A Red-Haired Girl, an Island, and a Canadian Classic
- Between History and Storytelling -

Tutor Stephanie has many years of experience teaching English, specializing in literature, conversation, and cultural exploration. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, she enjoys sharing Canadian literature, history, traditions, and culture with students around the world.

She also creates seminars exploring cooking and baking traditions, using food as a way to connect language with cultural experiences. Her seminars combine English learning, storytelling, history, and interactive discussion, helping students discover new perspectives on familiar subjects.

• 1. Introduction (5 mins) - An introduction to Prince Edward Island's Anne through the books and TV seTVries, asking how and why Anne's story has changed over time. Students are introduced to the three perspectives used throughout the seminar: Montgomery's books, the TV series, and the historical reality of Prince Edward Island.
• 2. Original Books Series (7 mins) - Explore Montgomery’s fictional town and the rural Prince Edward Island that inspired it. We will examine farming communities, family, school, church, friendship, nature, and Anne’s imagination—while considering what Montgomery chose to include, and what was left out of her version of the island.
• 3. Indigenous History (10〜12 mins) - Explore the Mi'kmaq history of Prince Edward Island and how TV series introduces this history through a new First Nations character. We will compare the complete absence of Indigenous characters in Montgomery’s original books with the series’ portrayal of residential schools, while evaluating the balance between historical accuracy, adaptation choices, and dramatic storytelling.
• 4. Black History (8〜10 mins) - Examine Black history in Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward Island through the TV series character. We will compare his fictional role in the TV series with the historical reality of PEI’s Black community in Charlottetown’s Bog neighborhood, while discussing why the creators expanded Anne's world to include these lived experiences.
• 5. Jewish Communities (6〜7 mins) - Look at the small but real Jewish presence in Atlantic Canada during Anne's era. We explore Jewish communities in places such as Charlottetown and the role of travelling merchants, considering how rural communities could still be connected to a much larger and more diverse world.
• 6. Women & LGBTQ+ Identity (10〜12 mins) - Explore changing expectations for women, education, independence, and social roles through Anne and other characters. We then examine how the TV series expands the theme of belonging through characters new and old characters, while contrasting these storylines with the very different social and legal realities of identity and relationships in the 1890s and early 1900s.
• 7. Gilbert, Fox Farming & Closing/Q&A (8〜10 mins) - Examine how the TV series expands Gilbert’s story beyond PEI, using his experiences to explore travel, independence, grief, and a wider world. We also look at silver fox farming—a real, lucrative PEI industry—before bringing the seminar together around a central question: How much should historical fiction change, and how much should it preserve?