Q & A with Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Uxbridge years

Photos: Tour the Lucy Maud Montgomery houseOne hundred years later, Uxbridge is agog again. The township an hour northeast of Toronto is celebrating that momentous event in 1911 with tours, entertainment and activities planned for Oct. 13-15.

With the community set to welcome fans and scholars from around the world, we caught up with Maud, via her journals, to talk about those happy, productive years at Leaskdale Manse.

Toronto Star: The Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario has done an amazing job restoring your old yellow brick house. What were your impressions when you arrived with your new husband Rev. Ewan Macdonald in 1911?

Maud: I had left Cavendish with mixed emotions, dreading the upheaval yet looking forward to a new and fulfilling life with Ewan. The road to the manse was glorious with October sunshine and crimson maples. The house itself was less attractive with that ugly ‘L’ design so common among country houses, and my greatest disappointment was that it had no bathroom or toilet. But it was the first home I could call my own and it soon became a source of great comfort.

TS: You were writing almost a book a year during your 15 years there. With two young children to raise and the demands on a minister’s wife, how did you manage?

Maud: Every morning, I would spend one or two hours writing on the settee in the parlour, which was my favourite room. I could keep one eye on the front porch so I’d know who was arriving. The maid looked after the children but they would pass notes under the door if they needed me.

But honestly, I didn’t know if I had sufficient strength to do all that seemed expected of me. That’s why writing in my journal was so important. In public, I had to be prim and proper at all times but temperaments such as mine must have some outlet. I called my journals my “grumble books” because I could express my true feelings in them.

TS: Tell us about the library you shared with Ewan.

Maud: We had a huge wooden desk which we both used; he wrote his sermons and I wrote to my fans and publisher, and typed up my books. I loved reading and kept more than 1,000 books there.

TS: You loved entertaining but the dining room was tiny. Was that a problem?

Maud: I disliked this room because it had too many doors and windows and you had to go through it to get to the outhouse. But I loved pretty things and fine china and we enjoyed many happy times around the big oak table.

TS: The master bedroom, by contrast, was quite large and bright.

Maud: This was another of my favourite places. It’s where Chester and Stuart were born and the walls were covered with pretty pink rosebuds. I loved soft colours, green in particular. Do you know that before I arrived, Ewan asked the parishioners to paint some of the floors green for me?

TS: Your love of nature is well-documented. How did your surroundings feed your creativity?

Maud: I loved to walk on the side road which led to the beautiful woods behind Mr. Leask’s. The leaf-hung corner and the lovely hill field beyond with the elms on its crest gave me such a sense of serenity. I was besottedly happy in my garden. I loved all flowers but daffodils and jonquils were among my favourites. I even named my beloved grey cat “Daffy” after the flower.

TS: What was it like when you finally left Leaskdale in 1926?

Maud: I could hardly keep the tears back. That dark silent home seemed to be entreating me to stay, (saying) ‘I have things of yours you can never find elsewhere — your children’s baby days, the ghosts of two little toddling lads.’ It was anguish to turn my back on it and go.