“A very strange coincidence”

L.M. Montgomery was born 149 years ago today, on November 30, 1874, in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island. My favourite quotation about birthdays in her novels appears in Anne of Green Gables: just after Anne has met Diana Barry for the first time, and the two of them have sworn to be faithful friends “as long as the sun and moon shall endure,” Anne tells Marilla all about their meeting and her happiness, and one of the things that delights her about her new friendship is that “Diana’s birthday is in February and mine is in March. Don’t you think that is a very strange coincidence?”

Isn’t that lovely? I wrote about this “coincidence” in a blog post a few years ago: “Birthday Coincidences in Emma and Anne of Green Gables.”

Geraniums in the window at Green Gables

Next year, 2024, will be the 150th anniversary of Montgomery’s birth. The year after that, 2025, will be the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. A strange coincidence, don’t you think?

Well, whether it’s a coincidence or not, I’m looking forward to celebrating both occasions. Do any of you have plans for these upcoming anniversaries? I have a few ideas for both. And if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them….

These pretty red carnations were a housewarming present from my friend Jill MacLean the other day. (Jill wrote a guest post here last March, about Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These and Sarah Moss’s books Summerwater and Names for the Sea.) The colour made me think of the Story Girl: “I’d never get tired of red. … I just love it—it’s so rich and glowing.”

P.S. Jane Austen’s House Museum is hosting a virtual birthday party again this year, for Austen’s 248th birthday on December 16th, with music, readings, and games “in the spirit of Jane Austen and her family.” Tickets are available on the museum’s website.

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