Anne of Green Gables

'Oh, it seems so wonderful that I'm going to live with you and belong to you. I've never belonged to anybody - not really' When a scrawny, freckled girl with bright red hair arrives on Prince Edward Island, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are taken by surprise; they'd asked the orphanage for a quiet boy to help with the farmwork at Green Gables. But how can you reject a child like an unwanted parcel, especially when she tells you her life so far has been a 'perfect graveyard of unburied hopes'? So the beguiling chatterbox stays. Full of imagination, spark and spirit, it is not long before Anne Shirley wins their hearts.

At heart, Montgomery's ability to incorporate such complex themes into writing that is so accessible to younger readers makes her arguably the grandmother of the YA/adult crossover novel, By turning adversity to advantage with lots of spunk, Anne of Green Gables has enchanted four generations of children and their elders since the world's most widely read Canadian novel was first published in Boston in 1908, Anne Shirley is, for me, one of the great characters of literature, The dearest, most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice, Anne is a captivating heroine, a whirlwind of energy and good intentions

L. M. Montgomery was born in 1874 on Prince Edward Island, Canada, where she spent her childhood living with her grandparents in an old farmhouse. A prolific writer, she published many short stories, poems and novels, many of which were inspired by the years she spent on the beautiful Prince Edward Island. She is most famous for creating Anne of Green Gables, which has always been among the most popular of children's classics, and the wonderful Emily of New Moon series.