What a beautiful, thoughtful, enriching book! Catherine Reid has written a wonderful book that allows the beauty of Prince Edward Island and its influence on L.M. Montgomery shine though just as it should. The imagery in the book complemented the text so perfectly and made me feel as if I were myself on PEI and in Montgomery's world.. I love reading biographies and books about authors I love that help me get to know them and their inspirations better, and this book did just that. Now that I have finished this book, I want to go back and read the Anne of Green Gables series again with fresh eyes and a new perspective on that beloved and spirited orphan. I would highly recommend to any lover of Montgomery's works!

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Net Gallery.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

I consider myself at least a mild fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery and of her writings [1], for like her and like many of her characters I am a high-strung and sensitive person who feels compelled to write, has a deep appreciation of creation, and comes off to others as far more optimistic than I feel inside.  In short, I found this book deeply relatable and wanted to read it on those grounds.  Having read it, I must say that the book ends up being far better than I expected it to be, and I had high hopes and expectations going into it.  A big part of the reason for that is that the landscapes that the author talks about are multi-layered.  I knew, going into this book, that it would have beautiful landscapes of Prince Edward Island, just from the context I brought with me being familiar with Montgomery's life and writings, but I was not aware that the author would talk about other landscapes as well, including the landscapes of time and the interior landscapes of creativity and inspiration.  All of this made a great book even better.

In terms of its contents, this book is about 300 pages but it can be read profitably and well more easily than others of its size because of a great many gorgeous pictures that will make this book a treasured volume on coffee tables and in bookshelves for a great many people for a long time to come.  The book is organized in a way that puts its gorgeous photos and the author's text in the best light, being divided into thematically organized chapters that discuss such matters as an introduction to Prince Edward Island and its history, the interconnected lives of Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery as kindred orphans, the loveliness of Prince Edward Island during Montgomery's time and our own, the poetic imagination of both Montgomery and her protagonists, the beautiful gardens of Montgomery's imagination and life, the seasons of life on Prince Edward Island, and the life of a writer.  There is a great deal in these materials that is personally relevant and that will likely be relevant to many of this book's readers, whether or not they have visited PEI.  If this book wasn't supported by the tourism board of that lovely island province, it needs to be soon.

There are many ways that you could like this book.  You could be a fan of Anne of Green Gables or the other writings of Lucy Maud Montgomery, and be interested in knowing more about her writings and the land that inspired them.  You could be a fan of Prince Edward Island and its natural beauty as well as its unusual history that has led to much of that beauty being preserved even in the face of tourism and the proliferation of golf courses.  You could be a fan of the relationship between the beauty of creation and its influence on the artistic creation of writers.  You could be a fan of nature photography or beautiful book art, or any number of related subjects, and there would be much to enjoy in this book.  This book combines the immense beauty of Prince Edward Island as well as the writing of Lucy Maud Montgomery with the immense tragedy of a life marked by powerful depression and immense difficulty, and the lasting nature of the beauty of the land as well as the writing that was related to a life that in many ways deeply resembles my own.  After all, Montgomery was a sensitive and high-strung person with a marked tendency towards melancholy who channeled her intense passions and the difficulties of her life into writing which has served the world far more than it served her personally.  This book is a worthy and gorgeous testament to that reality.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/08/21/book-review-anne-of-green-gables-my-daughter-me/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/08/13/book-review-the-heroines-bookshelf/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/05/29/book-review-good-girl-messages/

From the time I first read Anne of Green Gables (and the sequels), many a happy hour of my childhood was spent imagining myself as Anne, 'discovering' and 'naming' new places, and acquiring a love of poetry, and Gilbert Blythe was one of my first book crushes. In 1985, I fell in love with Anne and Gilbert all over again when I watched the TV mini-series with Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie (RIP), and Prince Edward Island gained top spot on my bucket list.

Reading this book has renewed my wish to visit PEI. Full of gorgeous photographs, and extracts from L M Montgomery's works, it weaves a spell just as magical as any Anne could have dreamed of. This book is an ideal gift for anyone who loves the world created by Montgomery among the pages of her books. Absolutely stunning.

