A Glimpse of Beauty, Lucy Maud Montgomery Statue

Photo credit - courtesy of Nathan Scott

A life-size bronze statue of the famous Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, resides in the heart of a park in her honor in her hometown on Prince Eduard Island.

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) arrived in Cavendish as a toddler to live with her grandparents after her mother passed away. As a child living with the elderly, she spent many hours reading, writing and creating imaginary friends. When she was 16 years old, she published her first poem in the local newspaper, and by 23, she started publishing short stories in newspapers and magazines, reaching more than 100 publications in a decade.

At 18, she attended Prince of Wales College for her teaching license, then Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study literature, and worked as a teacher between both. At 24, she returned to Cavendish to support her widowed grandmother and work on her first novel Anne of Green Gables. Published in June 1908, the book was an instant best-seller, translated to over 36 languages, and adapted into dozens of movies, TV series, films, radio, stage, and web production, establishing Montgomery as a novelist and putting Prince Eduard Island on the world map.

At 37, she married a Presbyterian minister and left Prince Eduard Island for Ontario. While raising her family, she continued writing and publishing. Overall, she published 20 novels, 500 poems, 530 short stories, and 30 essays during her lifetime.

At 67, she passed away. Her final resting place is in the Cavendish Cemetery on Prince Edward Island (directly across the park).

In 2019 the Cavendish Heritage Park was renamed Montgomery Park to commemorate Montgomery and celebrate the Founding Families of Cavendish and the Avonlea Women’s Institute.

The Prince Eduard Island artist Grace Curtis designed the statue in 2019; it was sculptured and cast by British Columbia artist Nathan Scott. The statue, called A Glimpse of Beauty, depicts Montgomery in her late 20s when she lived in Cavendish and wrote Anne of Green Gables. It captures her in a moment of inspiration, or as she called this creative moment- “the Flash.”

“Inspired by the beauty of nature, she lifts her head heavenward to take a deep breath, to take it all in; in part, a moment of joy, and in part, an acknowledgment of the gift of creativity she has been given” – Grace Curtis.

The statue was unveiled on August 28th, 2019, by Montgomery’s granddaughter and in the presence of Princess Takamado of Japan.

The park is the recommended first stop of The Inspiring World of L.M. Montgomery Literary Tour, which leads visitors to other L.M. Montgomery experiences, including Green Gables House and the new Green Gables Visitor Centre.

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Montgomery Park, 7512 PE-13, Green Gables, PE C0A 1M0, Canada

 

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