal G.B. MacMillan. In 1904, she wrote:

"A brook was laughing to itself in the hollow. Brooks are always in good spirits. They never do anything but laugh. It is infectious to hear them, those gay vagabonds of the valleys."
-My Dear Mr. M.: Letters to G.B. MacMillan, November 9, 1904.



Here's another view of the woods in Balsam Hollow.



This sign has L.M. Montgomery's description of the brook, wind, light, and ferns. In 1899, she wrote:

"Once and again, I stray down and listen to the duet of the brook and wind, and watch the sunbeams creeping through the dark boughs, the gossamers glimmering here and there, and the ferns growing up in the shadowy nooks."
-The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, entry of July 24, 1899



Here's a view of the brook with ferns and plants growing on its banks.



Writing to her lifelong pen pal in 1906, L.M. Montgomery shared that she felt at home in the woods, saying:

"The woods always seem to me to have a delicate, subtle life all their own...in the woods I like to be alone for every tree is a true old friend and every tip-toeing wind a merry comrade...I always feel so utterly and satisfyingly at home..."
-My Dear Mr. M. Letters to G.B. MacMillan, September 16, 1906



Prince Edward Island National Park was established in 1937. According to this sign:

"When Prince Edward Island National Park was established in 1937, many of L. M. Montgomery's favourite haunts were preserved. Now we and future woodland wanderers can share in the natural beauty of this area which gave her so much joy and inspiration throughout her life."



I'm glad this region was preserved so that we can visit and walk along the same paths that L.M. Montgomery once did.

Official Websites:
Balsam Hollow Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park, Parks Canada
Trails at Green Gables, Green Gables Heritage Place

Location:
Lover’s Lane and the Balsam Hollow Trail
8619 Cavendish Rd. (Route 6), Cavendish, PE C0A 1N0, Canada.


Image credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.
Map copyright OpenStreetMap.

References:
Balsam Hollow Trail. Hiking PEI. Retrieved from: https://www.hikingpei.ca/Trails/PEIPark/Cavendish/BalsamHollow.html

Balsam Hollow Trail, Prince Edward Island National Park. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/activ/sentiers-trails/balsam

Krzewinski, Agatha. The Original Homes of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables. Sullivan Entertainment. Retrieved from: https://www.anneofgreengables.com/blog-posts/the-original-homes-of-lucy-maud-montgomery

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. L.C. Page & Company, 1908.

Trails at Green Gables: Green Gables Heritage Place. Parks Canada. Retrieved from: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/pe/greengables/activ/sentiers-trails


Created July 17, 2007. Last updated August 7, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987) aka Anne of Avonlea

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (also known as Anne of Avonlea) is a television miniseries that first aired on the Disney Channel and CBC in 1987. It was broadcast on PBS the next year. Sullivan Entertainment produced this sequel to follow its acclaimed Anne of Green Gables (1985) miniseries.

Kevin Sullivan wrote and directed Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. The miniseries starred Megan Follows, who returned to play the beloved Anne Shirley. Several other actors returned to play their Anne of Green Gables (1985) roles, including Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert, Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe, Schuyler Grant as Diana Barry, Patricia Hamilton as Rachel Lynde, and Marilyn Lightstone as Miss Stacey. Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel introduced several new characters as well, including Morgan Harris played by Frank Converse, Mrs. Harris played Dame Wendy Hiller, Emmeline Harris played by Genevieve Appleton, and Katherine Brooke played by Rosemary Dunsmore.

The storyline in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel combines elements from three novels in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, namely: Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars. The story begins with Anne in Avonlea, teaching at the Avonlea school and dreaming of becoming a successful writer. After turning down a proposal from Gilbert, Anne takes a job as a teacher at Kingsport Ladies' College where she faces challenges from the Pringle family and the mean-spirited principal Katherine Brooke. Anne must navigate these difficulties to find her place and learn what she truly wants in life.

As with the earlier miniseries, Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel was filmed in Ontario and Prince Edward Island, Canada. Its memorable music was composed by Hagood Hardy. The miniseries earned six Gemini awards in 1988, with Kevin Sullivan winning for Best Dramatic Mini-Series, Megan Follows winning for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, and Colleen Dewhurst winning for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress.

Image credit:
Photograph of Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe and Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel © Sullivan Entertainment

External link:
Anne of Green Gables: The Official Website

Purchase and watch Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel:



Created April 22, 2001. Last updated May 2, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com