100th Anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables
Highlights in a Year of Literary Celebrations on PEI
Mar 13, 2009
This world famous coming-of-age story of one spunky, red-headed orphan girl who steals the hearts of the fabled Avonlea village, continues to warm the hearts of readers, young and old, who come to embrace Anne as their own ‘kindred spirit.’
Publications
The 100th anniversary of the book’s publications saw a commemorative edition of the novel, as well as an estate-authorized prequel, Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson, chronicling Anne’s not-so-merry days before finding her home in Avonlea. Also published is the non-fiction Looking for Anne by Montgomery scholar, Irene Gammel, who uncovers the historical and personal sources for the Anne character, delving into the mystique of how Montgomery ‘dreamed up a literary classic.’
Reflecting on Anne of Green Gables
The anniversary year also saw the opening of an exhibition “Reflecting on Anne of Green Gables” at the Canada Library and Archives in Ottawa gathered from personal collections, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and the Canada Archives’ own collection. ‘Anne’s reflections’ are exhibited in manuscripts, numerous translated copies of the novel, posters, works of art, film clips and personal correspondence between the author and her friends and pen pals.
Biography – Lucy Maud Montgomery
However, as Anne’s tragic-turned-charmed life brought Montgomery fame and acclaim and created a literary legacy that continues to flourish beyond generational differences, the life of Maud (as she was known) was not as sweet as that of her characters she envisioned through rose-coloured glasses. It is often chronicled that her marriage and home life were rather unhappy (attributed to her minister husband’s depression) and it is suggested that the Anne character was a dream-like version of her own self. Maud was, in her own way, orphaned when her mother died but father remarried, moved and left her to be raised by her grandparents.
Tragedy – Death by Suicide
After the summer events the of the 100th anniversary celebrations, the granddaughter of Lucy Maude Montgomery published a long-kept family secret in a letter to the Globe and Mail, stating that Maud’s death was actually by suicide, and that she had taken her own life to end many years of suffering through depression. Kate Macdonald Butler expressed that her intention in sharing this information was to raise public awareness of the reality of mental illness, this all-too-often clichéd topic, in the hope that it can inspire dialogue and release stigma from this affliction that affects many family, friends and sufferers in silence.
The paradox of Maud’s life is that she did continue to write prolifically into her days. Although she did not find solace from depression in her life, the bright and lively characters she created continue to inspire, to delight and to dare readers to dream of a place where wrongs can be righted through the development of new families and friendships.
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