Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert,
are an elderly brother and sister that lived in
Green Gables Farm in
Prince Edward Island, Canada.
They decide that Matthew could use some help on the farm, since he is getting older.
So they apply to a Nova Scotia orphanage
for a boy to live with them
and help out around the farm. Due to a big misunderstanding, however,
they are sent an eleven year old girl instead.
Anne arrives with large sachel in hand, or rather clutched under her arm,
since the handle is not quite right.
Matthew finds her sitting at the train
station. He is quite surprised, considering she is not a boy. But being shy, Matthew can't bare to tell this bright, talkative child, that she was not what they
were expecting. So he loads her into the carriage, knowing full well,
that Marilla will know how to handle the situation.
He listens to Anne chatter all the way home, and decides
he likes this lively "girl".
Of course when they arrive at home, Marilla,
being very forward, and always one to speak her mind, promptly tells Anne she is a mistake.
Oh what a terrible day for Anne.
She knew it was all too good to be true.
But thankfully for Anne,
after a few days and much deliberation,
they decide to keep this imaginative child.
After all, God only knows
how much
she needed a good upbringing
"Why she was practically a heathen."
So Anne
(always spelled with an "e") Shirley
begins her life at Green Gables.
Before her first year at Green Gables is over,
Anne has managed to insult Marilla's friend,
Mrs. Rachel Lynde, another very outspoken individual
that comments on how plain she is and her "Carrot Red" hair
Crack her slate over the head of
the handsomest
boy in the school, Gilbert Blythe,
for again, commenting on her hair
by calling her carrots.
And intoxicate her best friend (by mistake of course)with Marilla's
homemade currant wine.
These are only the beginning of Anne's momentous adventures growing up at Green Gables.
Her romantic ideas cause her some startling moments in the "Haunted Woods".
And in the "Lake of Shining Waters" while inacting the drama,
"The Unfortunate Lily Maid" almost drowns. Of course, she is rescued by the one and only,
Gilbert Blythe.
She desperately tries to rid herself of her "lifetime sorrow"
her red hair.
She buys dye from a peddler, with
visions of having "black as a raven" tresses. To her horror, it turns a ghastly shade of
green.
Anne does seem to learn from all her mistakes eventually.
She said to Marilla
"There must be a limit to the mistakes one person can make,
and when I get to the end of them, then I'll be through
with them."
Her many mistakes are balanced by her cheerful disposition
and her determination to succeed.
Anne grows up into a confident, lovely young woman,
with many hopes, dreams and aspirations,
and never lacking in a spirit of
adventure.
In this book also, sadly, dear Matthew dies, leaving a large hole in Anne and Marilla's lives.
His sweet disposition and shy ways were greatly missed by all
Book One ~ Anne Of Green Gables ~ 1908
Book Two ~ Anne Of Avonlea ~ 1909
Book Three ~ Anne Of The Island ~ 1915
Book Four ~ Anne Of Windy Poplars ~ 1936
Book Five ~ Anne's House of Dreams ~ 1922
Book Seven ~ Rainbow Valley ~ 1919
Book Eight ~ Rilla of Ingleside ~ 1921
The years beside the book is the year it was written
Anne's Tea Party
HOME
Pictures are from
The of Green Gables Treasury by
C. S. Collins & S. W. Eriksson
