Anne of Green Gables is one of the most popular novels in Canadian literature. It was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and published in 1908. Montgomery based the novel on memories of her childhood living with her grandparents on Prince Edward Island.
The title character in the novel is Anne Shirley, a lively, lovable, redheaded orphan. Her orphanage sends Anne to Prince Edward Island to work for Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister. The couple had asked for a boy, but the orphanage sent Anne by mistake. Anne’s vivid imagination, stimulated by her love of romantic literature, leads her to many awkward moments and social mishaps. But eventually she wins the affection of the Cuthberts and the town of Avonlea, where they live. The story extends to Anne’s early training as a teacher and her return to Avonlea to teach at the town’s school.
Anne of Green Gables was Montgomery’s first published novel. It quickly became an international best seller. Montgomery wrote seven more novels about Anne, following the character as she grows up, becomes a teacher, and marries. An eighth volume, containing a collection of stories, sketches, and poems about Anne and her family, was published in a separate volume after Montgomery’s death.
The Anne stories have become part of Canadian popular culture. From 1965 to 2019, a musical version of Anne of Green Gables was performed annually in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. Today, it is performed every other year. The farmhouse that provided the setting for the novel is a popular tourist attraction and national historic site in Prince Edward Island National Park.
