Hutton, Jack, and Linda Jackson-Hutton. Lucy Maud Montgomery and Bala: A Love Story of the North Woods. Bala, ON: Bala’s Museum with Memories of Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1998.
12” x 8”, 86 pp.
Lucy Maud Montgomery and Bala: A Love Story of the North Woods is a book-length study, by Jack Hutton and Linda Jackson-Hutton, focusing on Montgomery’s stay in Bala, Ontario, in 1922, out of which she created the setting of her Ontario novel The Blue Castle. It was published by Bala’s Museum, which Hutton and Jackson-Hutton run.
From the Back Cover
Lucy Maud Montgomery was inspired by a 1922 summer holiday in Bala to write The Blue Castle, which was set entirely in Muskoka.
It is a book that has been called one of Montgomery’s best. It is also the only one of her 22 books which is not set wholly or in part in LMM’s beloved Prince Edward Island.
Linda and Jack Hutton invite you to use the map on this cover to follow the love story and adventures of Valancy Stirling and her mysterious young husband, Barney Snaith.
Contents
Foreword (4–5)
The Day That Lucy Maud Montgomery Came to Bala (6–17)
How Many People in Bala Recognized Maud as a World-Famous Author? Very Few (18–20)
Lady Jane Grey: The Name of Maud’s Car Recalled a Sad Moment in Royal Family History (21–23)
This Is Our Story (24–30)
And Now a Train Drama! (31–33)
The Evening That Mary Rubio Took Two Friends on a Lake Muskoka Cruise (34–35)
A Blue Castle Poem by Jean Little (36–37)
Doing the Impossible (38–45)
John Mustard: A Closer Look at the First Man to Ask Maud to Marry Him (46–53)
Did Lucy Maud Montgomery Attend This Tiny Muskoka Church During Her 1922 Holiday? (54–57)
The Guessing Game: Where Were Deerwood and Chidley Corners? (58–61)
You Are Looking at a Page Right Out of Maud’s Manuscript for The Blue Castle! (62–63)
The Mystery: Why Did Maud Choose Such Uncommon Names as Miranda and Valancy? (64–67)
We Find Miranda! (68–69)
“The Shock of Joy” (70–71)
Will We Ever See a Blue Castle Movie? (72–73)
Gems! (75)
We Become Innkeepers! (76–79)
The Last Word: My Assessment of The Blue Castle (80–83)
A Blue Castle Glossary (84–85)