Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables is the first book in the Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery. It chronicles the adventures of Anne Shirley, an eleven-year-old orphan with red hair, freckles, and a lively imagination, from age eleven to age sixteen.

Dedication
"To the Memory of my Father and Mother."

Book description
As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever... but will Marilla and Matthew send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected - a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. If only she can convince them to let her stay, she'll try very hard not to keep rushed headlong into scrapes and blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. Anne is not like anybody else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special - a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables. (from the 1998 Bantam Books reissue)

Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Surprised
"Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof."

- The first sentence, which contains 148 words

It is early June, and Mrs. Rachel Lynde is sitting at her window knitting when she spies Matthew Cuthbert, "the shyest man alive", driving out of Avonlea while wearing his best suit and a white collar. Puzzled as to the reason why, Mrs. Lynde goes over to visit Matthew's sister, Marilla, at Green Gables.

Marilla tells Mrs. Lynde that she and Matthew have decided to adopt a boy from an orphan asylum in Nova Scotia to help Matthew on the farm, as he is sixty and has been having heart problems. They contacted Mrs. Spencer, who is getting a little girl, and asked her to pick out a boy for them too. Matthew has gone to pick up the boy from the Bright River train station. Mrs. Lynde disapproves thoroughly and tells Marilla story after story of this orphan or that orphan who poisoned the well or set the house on fire.

Chapter 16: Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results
Marilla told Anne she could invite Diana to tea give her some raspberry cordial. Marilla left Green Gables before Diana arrived. Anne welcomed her in and gave her what she thought was the raspberry cordial. Diana drank three glassfulls and then they went out to pick apples before tea, but when they came in, Diana said she felt sick and dizzy. She said that she had to go home much to Anne's disapointment. One day, some time later, Anne was sent to Mrs. Lynde. She came back crying, and Marilla finnaly found out what had happened. Mrs. Barry said that Anne had sent Diana home drunk. Marilla found out that Anne had accidentally given Diana currant wine. Both Marilla and Anne went to Mrs. Barry, but she wouldn't relent, and Anne couldn't play with Diana ever again.

Timeline
This setting of the book is in second half of 1870s. It starts in June 1876 and ends in July 1881.

Adaptations
Films
 * Anne of Green Gables (1919), a black-and-white silent film starring Mary Miles Minter as Anne.
 * This film is now believed to be lost.
 * Anne of Green Gables (1934), a black-and-white film starring Anne Shirley as Anne and Tom Brown as Gilbert Blythe. The sequel to this film is Anne of Windy Poplars (1940), also starring Anne Shirley as Anne.
 * Anne of Green Gables (1956), a television musical starring Toby Tarnow as Anne.
 * Anne of Green Gables (1958), a television musical starring Kathy Willard as Anne.
 * Anne of Green Gables (1985), a television film directed by Kevin Sullivan of Sullivan Entertainment and starring Megan Follows as Anne, Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert and Richard Farnsworth as Matthew Cuthbert. This is by far the most famous adaptation of Anne of Green Gables, and was later followed up by three sequels: Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987), based on Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars; Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000) and Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008), neither of which are based on the books.
 * Anne: Journey to Green Gables (2005), an animated film directed by Kevin Sullivan of Sullivan Entertainment and starring McKenzie Sullivan as the voice of Anne. It was released straight to DVD and is based very loosely on the book.

Television series
 * Anne of Green Gables (1952), a six-episode television series starring Carole Lorimer as Anne.
 * This television series is now believed to be lost.
 * Anne of Green Gables (1972), a five-episode television series starring Kim Braden as Anne. The sequel to this series is Anne of Avonlea (1975).
 * This television series is now believed to be lost.
 * Akage no An (1979), an anime from Japan, where Anne of Green Gables has a very large fanbase.
 * Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series (2000-2001), an animated television series directed by Kevin Sullivan of Sullivan Entertainment. An animated prequel film was made in 2005, called Anne: Journey to Green Gables.
 * Anne of Green Gables (2014), an upcoming 13-episode drama by Breakthrough Entertainment.

Stage Radio drama Web series For more musicals and stage productions, see List of Anne of Green Gables series adaptations.
 * Anne of Green Gables – The Musical, (since 1964) a musical that has been playing every year in Canada since 1964, making it one of the longest-running musicals of all time.
 * Anne of Green Gables (since 2006), a stage production that was first performed by Theatreworks USA, a children's drama company.
 * The Nine Lives of L. M. Montgomery, a musical adapted from Montgomery's novel and her life, opened at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island on 20 June 2008, the 100th anniversary of the book's publication. With book and lyrics by Adam-Michael James and music by Emmy-nominated composer Leo Marchildon, the musical depicts events from Montgomery’s life and features as characters heroines from all of her novels. Anne figures prominently, and is shown from age 12 into her 40s. Gilbert Blythe also appears. The show’s second production was at the Carrefour Theatre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and opened 11 July 2009. Both years, the musical was nominated for The Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation's Wendell Boyle Award. In July 2010, a concert version of the show toured Prince Edward Island, with four performances at Green Gables.
 * Anna zo Zeleného domu (1966), a Slovak radio drama, originally produced and broadcast by Czechoslovak Radio.
 * Green Gables Fables (2014), an American web series set in the present day Avonlea.

Behind the scenes

 * Anne of Green Gables is dedicated to memory of Hugh John Montgomery and Clara Woolner MacNeill, Montgomery's parents.
 * Montgomery began her book in spring 1904 and finished it in October 1906. Original manuscript was 716 pages long plus 137 pages of notes. Diana's name was originally Laura, then she was renamed to Gertrude.