Anne of Green Gables – Lucy Maud Montgomery

Details of the book

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery
Publication: first published in England on August 17, 1908

About The Author

Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author. She is famous with series of works about Anne Shirley, which is began from Anne of Green Gables in 1908.

She published 20 novels as well as 530 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays.

Main Characters

Green Gables household

• Anne Shirley: An imaginative, talkative, red-haired orphan who comes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at age 11. Anne is very sensitive and dislikes the colour of her hair. Anne’s bleak early childhood was spent being shuttled from orphanage to foster homes, caring for younger children. She is excited to finally have a real home at Green Gables.
• Marilla Cuthbert: Matthew’s sister, an austere but fair woman who has the “glimmerings of a sense of humour.” Her life has been colourless and without joy until the arrival of Anne. She tries to instill discipline in the child but grows to love Anne’s vivacity and joy.
• Matthew Cuthbert: Marilla’s brother, a shy, kind man who takes a liking to Anne from the start. The two become fast friends and he is the first person who has ever shown Anne unconditional love. Although Marilla has primary responsibility for rearing Anne, Matthew has no qualms about “spoiling” her and indulging her with pretty clothes and fancy shoes.

Anne’s friends/classmates

• Diana Barry: Anne’s bosom friend and a kindred spirit. Anne and Diana become best friends from the moment they meet. She is the only girl of Anne’s age who lives close to Green Gables. Anne admires Diana for being pretty with black hair and flawless complexion and for her amiable disposition. Diana lacks Anne’s vivid imagination but is a loyal friend.
• Gilbert Blythe: A handsome, smart, and witty classmate, two years older than Anne, who has a crush on her. Unaware of Anne’s sensitivity about her red hair, he tries to get her attention by holding her braid and calling her “Carrots” in the classroom, and she breaks a slate over his head. Despite his attempts at an apology, Anne’s anger and stubbornness prevent her from speaking to him for several years. By the end of the book, however, they reconcile and become good friends.
• Ruby Gillis: Another of Anne’s friends. Having several “grown-up” sisters, Ruby loves to share her knowledge of beaux with her friends. Ruby is beautiful, with long golden hair.
• Jane Andrews: One of Anne’s friends from school, she is plain and sensible. She does well enough academically to join Anne’s class at Queen’s.
• Josie Pye: A classmate generally disliked by the other girls (as are her siblings), Josie is vain, dishonest, and jealous of Anne’s popularity.
• Prissy Andrews: Another school companion of Anne’s, who is assumed to be in a relationship with the teacher, Mr. Phillips.

Plot Summary

Anne Shirley, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London, Prince Edward Island), is sent to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, unmarried siblings in their fifties and sixties, after a childhood spent in strangers’ homes and orphanages. Marilla and Matthew had originally decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm at Green Gables, which is set in the fictional town of Avonlea (based on Cavendish, Prince Edward Island). Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne instead.

At first, stern Marilla says Anne must return to the orphanage, but after much observation and consideration, along with kind, quiet Matthew’s encouragement, Marilla decides to let her stay.

The book recounts Anne’s struggles and joys in settling in to Green Gables : the country school where she quickly excels in her studies; her friendship with Diana Barry, the girl living next door ; her budding literary ambitions; and her rivalry with her classmate Gilbert Blythe, who teases her about her red hair. For that, he earns her instant hatred, although he apologizes several times. As time passes, however, Anne realizes she no longer hates Gilbert, but her pride and stubbornness keep her from speaking to him.

At sixteen, Anne goes to Queen’s Academy to earn a teaching license, along with Gilbert, Ruby, Josie, Jane, and several other students, excluding Diana, much to Anne’s dismay. She obtains her license in one year instead of the usual two and wins the Avery Scholarship awarded to the top student in English. This scholarship would allow her to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree at the fictional Redmond College (based on the real Dalhousie University) on the mainland in Nova Scotia.

Near the end of the book, however, tragedy strikes when Matthew dies of a heart attack after learning that all of his and Marilla’s money has been lost in a bank failure. Out of devotion to Marilla and Green Gables, Anne gives up the scholarship to stay at home and help Marilla, whose eyesight is failing. She plans to teach at the Carmody school, the nearest school available, and return to Green Gables on weekends. In an act of friendship, Gilbert Blythe gives up his teaching position at the Avonlea School to work at the White Sands School instead, knowing that Anne wants to stay close to Marilla after Matthew’s death. After this kind act, Anne and Gilbert’s friendship is cemented, and Anne looks forward to what life will bring next.