Anne Shirley

Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Montgomery wrote in her journal that the idea for Anne's story came from relatives who, planning to adopt an orphaned boy, received a girl instead.

In the novel, Anne Shirley is a talkative 11-year-old orphan who is sent to live with Marilla Cuthbert and her shy bachelor brother Matthew at their farm, Green Gables, in the village of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island during the 1870s. Anne is orphaned as an infant when her parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley (née Willis), die of typhoid fever. Anne went to live with Mrs. Thomas, and later with the Hammond family. When Mr. Hammond dies, Anne is sent to the orphanage at Hopetown, from which the Cuthberts adopt her. Anne, red-haired and freckled, has an overactive imagination and an impressive vocabulary as well as a temper, all of which influence her adventures. She does well in school, making a "bosom friend" in Diana Barry.

Matthew dies in "Anne of Green Gables". In subsequent books in the series, Anne becomes a schoolteacher in Avonlea. After graduating from Redmond College with a B.A., she resumes her teaching career in the island's second-largest town, Summerside. She works as a principal for three years while her fiancé, Gilbert Blythe, finishes medical school. In later books, she marries Gilbert, and goes on to have seven children (one of whom dies in infancy). "Rilla of Ingleside", which takes place against the backdrop of World War I, focuses on their youngest daughter.

In The Blythes Are Quoted, a series of short stores Montgomery wrote in the early 1940s, Anne is a periphal character. Set in the opening days of World War II, it is revealed that Anne is a grandmother with several grandchildren, at least two of whom are preparing to enlist in the Canadian army. These were the last stories Montgomery wrote.

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote that she modeled Anne Shirley's appearance on that of notorious 1900s beauty Evelyn Nesbit, based upon a photograph of her she had cut out of a magazine.

The character features in the following books:

*"Anne of Green Gables" (1908)
*"Anne of Avonlea" (1909)
*"Anne of the Island" (1915)
*"Anne's House of Dreams" (1917)
*"Rainbow Valley" (1919)
*"Rilla of Ingleside" (1921)
*"Anne of Windy Poplars" (1936; UK title "Anne of Windy Willows")
*"Anne of Ingleside" (1939)

Anne Shirley was also featured in Budge Wilson's "Before Green Gables" a prequel to "Anne of Green Gables". "Before Green Gables" was supported by the heirs of L.M. Montgomery. "Before Green Gables" is about the first 11 years of Anne Shirley's life. It starts with Bertha and Walter Shirley giving birth to Anne.

References

*Busby, Brian (2003). "Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit", pages 235-237. Knopf.

External links

* [http://www.tickledorange.com/LMM/ Lucy Maud Montgomery Resource Page]
* [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/anne-table.html Anne of Green Gables Electronic Text]