Green Gables: Bringing My Childhood Imagination to Life

Thanks to Road Scholar for providing this lifelong learning adventure through Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick! As always, all opinions are our own.

Green Gables, the house that spawned the novels
Green Gables, the house that inspired the novels.
Anne's bedroom in Green Gables
Anne’s bedroom, note the dress with the puffy sleeves!

Laura of Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Anne of Green Gables were my closest literary companions in childhood.

There was something about these girls’ feistiness and spirit that sparked “the scope of my imagination” – a bookwormish preteen girl who spent hour upon hour with her nose stuck in the pages of Laura Ingalls Wilder and L. M. Montgomery.

The dining room at Green Gables at the National Historic Site
The dining room

It was through these ground-breaking authors that I learned how little girls can be brave, mistake-ridden, ridiculous and wonderful. I found authority figures that could sometimes be unfair in their well-meaning attempts at bringing up proper young ladies and, that being heard sometimes meant taking hard-knocks and picking yourself up, then repeating as necessary.

Read about beautiful, red-cliffed Prince Edward Island

The cooking stove at Green Gables, Prince Edward Island
The cooking stove

After almost forty (!) years, I reread Anne of Green Gables just prior to visiting the Green Gables National Historic Site. There is something comforting about visiting an old friend; a warm feeling deep in the soul.

The pantry at Green Gables
The pantry

However, this time I found myself relating more to the “old” folks in the novel. Now I could see what a handful Anne was to raise, how hard life was for the inhabitants of Prince Edward Island, and I picked up on political aspects that completely eluded me as a child.

I also found that Rachel is still a total B. One of literature’s perfect antagonists.

Raspberry Cordial at Green Gables
Spotted the infamous raspberry cordial!

Anne of Green Gables Raspberry Cordial, made in Prince Edward Island
We spotted this all over the Island

Re-reading the book brought back the vision of Green Gables that I had created in my head, so I was a little hesitant to see another interpretation, but became excited when

I learned that the house that inspired the book is real. The home was owned by cousins of Lucy Maud Montgomery and young Lucy lived nearby.

Read about beautiful, red-cliffed Prince Edward Island

Marilla's Sewing Room at Green Gables
Marilla’s sewing room

In 1937, Parks Canada preserved Green Gables by adding it to the National Parks system. Authentic furnishings from the late 1800s have been used to lovingly recreate the rooms as they were described in the novel.

Matthew's bedroom at Green Gables
Matthew’s bedroom
Victorian hair wreath
Victorian hair wreath in the parlor

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Lover's Lane at Green Gables National Historic Site
Anne’s Lover’s Lane

The flora at Avonlea played a significant role in the Anne series, a kind of character in its own right, and this is a prominent feature on the surrounding grounds.

Walking through the Haunted Woods and along Lover’s Lane added dimension to my visit, smelling the smells, hearing the birds.

Read about beautiful, red-cliffed Prince Edward Island

Flora at Green Gables, Prince Edward Island

The haunted woods of Anne of Green Gables
The Haunted Woods
The stunning red cliffs of Prince Edward Island
The red cliffs of “Avonlea”

As part of the educational component to the site, outbuildings have been erected to demonstrate farm life on Prince Edward Island during Victorian times.

David milks a 'cow' at Green Gables National Historic Site

Lucy Maud Montgomery's birthplace on Prince Edward Island
The birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery in nearby New London.

L. M. Montgomery was born and is buried within a few miles of the site. After visiting the house we found our way to both sites to pay homage to the remarkable woman who, through a precocious little girl named Anne, brought an island to the world.

And to me.

Veronica, GypsyNester.com

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Thanks to Road Scholar for providing this lifelong learning adventure through Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick! As always, all opinions are our own.

YOUR TURN: Were you a fan of the Anne series?


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15 thoughts on “Green Gables: Bringing My Childhood Imagination to Life”

  1. I took my wife this summer for her first time in PEI and at Green Gables and she loved the experience. After taking part in the many Parks Canada programs, she charged into the gift shop and purchased the entire series of books in French. Now that she has read them all, my 9 year old is eager to be the next generation to fall in love with Green Gables and Anne 🙂

  2. As an employee of PEINP, it is truly touching to read someone’s account of their first time visiting Green Gables and Cavendish. Thank you for sharing!

  3. I loved it too Veronica. I think Green Gables was the reason I lived in a small rural village just across the bridge from PEI for 32 years. I wanted my kids to have an Avonlea upbringing. You should read Volume 1 of LM Montgomery’s journals. Sex and young love in the 1870s.

  4. I am so impressed by how much you learned in reading about Anna of Green Gables hijinx! They have done a beautiful job of restoring the house and I can’t help but love the inclusion of the victorian hair wreath!

  5. My current “book” (on an e-reader) is a biography of Laura Ingalls Wke you, Wilder. Like you, I have fond memories of reading the “Little House” books as a young girl. (I tried to force my sons to read them. They didn’t like them so much—maybe it was that “force” thing or maybe little boys don’t enjoy girl heroines as much as little girls do). Somehow I missed reading Anne of Green Gables. On your recommendation, I will be adding that to my “books I somehow missed” list.

  6. Such a wonderful place to visit for anyone who is a reader or a writer! I especially love walking through the wooded trails around the museum and reading Montgomery’s words on the plaques scattered about the grounds. And ah, the gardens! I’m so glad you got a little taste of the island I retreat to every summer for inspiration in my own writing!

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