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Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s first book about Anne, the redheaded orphan of Canada’s Prince Edward Island, and her misadventures. But this year, Anne fans are in for a treat.
This week, the Anne of Green Gables canon (the Anne-on?) is expanding: Publisher Penguin is releasing the complete version of The Blythes Are Quoted, Montgomery’s very last installment in the Anne series. The book, dropped off at her publisher’s on the day of the author’s death in 1942, was published in part in 1974, lacking about 100 pages of stories and poems. This version includes 15 “new” short stories about Anne, as well as poetry ostensibly by the heroine and her son Walter, a soldier who died during World War I. The book is also a bit of a departure from the light-hearted optimism that marked Anne’s other appearances—this one includes references to some seriously dark subjects, such as murder, revenge, death, despair, bitterness, and reflects Montgomery’s own opposition to war.
With that in mind, here are a few facts about everyone’s favorite redheaded orphan (no, the other redheaded orphan) and the woman who created her:
Anne of Green Gables was the first of L.M. Montgomery’s books about Anne Shirley, a lonely redheaded orphan who comes to live with the middle-aged Cuthberts, the stern Marilla and her brother, Matthew, on Prince Edward Island. Anne is clever and supremely imaginative, if melodramatic and disposed to “getting into scrapes”—like the time she accidentally got her best friend Diana drunk on currant wine, or when she broke a slate over Gilbert Blythe’s head. Anne and her “queer ways” would go on to appear in 10 more books, becoming the Island’s brightest student, winning a scholarship and going to college, before coming back to Avonlea to marry Gilbert Blythe and raising six children.
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Anne of Green Gables was a massive hit when it was first published in 1908, so much so that publishers issued 10 printings of the book in the first year alone. Even Mark Twain was reportedly a fan, calling Anne “the dearest and most lovable child in fiction” since Lewis Carroll’s Alice. The following year, Anne was introduced to Europe, where she became an instant phenomenon. At least 50 million copies in 36 languages of Anne of Green Gables have been sold worldwide.
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Anne is huge in Japan. Like Harry Potter huge. Anne of Green Gables was translated into Japanese by a respected and well-known Japanese author; in 1952, when Japanese officials were looking for translations of enriching, inspirational Western literature to teach in schools, Anne became part of the Japanese curriculum. Japan fell head over heels for Anne, finding her red hair exotic, her hardworking attitude and kind nature endearing, and her story of winning over the town inspirational.
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Anne has become an entrenched part of Japanese culture: There is an Anne Academy, a nursing school nicknamed the “Green Gables School of Nursing,” and several national fan clubs. People get married in Anne-themed weddings, thousands of Japanese tourists visit Prince Edward Island each year, and surveys still consistently find that the book is the most favorite of young women across Japan. In 2008, Canada and Japan created anime-style Anne stamps featuring characters from the book. The stamps were so popular in Japan that they sold 10 million of the 15 million run in the first month of their release.
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During World War II, Polish soldiers were issued copies of Anne to take with them to the front, while on the home front, the books were a big part of the thriving black market. Feisty Anne was something of a hero who is even now celebrated:
This year, Polish celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the book’s European debut attracted thousands of teenagers and children, many dressed in costume and, reports say, “pumping their fists into the air.” The kids even mobbed the Canadian ambassador for his autograph when he showed up to open the celebration.
(The book was actually translated into Polish in 1912, but had arrived in other languages in 1909.)
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In 1934, Anne of Green Gables was made into a film—starring an actress named Anne Shirley in the title role. Shirley, who was at the time only 16 years old, was actually born Dawn Paris, but was so taken with the character Anne that she decided to take her name in real life as well. (More on Shirley here.)
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Anne is still big business: On Prince Edward Island, which jointly owns the trademarked term “Anne of Green Gables” with Montgomery’s heirs, Anne-fans can buy Anne tea sets, Anne straw hats, Anne candies, Anne note cards and pencils, Anne dolls, Anne cookbooks, and Anne light switches. Then there are the spin-offs, the movies, the mini-series, the stage musicals and plays; last year, an authorized prequel called Before Green Gables by 81-year-old Canadian author Budge Wilson was published with great success.
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Despite the inspirational, even borderline mawkish, stories that she wrote, L.M. Montgomery was not always a happy woman. Montgomery’s mother died when she was very young and her distant father sent her off to live with her severe Presbyterian grandparents. Unlike Anne, however, Montgomery was never able to win over her adoptive family and her childhood was not a happy one. When her father remarried, Montgomery was sent to live with her father’s new family, but less as a daughter and more as a live-in servant, pulled out of school to take care of her stepmother’s new baby.
