Heritage Minute shows the hidden side of Lucy Maud Montgomery's life
Launch of video short on author who wrote Anne of Green Gables coincides with International Women's Day
She's known around the world for writing Anne of Green Gables, but it's a different side of Lucy Maud Montgomery that is featured in her Heritage Minute.
Historica Canada is launching Montgomery's 60-second video short on Thursday, which coincides with International Women's Day. The video will be played at events across the country, said Historica Canada's director of programs Brigitte d'Auzac.
While Montgomery is best known for her book series Anne of Green Gables, the video shows another side of her life: her struggles with depression and the rejection of her books.
"I think it's important to talk about mental health in general in this day and age," d'Auzac said. "I think it's important to show that everybody can struggle with this and it's not just certain people and make it easier for people to speak about it."
The video features the landscapes of P.E.I., the first time a Heritage Minute was filmed on the Island. Shooting took place in September in Thunder Cove and Cape Tryon. The indoor scenes were shot in Milton, Ontario, at a country heritage park.
Montgomery's family wasn't involved in the scripting of the video, but her granddaughter got a sneak preview of the video about a week ago and d'Auzac said she was thrilled with the product.
Several experts were consulted on the content of the video, including Prof. Laura Robinson, dean of arts and social sciences at the Grenfell campus of Memorial University, Mary Rubio, a Lucy Maud Montgomery scholar, and Elizabeth Epperly, who helped found the Lucy Maud Montgomery Institute.
"Everything that is said by Lucy Maud Montgomery in the actual minute came from her journals," d'Auzac said.
P.E.I. has been featured twice before: Rural Teacher and the story of the Charlottetown Conference in Sir John A. Macdonald.
The minute ends with this description of Montgomery: "Lucy Maud Montgomery battled depression, rejection and sexism to become known around the world for Anne of Green Gables and 19 other novels."
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With files from Island Morning