L.M. Montgomery is well known for her long descriptions of the natural world in her books. Whether it's Anne talking about the trees surrounding her new home with Gilbert or Valancy chronicling the moody woods she stakes her claim in, Montgomery has created an entity all their own with the landscapes written in to her novels. The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables celebrates the island that inspired such vivid word pictures. As someone who has been to Prince Edward Island (an Anne centric trip), I thought this book beautifully captured the magic of Anne's world. The photographs are beautiful, the content is engaging and had a breadth I wasn't expecting. Catherine Reid not only presents the rich landscapes, she explores they were a very part of Montgomery and her writing.

If you loved Marta McDowell's GARDENING LIFE OF BEATRIX POTTER or THE WORLD OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER, you will love Catherine Reid's new book featuring beautiful color photographs of the settings of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES as well as pictures of the historic sites relating to L.M. Montgomery and photographs taken by Montgomery herself (some of them hand-colored by Montgomery as well). Reid not only tells us the stories of the settings, but how they gave solace to Montgomery, who had a sad childhood being cared for by indifferent grandparents and then returned to a stepmother who basically turned her into a baby-minder and servant; while her writing was a success, she also had a troubled adulthood, plagued by publishers' problems, a mentally unstable husband, and her own depression.. We are shown the original Green Gables and a recreation of the town of Cavendish, which was inspiration for Avonlea, and also her relatives' home Silver Bush, which contained some of the inspirational landscapes for the Anne books and also the two Pat books. Of interest are several photos of Montgomery's scrapbooks, which were always full of floral and botanical images, and excerpts from her journals. Anyone who has read Anne, Emily, Pat, or any of Montgomery books set on PEI who has wondered "what did it look like?" will love this beautiful volume!

This book is so lovely. The illustrations are gorgeous. The book is very well written. I have never read Anne before today but look forward to reading the books that inspired this one. My sister in law is a huge fan of Anne so I plan to recommend this book to her.

Prince Edward Island is one of the most beautiful locations in Noeth America. Catherine Reid's The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables illustrates that to perfection. The book includes fantastic photos accompanied by captions from Montgomery's books and her journals. Reid allows the reader to travel along through the pages. A better promotion for the beauty and wonder of PEI cannot be found.

This is an absolutely stunning book. As a devoted L.M. Montgomery fan for 36 years (I named my two children Avonlea and Marilla!) I've always wanted to visit Prince Edward Island. I haven't been able to do that yet, but at least this book can transport me there in my imagination. The gorgeous photography and author Catherine Reid's commentary provide an insightful, inspiring depiction of the landscapes that informed Montgomery's books. A must for any Montgomery fan!

Lush and beautiful. A perfect addition to any Anne of Green Gables/L.M.Montgomery fan. A treasure of gorgeous landscapes.

I do really appreciate the books published by Timber Press.

They are inspiring, botanically erudite, and they add something more to the knowledge of the environment.

With this sentiment and being a fan of Anne of Green Gables, I requested The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables by Catherine Reid.

I was waiting for sure a beautiful book but this one is not just beauty, this one is not just interesting, this one has been in grade to capture in a brilliantly, poetic, wonderful way the character of Anne and mrs Montgomery.
I guess that the writer is a fan of the writer and of Anne of Green Gables.

This book is simply amazing! Wonderful pictures, resonanting quotes from Anne of Green Gables or mrs Montgomery Journals, The Alpine Path or from poets she appreciated a lot like Robert Browning.

The book is a tribute and a compenetration of the essence of work of Montgomery that couldn't never be separated by her alter-ego Anne Shirley the character of Anne of Green Gables and her beloved island of Prince Edwards because an unicum.

Mrs Montgomery was a wonderful, optimistic lady in particular for other people presenting to them always a reason for going on, and as we will vividly see thorough this book she projected herself with all her best, in terms of encouragement, in terms of optimism in little Anne Shirley.
I was thinking that another modern actor with these extraordinary treats was Robin Williams.