Things on the home front never really got better for the budding author, even as her literary career began to take off: Three years after the publication of Anne, she married a minister who suffered from what was referred to at the time as “religious melancholia,” but was more likely clinical depression. Montgomery spent much her married life ministering to his increasingly demanding needs; even as she took care of her husband, however, she began suffering from her own depression and fierce mood swings.
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Montgomery died in 1942, allegedly of heart failure—but last year, Montgomery’s granddaughter revealed that the 67-year-old author had actually killed herself, overdosing on drugs and leaving a note in which she asked for forgiveness.
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When I was a little girl, my grandfather was a huge Anne fan. So much so that when I went on vacation with my grandparents in their RV (didn’t everyone’s grandparents have one of those in the ‘80s?), we headed straight up the coast to hop the ferry from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island. Along the way, we watched Disney’s film version, featuring Megan Follows as the feisty, melodramatic redhead with a penchant for playacting, and I tried to read the entire series of the Anne books. It was Anne-overload, but I loved it—because who doesn’t love Anne-with-an-‘e’?
Do you have any Anne memories? Do you love the redheaded heroine—or did you hate her?
Comments (40)
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Easily the absolute favorite of my childhood books, and probably in my top five of all time. I read the series once a year, and find myself laughing and crying over the same parts, over and over again.
I saw in Anne-with-an-E a kindred spirit growing up, and appreciate the simplicity and endurance of the lessons taught in the books. I look forward to passing my very careworn set of the books along one day.
posted by Megan on 10-26-2009 at 5:26 pm
Loved Anne. Always wanted red hair because of her. Now, I have it. I think I’ll go home tonight and watch the videos (not DVDs… are they out on DVD yet?) of the series.
posted by Molly on 10-26-2009 at 5:40 pm
I did not find Anne until I was 11 or 12 years old, but I still love her to this day. Her passionate moods and her habit of saying what she thinks *still* strikes a chord for me.
posted by Laura. on 10-26-2009 at 5:41 pm
I am a redhead, originally from Prince Edward Island.. you wouldn’t believe the number of Anne jokes I’ve heard.
Not only is there merchandise as listed in the article, there is an official ‘Anne of Green Gables Store’ (more than one, actually). They sell EVERYTHING you could imagine having to do with Anne.
There was a third made-for-TV movie made a couple of years ago, with Megan Follows in the lead role again. I think the trilogy should be available on DVD by now.
posted by Reese on 10-26-2009 at 5:46 pm
Loved Anne. When you’re 9-12, it’s great to have a classic that justifies you as a melodramatic attention whore. I spent six months where those were my only English language books (long story) and I can recite them. Though it wasn’t until a re-reading at 25 when I discovered that they both embraced the romantic and mocked it heartlessly. (After those six months, I didn’t bother to read them for fifteen years.)
My favorite mocking bit is at the end of \Anne of the Island\ when she thinks the world has been denuded of romance – and then \takes comfort in the romance of a world denuded of romance.\
I didn’t see the movie until I was in my mid-20s. I was disappointed to see that it was straight-up romance with a little misadventure for comic releif. I realize that the snide mockery of romance is hard to translate to the big screen. But Anne is all romantic and no smart-ass.
I liked the idea of being a complete smart-ass but cultivating such a veneer of culture, intelligence, and decorum that I could get away with it.
posted by J on 10-26-2009 at 6:02 pm
I absolutely loved the books and the first movie. The second movie was ok. The third was HORRIBLE!!!! Completely disappointed me. Nothing like the books at all. Was crap. Gilbert goes to war and Anne goes to europe to find him. ACCKK!!! Was a travesty to the books. By the way all three are avalible on dvd.
posted by Alecto on 10-26-2009 at 7:23 pm
@Molly – just today I saw all three of the Megan Follows movies in a DVD set at the local Sam’s Club.
posted by C on 10-26-2009 at 8:14 pm
LOVED the movies, but I don’t recall reading the books – I had some of the them but never got around to reading them. I have all the movies on their original VHS. Alecto is 105% correct – the third one was terrible, but I couldn’t resist it!
