Anne of Green Gables, children’s novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, published in 1908. The work, a sentimental but charming coming-of-age story about a spirited and unconventional orphan girl who finds a home with elderly siblings, became a classic of children’s literature and led to several sequels.
Matthew Cuthbert and his sister, Marilla, live in Avonlea on Canada’s Prince Edward Island. Needing help on their farm, Green Gables, they apply to adopt a boy from an orphanage. By mistake, however, a red-haired, freckle-faced 11-year-old girl named Anne Shirley is sent to the siblings. While Matthew instantly takes to Anne, Marilla is unsure about keeping her. However, the cheerful and highly imaginative Anne gradually transforms the joyless lives of shy Matthew and prim Marilla, and they come to view her as a daughter.
Anne of Green Gables was inspired by a newspaper story, and Montgomery infused the work with her own girlhood experiences and the rural life and traditions of Prince Edward Island. Although initially rejected by several publishers, the novel was a huge success upon publication. Mark Twain called Anne “the most lovable child in fiction” since Lewis Carroll’s Alice. Anne of Green Gables was adapted for film, stage, and television. Although Montgomery was not interested in continuing the story, she wrote several sequels that traced Anne’s life from girlhood to motherhood. However, they were less popular than the original novel.
Credit : Britannica
Picture Credit : Google
