• Around the Tea Table •

Some of Maud’s most interesting contributions to the Daily Echo were a series of weekly columns which ran from October 1901 through May 1902, called “Around the Tea Table” (from the premise that at the end of a working day, members of the household would gather round for tea and discussion of topics of the hour and topics of personal interest).

Maud gathered materials for her column from daily events, her own experiences, the weather and seasons, places to go in Halifax, and reflections not always up to Maud’s usual standards. Nevertheless, this “off-the-top-of-my-head” quality makes these particularly useful as an insight into the author’s mind and methods.

Events like the Boer War and the plans to ransom Miss Stone (a captive from Bulgarian bandits) were best-selling subjects, while holidays and seasons provided regular fodder, allowing Maud to indulge in nostalgia and descriptions of nature. Maud introduced amusing anecdotes from literary sources or from her own experiences. The general effect of such a potpourri was to provide a fairly well-rounded picture of the author’s activities, interests, and attitudes at this stage of her life.

Polly and the Poor's Asylum
Polly's Postscripts
A Hallowe'en Charm
"Preserve Me from the Candid Friend"
The Anti-Slang Society
A Photographic Party
Advice About Writing Letters
A Jonah Day
Photography As A Hobby: Cynthia's Advice to Beginners

Bibliography/Reference: McCabe, Kevin and Alexandra Heilbron. The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, 1999.

Last updated: December 25, 2005
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