I would get so mad at Anne – it took her almost 8 hours to figure out that she loved Gilbert when it took Gilbert 8 minutes. Honestly, what was the chick’s problem? That Gilbert was a saint. =)
posted by Clevegal42 on 10-26-2009 at 8:49 pm
I loved the books so much that when I finished my training I took two of my best girlfriends with me to PEI for a week’s vacation. We rented a cottage on the beach, toured all the Anne sites, drank wine, and had a pretty much perfect girl’s week. Seeing PEI gave a whole new appreciation to the books!
posted by lizzie on 10-26-2009 at 8:53 pm
Love Anne. Love her.
posted by Alison on 10-26-2009 at 10:59 pm
We would watch the first two movies every time we stayed with my grandma as kids. Reading this makes me want to watch them again (which I just might, since I’ll be going to visit her this week).
posted by nutmeag on 10-26-2009 at 11:06 pm
Adore Anne. First books that made me cry!
Visiting PEI is on my bucket list, maybe someday I can take my daughter.
posted by TooFewShoes on 10-26-2009 at 11:09 pm
Reading this article made me dig out Anne of Green Gables from the back of our dvd collection. Clevegrl I couldn’t resist buying Dvd #3 although I hated the little bit I saw on PBS. I still got to see the characters older. I’ve been a fan of the books since I was about 14. Read the pages out of them. Been trying to collect the books in hardback now.
posted by Alecto on 10-26-2009 at 11:48 pm
I was reading about the Megan Follows adaptions yesterday, which is why I can tell ya’ll about why the third one was such a departure from the books.
Apparently there was a legal dispute between the writer of the films, Kevin Sullivan, and the heirs of L.M Montgomery about money from the first films. They withheld the rights for Kev to write about any story lines from the books, and thats why we get that Rambo/Anne rubbish in the third film.
posted by Missmortimer on 10-27-2009 at 2:37 am
The whole Anne set was the first thing my mom ever bought off the Internet, I believe in the late 90s. We had no bookstore in our town and there had been a fire in the children’s section of our library. I had already read the first book and my mom was so excited for me she couldn’t wait until we “went to town” to get me the rest. I’ve started reading them to my 9 year-old neice when she stays with me. I think I’ll have to get her a set for Christmas now :)
posted by Megan M. on 10-27-2009 at 6:13 am
I’m probably older than most of the other commenters and I loved Anne’s stories back in the late 50’s-early 60’s. My Aunt Mary gave me a book in each gift giving occasion in our family so I have the whole set in hardcover. I remember marking all the “romantic” passages with a pressed flower and I think those flowers are still in there!
posted by Peggy on 10-27-2009 at 8:26 am
As a red-head named Anne, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been stuck with the Anne-of-Green-Gables nickname, even though I never read the books. After reading this article, I guess there are worse characters to be associated with…
posted by Anne on 10-27-2009 at 8:46 am
My grandmother owned “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne of Avonlea” on VHS. I would watch it every summer I went to visit her.
posted by Amanda on 10-27-2009 at 9:23 am
I remember reading the first book with my grandmother. She had bought me the whole series and would read to me when I was little. After she died I sat down and read the whole series back to back. Still love the books to this day and buy the set as gifts for the youngsters in my family. :)
posted by Rebecca on 10-27-2009 at 9:28 am
I got the books from my grandparents when I was little. They have ment so much to me over the years. I took them to college with me! I watched the movies over and over and refused to give up my VHS player until I found all 3 movies on DVD. I still cry when Matthew has his heart attack and when Anne and Gilbert kiss for the first time. This article has made me decide to have an ANNE Matathon tonight! Thanks for stirring up my childhood!
posted by megan on 10-27-2009 at 9:38 am
I have owned the books since I was a little girl. I just re-read them last month and watched the movies for the first time (on VHS).
posted by Tanya on 10-27-2009 at 10:01 am
Oh, my gosh- I love Anne so much! It is nice to see that there are some other super-fans out there. The PBS miniseries starring Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, and Richard Farnsworth came out when I was about 9 years old, and I immediately found a “kindred spirit” in Anne. I loved the way she talked, the big words she used, and the way her overactive imagination sometimes got her into trouble, as that happened a lot with me too.
posted by FizzyGurrl on 10-27-2009 at 10:08 am
I enjoy the books, but was never obsessed with them they way some people are. I knew a girl who was so taken by the character that she decided to change her name from Amanda to Anne, and actually stopped answering to her given name.
posted by Kelsey on 10-27-2009 at 10:17 am
My husband and I toured around Atlantic Canada two (?) summers ago (My mother always intended to take us there, but she passed away way too young and we never went as a family). The Anne industry is all over the PEI. (Don’t miss the church lobster dinners though in the Anne mania –they’re awesome). I was a bit horrified, however, that when you go to Green Gables and wander through the haunted wood path, they were loudly and visibly building a golf course with the fairways starting about 15 feet from the path….
posted by Irhie on 10-27-2009 at 12:02 pm
My husband and I both loved the books and movies so much growing up that we decided to name our daughter Anne, after the character.
