When she was in her forties, Maud sat down and decided to copy out her old journals into new, uniform ledgers, destroying the originals. These ten volumes can be found in Guelph and contain pictures that she took of her home, places she traveled, and the people she loved. And while Maud says that she copied her journals “word for word,” there are sections that are so heavily edited (such as the mock trial scene that appears in this novel) they read like fiction. Also, some entries were sliced out, and then new ones, like Nate’s love letter, were inserted. Maud’s journal—normally a private document—was edited and revised into a version of her life she wished for us to see.
Another example of this is when Maud published her autobiography, “The Alpine Path,” in Everywoman’s Magazine in 1919, which focused on all of the things that influenced her writing career. Her editor had asked her to write about her old boyfriends, but she refused. Instead, she wrote about them in her journal. However, she had left specific instructions to her son Stuart that one day he could publish her journals. So, she wrote about something that she says she didn’t want anyone to see with the full knowledge that her journals would one day be published!
Two people, Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston, were asked by Stuart to edit the journals when the time was right, and they did. Most of the material that I used came from the original journals at Guelph, but also the ones that Rubio and Waterston edited: The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1889–1900; The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery: The PEI Years, 1901–1911; and the Selected Volumes III, IV, and V.
Maud wouldn’t have known that her pen pals, G.B. Macmillan and Ephraim Webber, and friends, like Pensie, would keep her letters, giving us more information about their friendships and Maud’s time in Prince Albert. I looked to these as well.
Some timelines were changed for the purpose of plot and pace. For example, the situation with Miss Izzie Robinson occurred in 1887 or 1888, when Maud was twelve or thirteen; Will doesn’t appear in the journals until December 1891, and Laura appears a few weeks before that. I brought the time forward to strengthen the development of these relationships.
And, while most characters in the novel are based on people mentioned in Maud’s journals and sources, my interpretation and creation of them is entirely fictional. A list of characters appears at the beginning of the novel. Certain friends and family members, such Mary Ann McRae Montgomery’s half-siblings, and Mollie’s and Pensie’s siblings and others, were omitted to avoid reader confusion. This also meant that certain scenes, like the school trial, may have not included everyone: in the journal Clemmie, Nellie, Annie, Mamie, and others were there. As well, the character Mary Woodside’s real name is Maud Wakefield, and Mrs. Elvira Simpson and Mrs. Matilda Clark are composites of some of the people Maud might have encountered.
The province of Saskatchewan was part of the North-West Territories and didn’t officially become a province until 1905. In her letters to Pensie, Maud uses Prince Albert, N.W.T., as an address marker, but her journal says Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. This is most likely because the area was called the District of Saskatchewan in the North-West Territories. To avoid reader confusion, and because the area she was living in is Saskatchewan, I decided to simply refer to the province as we know it today. As well, Regina didn’t officially become a city until 1903, but Maud mentions it by name in her journals.
It was also important for me to show what was happening with the Métis and Cree Nation peoples (Nehiyawak, specifically) while also being authentic to Maud’s story. From her essay “A Western Eden,” another essay she wrote in college, and a short story, “Tannis of the Flats,” it is clear Maud was affected by what was happening to the Indigenous peoples.
“A Western Eden” and her journals have language and opinions that are offensive to us today, and some of this was replicated to show the times. Middle-class, Euro-Canadians like Maud believed that there was a big difference between themselves and Indigenous people. Maud would have felt compassion for the plight of the Métis and Cree Nation (Nehiyawak), but she would have seen them as less than her.
During the late nineteenth century, Indigenous people referred to themselves as either “Indian” or “Native.” When Indigenous people called themselves “Indian,” they didn’t realize they were accepting an identity defined and controlled by the government. As Indigenous people’s awareness grew, they began to insist on different terms. At first it was “Native”, but this would also be rejected. More recently, people have preferred to use language or cultural names, such as Nehiyawak. The idea of identifying as a Nation is also relatively new.
As well, marriages between Indigenous and French settlers, which were forbidden by the Roman Catholic Church and Hudson’s Bay Company, created a new people, identified as Métis by the French, who spoke Michif, a combination of French and Cree. These people established their own communities and cultural traditions. The term “Métis” was not used during this period by English people, who would have called them “Half-Breeds.” Only the Métis would have identified themselves as Métis.
Maud did share a room with the maid, Edith (Edie) Skelton, but it isn’t clear that she was Métis. It was common for people to hire Métis as maids, and given Maud’s connection to this character, I decided to give Edie this identity. This also provided a personal reason for Maud’s decision to write about the Métis and Cree Nation in “A Western Eden.” I worked closely with Gloria Lee, a Cree–Métis from Chitek Lake, Saskatchewan, to help give Edie a voice. I’m indebted to her counsel for this part of the novel and for answering my questions on the Métis and Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Every attempt was made for authenticity and accuracy; any errors are my own.
During the late nineteenth century, women in Canada didn’t have many choices. While it is difficult for us to imagine, it was also not unusual for male teachers to show interest in a younger female student. Young women had little recourse in these situations, as teachers were considered symbols of authority in the community. If a man was seen courting a woman, like Mr. Mustard was, then it was also believed she must have done something to encourage him. It would also be one of the reasons why Maud’s father might think that his daughter led her teacher on. Maud doesn’t indicate if she ever went to her father for help, but does mention how he had joked about “passing the mustard” during dinner. Laura did conspire with Maud to make some of her evenings with Mustard challenging. And, although Will and Maud did pass notes in school and their friendship was troubling for Mustard, the amount of help Will provided was fictionalized.