Spectre-Grey – Dark Montgomery Pt. 2
What is the real story behind the creator of Anne of Green Gables?
In the close of this two-part examination of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life, we examine how her idealized fiction was neither passive memory nor simple escapism, but a defiant “evensong,” an act of economic, spiritual, and even artistic sovereignty launched from within a deep winter darkness.
Resources:
- Hardy, Thomas. “The Darkling Thrush,” 1900.
- Heilbrun, Carolyn G. Writing a Woman’s Life, 1988.
- Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. L. C. Page & Co., 1908.
- Montgomery, L. M. The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, 1917.
- Montgomery, L. M. “The Girl and the Photograph.” Short Stories, 1903.
- Montgomery, L. M. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942.
- Rubio, Mary Henley. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings, 2008.
Episode 7.10 –
Spectre-Grey - Dark Montgomery Pt. 2
Thomas Hardy: “The Darkling Thrush” (1900)
I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
- How do we distinguish between an authentic telling of an author’s legacy and a flattened “two-dimensional photograph” crafted for market consumption?
- What psychological role does the image of a singing bird play when we are confronted with systemic or personal despair?
- In what ways does society pressure caretakers and public figures to hide domestic illness behind a professional facade?
- How does the framing of a memory or history influence whether we see an event as tragic defeat or a defiant triumph?
- What responsibilities do travelers carry when they meet an historical simplification or misinformation?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
- The Grand Tour - PDF
- Packing Lists - PDF
- Author Footprints - PDF
- Mapping Dreams - PDF
- Building Fantasies – PDF
- Dark Montgomery - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 “The Darkling Thrush”
04:16 Intro Theme
04:52 Darkling Imagery
10:48 A Coppice Gate
19:02 The Aged Thrush
24:06 Endings & Images
28:00 So Little Cause
32:11 Closing Credits
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Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-10-dark-montgomery-2
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Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
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CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Spectre-Grey - Dark Montgomery Pt. 2.” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 9 Oct. 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/