Anne of Green Gables

Elisabeth Anne MacDonald-Murray is an assistant professor of English at
the University of Western Ontario.

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery’s first and best-loved novel,
has long been considered a classic of children’s literature. Written
almost a century ago, the story of Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan who
charms her way into the hearts of an elderly couple, has delighted
generations of readers, young and old, around the world. While the novel
reflects the manners and sentiments of an almost-forgotten era, it is
redeemed from cloying sentimentality by the humor and honesty of
Montgomery’s writing, which avoids platitudes and moralizing.

The story is a classic bildungsroman: Anne, a precocious orphan with a
flair for the dramatic, brings joy to the lives of Matthew and Marilla
Cuthbert, the staid brother and sister who reluctantly take her in, and
finds her own happiness and peace within the close-knit community of
Avonlea. Anne’s appeal lies primarily in her vivid imagination, which
frequently lands her in trouble, and her sincere and heartfelt search
for love and acceptance after a lonely and difficult early childhood.
Yet, while Anne’s adventures amuse and entertain the reader, it is
Montgomery’s portrayal of the unwanted outsider who longs for a
“kindred spirit” that continues to touch a new audience in a new
century.

Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson’s beautiful illustrations in this
new edition by Tundra Books are the perfect accompaniment to
Montgomery’s classic text. Carefully researched and lovingly drawn,
the artwork evokes another time and place for a contemporary readership
for whom horse-drawn buggies and one-room schoolhouses are ancient
history. Highly recommended.