An Ode to Anne of Green Gables

The classic novel Anne of Green Gables was written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery back in 1908, recounting the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl who is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in Prince Edward Island.

Since then, Anne of Green Gables has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into 20 languages. It has been adapted into film on the big and small screen as well as animated and live-action TV series. It has also been adapted into plays and musicals with annual productions being held in Canada since 1964 with tours of those productions throughout the US, Europe and Japan.

My first exposure to Anne of Green Gables (and all of the books, written by Montgomery, which followed) was through the 1985 four-part Canadian mini-series that aired on PBS, starring actress Megan Follows (who can currently be seen in The CW series Reign) as the title character and renowned actors Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth as the siblings who adopted her.

My late uncle, who was an English teacher, insisted that I needed to watch the movie; and then consider reading the book. From the very moment Anne was introduced in that 1985 production, I was enraptured! I was hooked! I was a fan of Anne Shirley and the world of Green Gables.

I couldn’t wait to read “Anne of Green Gables” and very quickly purchased all of the books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery – even those that focused on other characters other than Anne Shirley. In fact, I still have all of those books in my collection; and will never part with those books.

The reason for this ode to Anne of Green Gables is because another adaptation will be coming to the small screen via PBS next month – on Thanksgiving Day, in fact – bringing the story of Anne Shirley to a whole new generation of viewers and, hopefully, touching the hearts of all of us who have delighted in the books and enjoyed the various adaptations over the years.

Anne of Green Gables, starring young actress Ella Ballentine as Anne as well as Martin Sheen (of The West Wing fame) and Sara Botsford as the Cuthbert siblings, will air on PBS on Thursday, November 24 at 8/7c.

Here is a trailer for the new adaptation: