Anne of Green Gables (series)

Anne of Green Gables (series)
-by Lucy M. Montgomery
(circa 1908+)

a special series for you 'kindred spirits'

At a tender age, I remember watching the movie Anne of Green Gables when it first aired on TV in the mid-1980s. From then on, I was hooked. This was every little girl’s dream novel! From then on, I set to work and read all of Montgomery’s works and equally enjoyed every single one; but especially her first two in the Anne series - Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. 

This beautifully written series revolves around the small-town adventures of talkative 13-year-old, Anne Shirley. In and out of orphanages her entire youth and unloved and verbally abused by her previous foster parents, Anne is finally taken in by two elderly residents of the little town of Avonlea -– compassionate, shy Matthew Cuthbert and his austere (but soft-hearted) sister, Marilla. The story is set in the early 1900’s on beautiful Prince Edward Island, in eastern Canada (not too far from where I live, actually). 

Anne, the imaginative scatterbrained girl who thinks her “red hair is a curse”, treats the reader to a humorous and touching story as she grows up in the loving Cuthbert home. Anne enjoys wonderful times with her new-found kindred spirit, Diana; makes several rehearsed apologies to the town gossip Mrs. Lynd; and is put to the test when her sworn competitor at school Gilbert Blythe, eventually falls head over heels for her. 

We see her transform from an awkward and imaginative fiery redhead, with a temper to match her hair…into a mature and successful writer/teacher, who still has a flare for dreaming, and getting into sticky predicaments no matter where she goes. 

The reader experiences many 'life lessons' vicariously, as Anne develops into a more mature and rich character: We learn that to dream and to imagine is to live; to never to lose sight of where we come from and who we are; to never give up hope in attaining a dream; and…to love and appreciate those that are dear to us while we are yet together. Anne also teaches us that sometimes the most wonderful dreams are closer to home than we may think. 

It is no surprise that Lucy Maud Montgomery has touched hearts world-wide with her beloved “Anne girl.”