There are many similarities with the personal life-story lived by Montgomery and little Anne. Yes: mrs Montgmery didn't have red hair and didn't suffer all the troubles suffered by Anne but she also remained orphan when she was 21 months old and although she developed a beautiful relationship with her dad she absolutely found the lady he re-married a very disgusting and horrible woman.

She continued to keep an intense correspondent with her dad 'till at the departure of her beloved father a terrible news this one for her.

Mrs Montgomery loved nature and in the nature of her beloved Prince Edwards Island she was in grade of going on and re-birth all the time from the various life-sufferences she was experiencing.

The island at the moment is more modern than the one Mrs. Maud knew but substantially it is possible to recognize very vividly the locations in part recreated of the places where Anne of Green Gables or also the author lived. The tourism is one of the most important voices thanks to the books about Anne and Green Gables and the following notoriety brought to the island by mrs. Maud. Other important voices are agriculture and fishing. A land where it was possible to find peace, a beautiful land where nature was friend, and where to restore the soul.

The tourism is mainly a spring-summer tourism because later like for most other places in the world, fall and winter are pretty long and cold months. Population, if in the past diminuished became more interesting during these past decades.

Although Anne Shirley was a fictional character without doubt she also was the alter-ego of Montgomery, the person with which mrs Montgomery communicated her beautiful thoughts of encouragements, with the world, people and with generations of children and adults.

We will visit thanks to this book also the house of Anne of Green Gables, the bedroom where she lived in, the one of Marilla, the one of Matthew and we will see the kitchen and the most important spots re-created at the perfection. We will find Bonny the geranium Anne started to be so affectionted at immediately after her arrival at the farm of the siblings Cuthbert and all her world, for the joy of the estimators of the author and this legendary character.

The island is plenty of great resources regarding Anne and mrs.Montgomery.

Mrs Montgomery loved nature and she idealized it so badly. It was to her the best refugee where to escape and to discover the harmony of this world. Spring, summer, fall and winter were beautiful for various different reasons, although we will find her discouraged in some part of her life for the arrival of winter. But all these personal state of her soul won't never filter outside if not in the pages of her journals or letters. She won't never ask for a help, she won't never ask for some joy. She will continue to tell to everyone how wonderful was the world to her.

Looking through the idealistic, dreaming eyes the world by Montgomery is an experience that you can't miss because this lady was in grade to capture like a radar mentally only the best sentiments, only the best part of the world, keeping out stress, sadness, unhappiness state that world can present to people, for de-stressing psychologically for example Anne when the situation was too ugly for going on.

In this book we will also discover the favorite gardens by Montgomery. The old-fashioned garden, where various plants and herbs planted in the remote past by the ancestors of the family; a wild garden, and a woodland garden. All these gardens for different reasons are important for the author, because they put her, and Anne of Green Gables in connection with nature.

Why Anne of Green Gables and L.M.Montgomery can be a very happy re-discover for the children but also for adults?

First of all because Montgomery speaks of universal themes like love, friendship, being happy with little things, appreciating life also when it becomes very hard, and at the same time finding harmony in a harmonic world where man has respect for this one and using and directing our mind at happy thoughts also when situations are difficult.

Second: because in a world always more confused there is not another voice more strong and secure, optimistic and certain than the one of Anne of Green Gables assuring ourselves that life will be good.

Third because Anne suffered a lot and for this reason her happiness is so important.
You can't discover real joy and happiness if before you won't have met the sufferance, although you must know that after a period of sufference happiness will return with prepotence. It's a life-lesson for everyone.

Anne didn't lose her smile because of her sufferances but she continued to stay positive, appreciating later all the joy life donated her and at the same time constructing into himself a parallel reality for surviving during the hardest moments.

So that's why she created invisible friends for chatting when too discouraged and why she re-named various locations with appropriate sunny names.
She wanted to feel that the places were part of her and they were also part of that Anne in search for approval in search for love, in search for friendship.

The beauty of Anne has always been the optimistic approach to life remaining open to the others and opening the door of her soul to everyone.
These people touched directly by Anne were lucky because they learned how to cope much better with life thanks to the example presented them by Anne and her enthusiasm.


