Details

Title

Over on the Island

Statement of Responsibility

Helen Jean Champion.

Author

Champion, Helen Jean

Physical Description

xiv, 262 p., [13] p. of plates : ill., map ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication

Toronto
Halifax

Country

Canada

Publisher

Ryerson Press

Date of Publication

1939 Show more1939-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
1939-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Show less

Collection

L.M. Montgomery Institute. Ryrie-Campbell Collection.

Donor

Ryrie-Campbell copy donated by Donna Jane Campbell.

Note

Montgomery owned a copy of this unique book that includes a chapter on "Anne of Green Gables Country." The book is both novel and travelogue, following characters as they travel around Prince Edward Island learning, and often explaining its history, its people, and its natural landscapes. Champion was born in Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island in 1910, and by the time she was beginning to publish her writing, she had watched Cavendish turn into a tourist destination and Green Gables house and environs turn into a National Park in 1936. On page 182 of 'Over on The Island,' the narrator notes that "Cavendish is Anne country," and perhaps confusingly mentions that "Like Peter Pan, Anne really existed, and still exists in this lovely land of the North Shore." The narrator then walks the reader up the drive to Green Gables itself, where Marilla (in our imaginations, anyway) stands at the doorway. Other chapters explore the shore and small towns and farmland that dot the Island. The book also contains outdated depictions of the Island's Mi'kmaq people, depictions that would have been familiar to Montgomery but are considered both inaccurate and offensive today. Overall, Champion's book is a sort of time capsule, capturing a snapshot of the Island as it was to the author, how Montgomery's fiction imprinted itself onto the land, and how people of the time viewed the Island's culture. Browse the full text of the novel here. Read more about the history of P.E.I. and its people here.

Topic

Description and travel
Prince Edward Island
Social life and customs

Genre

novel
Reference

Call Number(s)

FC2617.3.C53 1939
523 REF-Champion

Bibliographic Information

Includes index.