I can’t wait for her to start reading all of my old books!
posted by Tiffany on 10-27-2009 at 12:36 pm
Wow! I have never seen the movie, nor have I ever read any of the books. I must have really missed out! Maybe I should gift my granddaughters with the books (and borrow them later on).
posted by Mama9cats on 10-27-2009 at 2:52 pm
I’ve never read the books but I remember a series that used to run on the Disney channel called Avonlea-I think anyway, my memories of it are a bit fuzzy. Does anyone remember something that sounds like this?
posted by Brit on 10-27-2009 at 3:24 pm
My friend & I loved Anne so much we wrote 3 books about the series: The Anne of Green Gables Treasury, The AGG Christmas Treasury, & The AGG Treasury of Days. The first one is truly all about Anne, Green Gables, PEI, LM Montgomery, etc. Table of Contents page on http://www.inglesideimpressions.com for more.
posted by Carolyn on 10-27-2009 at 5:26 pm
I grew up on Prince Edward Island with the stories of Anne of Green Gables etched onto my soul. I also had the priviledge to be working a PEI visitor information centre the summer of the 100th anniversary of Anne, I was in my element. Love it, loooooove it.
posted by Natalie on 10-27-2009 at 11:03 pm
I love Anne! My complete set of Anne books is one of my prized possessions. I love L.M. Montgomery’s other books too, especially The Story Girl, Magic for Marigold, and The Blue Castle.
I’ve always hated that I was Melodye-with-an-e, but loved that my middle name was Anne-with-an-e!
posted by Melodye on 10-27-2009 at 11:10 pm
While Anne is spelled with an “e”, Maud is not. Her name is Lucy Maud, not Lucy Maude.
posted by Seamus on 10-28-2009 at 1:16 pm
@ Brit-The series was called Road to Avonlea & is based off other books by LMM. Marilla Cuthbert & Rachel Lynde, two characters from the Anne books, appear in Road to Avonlea & are played by the same actresses who played them in the Anne movies. I believe Anne makes a cameo appearance in the 3rd season after Marilla dies.
posted by Stephanie on 10-28-2009 at 4:54 pm
I love Anne and Gil and the entire series!!
posted by Bertina on 10-28-2009 at 8:20 pm
I cry everytime I watch or read about Matthew dying and am mocked mercilessly by my friends for it. But now I know I am not alone. Thank you.
I also get teased for jumping everytime I watch “The Princess Bride” when Fezzik throws the rock at Westley. But I suspect there I really am alone.
posted by Jen on 10-28-2009 at 10:44 pm
I’ve read all of Montgomery’s novels including the short story collections edited by Rea Wilmhurst.
One of the short story collections, titled “Road to Yesterday,” (published 1974) is a companion to the “Anne” series contains some dark themes too.
posted by Elisa on 10-29-2009 at 9:13 am
I love your blog!
We have a lot of material about Anne’s author on our website: The LM Montgomery Literary Society. There is a new issue of our periodical The Shining Scroll out now at this page:
http://home.earthlink.net/~bcavert/id9.html
Enjoy!
posted by M Cavert on 10-29-2009 at 11:56 am
everybody loves anne
posted by anyse on 10-30-2009 at 3:49 pm
The Meagan Fallows movies were CBC productions I believe, and so was Road to Avonlea. Sarah Polly was the star of the series.
posted by liz on 10-30-2009 at 10:40 pm
I love Anne and all of L.M. Montgomery’s books! I especially recommend The Blue Castle. The Story Girl is also very good, and the sequel The Golden Road is even better. I was thrilled to see this article and that there are people like me who love these books. I was home-schooled and my entire curriculum was centered around the Anne books for one year. It was awesome.
posted by Elissa on 11-1-2009 at 9:03 pm
I just finished reading the entire series (again) a week and a half ago. I absolutely love Anne! A good friend of mine is a fan of the books as well, so now when we refer to people, we say they’re of “the race that knows Joseph.”
posted by Kate H on 11-5-2009 at 2:42 pm