This book is a masterpiece because more than telling to you which plants and flowers there are in Prince Edwards, (of course it's explained by poetically) we will compenetrate the nature of L.M. Montgomery and her alter ego Anne and thanks to them we will see the world with different lenses, more beauty, more clean, more relaxing, more loving. I strongly encourage all parents to buying to their children Anne of Green Gables' books.

I surely thanks NetGalley and Timber Press for this wonderful book!

This book was lovely.

I loved Anne of Green Gables when I was a child. I felt a real kinship with the red-haired orphan and her wild imagination, and imagined Prince Edward Island as beautifully lush and just as wild as Anne. I've always wanted to travel there to see the island for myself, but haven't had a chance yet. Reading The Landscapes that Inspired Anne of Green Gables, however, gives you a satisfying glimpse of what it's like.

There are gorgeous photographs of Prince Edward Island and Avonlea, but what I didn't expect was the biography of L.M. Montgomery, and the many similarities between her childhood and Anne's. Reid focuses specifically on the pair's love of nature, and even takes us through different seasons as experienced on Prince Edward Island.

This is more than a glossy photography book. It's a homage to L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables, one that made me nostalgic and even shed a tear or two.

*Thank you to Timber Press and Netgalley for an ARC*

When I first went to London, I expected to see the London of Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins. But even 40 years ago, that London had long gone, destroyed by time, and WWII bombs. There were bits, bits, where you could see the old London, but they were far and few between. Sometimes great stories, set in areas will have to be visited only in your head. Just as the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler has long since vanished.

For the lucky ones, for the ones that wanted to preserve the land that inspired their writing, so that future readers can find that special place, there are some authors, and some lovers of writers that preserved the land, the way the Beatrix Potter bought up much of the Lake District, so that visitors can see where she lived, and where her characters wandered.

So too, by luck or by will, the land that the author of <em>Anne of Green Gables</em> and many other books set on Prince Edward Island, has been preserved, in spots. Visitors may not see exactly the things that Maud saw, when she was coming up with her stories, but buildings, shorelines, and fields are still there, and you can visit the house that inspired Green Gables, and see the beach and the forests.

And this book shows all of those things, all the beauty now, and then, with photos from Maud's collection of the houses she lived in, and the fields she loved.

But it is not just a book of lovely pictures, although I suppose you could skip the writing to just look at the landscapes. But this is also explains <strong>why</strong> the garden, or the field or the building was significant. And what Maud had to say about it, either in her journal, or in her story.

Nicely researched, easy to read, beautiful colors. If you love <em>Anne of Green Gables</em> I would suggest picking up this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Many of us have warm memories of Anne of Green Gables, both from the novel and the Megan Folows and Colleen Dewhurst TV series. An updated series Anne with an E can now be streamed on Netflix, although I have not seen it. Anne was a favorite character for me and I have reread the novel as an adult. So...as you can imagine, I was excited to learn about this book. It is wonderful! I was torn between moving ahead quickly and savoring. This is a book to be enjoyed for the many photos and for the insight into Maud Montgomery's life. Even if you have never read Anne of GG, this book provides a lovely, serene and visual armchair travel experience. Highly recommended!

This book offers a wealth of information about Lucy Maud Montgomery's life and its similarities to (and differences from) her most famous creation, Anne of Green Gables. If you loved Anne but have never been able to visit Prince Edward Island the photos within (both historical and new) are the next best thing.

A feast for both gardeners and readers, this book looks at the life of Lucy Maude Montgomery, her famous series of books, and the countryside that inspired her. Along with stories about Montgomery and her books, there is plenty of information about the landscape of Prince Edward Island and its awe-inspiring scenery. This is the kind of book I will dip into again and again, to revisit one of my favorite childhood books and to gaze at the beautiful Canadian scenery.

The book is gorgeous. We have always wanted to go to PEI, but this book makes it look even more beautiful than I imagined. This is a wonderful companion to LM Montgomery's delightful books. So well done.