Anne of Green Gables is a novel by the Canadian writer L. M. Montgomery published in 1908. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister on Prince Edward Island, ask for an orphan boy to help on their farm, but receive instead Anne Shirley, a talkative, imaginative red-haired girl. The book became a worldwide classic.
The story
Anne arrives at Green Gables by mistake, but quickly wins over shy Matthew and, more slowly, strict Marilla.
She makes friends with Diana Barry, quarrels with Gilbert Blythe for teasing her red hair, and grows up through a series of comic and touching adventures.
Anne's imagination
Anne renames everything around her and talks endlessly in elaborate language. Her imagination leads her into scrapes, like dyeing her hair green by accident.
But it also helps her face loss, sorrow and difficulty with courage, humour and hope.
Prince Edward Island
The novel describes the landscapes of Prince Edward Island with great love: orchards, lanes, the sea and the changing seasons.
The island has become a place of pilgrimage for readers from all over the world, especially from Japan.
Anecdotes
A newspaper notice
Montgomery found the idea for the novel in an old notebook entry about a couple who had asked for a boy from an orphanage and received a girl.
Rejected at first
The manuscript was rejected by several publishers and put away in a hatbox before being accepted by L. C. Page of Boston.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Anne Shirley?
A red-haired orphan adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert.
Where is the novel set?
On Prince Edward Island, Canada.
When was it published?
In 1908.