"Anne of Green Gables": A Review

“They were on the crest of a hill. The sun had set some time since, but the landscape was still clear in the mellow afterlight. To the west a dark church spire rose up against a marigold sky. Below was a little valley and beyond a long, gently rising slope with snug farmsteads scattered along it. From one to another the child’s eyes darted, eager and wistful. At last they lingered on one away to the left, far back from the road, dimly white with blossoming trees in the twilight of the surrounding woods. Over it, in the stainless southwest sky, a great crystal-white star was shining like a lamp of guidance and promise.”

~ Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Chapter 2: Matthew Cuthbert is Surprised

Anne of Green Gables is the first in a series of nearly a dozen novels and short story collections which first made Lucy Maud Montgomery famous and later drove her crazy. Like Arthur Conan Doyle with his creation of Sherlock Holmes, the Anne Shirley character was so beloved by her audience that she soon took on a life of her own, and Montgomery was stuck writing stories for her ad nauseam. It’s pretty clear from Montgomery’s tone in the later books that the creator was sick of her creation, and though she didn’t throw Anne Shirley off the Reichenbach falls, one can’t help suspecting Montgomery was sorely tempted. 

But, barring the sequels like Anne of Ingleside which carry an almost sarcastic undertone, the Anne series is a classic and well worth a read for those with only a passing familiarity with the stories.  Anne Shirley is possibly the first in a long line of precocious redheaded orphans (Madeline? Little Orphan Annie? To a lesser extent, Pippi Longstocking), and among Montgomery’s other works—which are populated mostly by precocious orphans of varying hair-color—she shines the brightest. 

This is for several good reasons. First, the book is centered on sound, pure emotions like love, friendship, loyalty, and hope. If Montgomery had left out any one of Anne’s relationships with other people (her adopted parents Marilla and Matthew, her friendship with Diana, even her rivalry with Gilbert Blythe), the book would lack something very significant. Along with the emotional weight this book carries, there is the theme of imagination—Anne’s greatest strength but also her direst weakness. It’s obvious that imagination is something that Anne and her creator had in common, because the narrative lovingly, elaborately describes the landscape and life on Prince Edward Island in a way that would do even Anne Shirley proud. 

Lastly, Anne of Green Gables is worth reading because of the plot. It starts with a young, malnourished, maltreated little girl whose imagination and dreams are only rivaled by her temper and insecurities, and ends with a young, responsible, mature, and accomplished young woman. The stages Anne undergoes to transform from the former to the latter are filled with mistakes, triumphs, grief and joy. 

And such adventures are the kind of thing a young reader will remember for the rest of their life: Anne’s initial tantrums, how she moons over a tree, her friendship with Diana (particularly the cordial scene! Haha!), how she breaks her leg in fulfilling a dare, how she attempts to get raven-black hair, how she whacks Gilbert’s head with her slate, and how she gets carried away—literally—with her reenactment of The Lady of Shalott (I dare you to read Tennyson’s tragic and romantic poem afterward without giggling at inappropriate junctures).

RECOMMENDED READING AGE: Appropriate for all ages, but girls of Anne’s age (11) will probably relate to it best.

PARENTAL NOTES: Unless your child has a tendency toward violence with slates and you fear she will be encouraged by Anne’s example, this should be a safe book on all fronts.

AVAILABILITY: The series is available in Sterling Hardcover.  While I personally have a Reader’s Digest copy, I like Sterling because of their “wood-carving” style of cover illustrations.

ADAPTATIONS: The 1985 Anne of Green Gables (and subsequent sequels) is the only adaptation I’ve seen, there is an animated series and a 1975 miniseries entitled Anne of Avonlea.