Five Classic Series That Have Endured

Anne of Green Gables

Publishing History
Lucy Maud (L.M.) Montgomery got the idea for her book Anne of Green Gables from a newspaper article about an orphan girl sent to live with a couple. The exploits of her spunky, precocious red-headed protagonist Anne Shirley were so popular with readers that the book went through six editions and sold 19,000 copies in the five months after it was initially published in 1908. Demand for more Anne led Montgomery to pen seven more books in the series, which ended with Rilla of Ingleside in 1920.

On Shelves Now?
Penguin Group is publishing a 100th anniversary collectible edition of the Anne of Green Gables series featuring the original cover art of M.A. Claus and W.A.J. Claus. An official prequel to the series will be published this year by Penguin Group, as will Imagining Anne: The Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery, a collection of Montgomery’s notes and writings from 1893 to 1908.

The Controversy
Montgomery sued publisher Page & Co. over reprint rights and withheld royalties for the Anne books. She testified against them again when they published against her wishes Further Chronicles of Avonlea, assembled from manuscripts in their possession. The company sued her for libel; the lawsuit, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, lasted nine years before it was settled.

Pop Culture Spinoffs
Feature films, television series, stage productions, and made-for-TV movies were produced, including the well-regarded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television mini-series from 1985 and an anime television series Akage no An (Red-Haired Anne) in Japan. Prince Edward Island, which hosts an annual L.M. Montgomery Festival, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables in 2008. Commemorative postage stamps have also been issued honoring Anne.

Did You Know?
Among the hundreds of fan letters Montgomery received when Anne of Green Gables first came out was one from Mark Twain; she kept it under her pillow.