Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne and I became kindred spirits and bosom friends when I was in my early mid-twenties and a newlywed. PBS aired three films based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. Montgomery tells a sweet story about how an orphan girl finds a family at the turn of the century. Although my husband is not usually a discriminating viewer, and will watch anything as long as it moves across a screen, to my complete surprise, I had to watch the films alone. My husband couldn’t appreciate them, relate to them, or even tolerate watching them! I remember laughing and crying with Anne and wishing I had someone to share the precious moments as Anne navigates from childhood into adolescence and eventually adulthood.

Usually I enjoy books more than I enjoy the films made from them. However, the Anne films are on exception. They are filmed on location and the plot and dialog are authentic to the books. It is the films that prompted me to read for pleasure again because, after seeing them, I wanted to read the entire Anne series. I had stopped reading for pleasure in about seventh grade. My homework load became too heavy, there was no class time provided for reading as there had been in elementary school and my mom had a new baby for which I was given a great deal of responsibility as a caretaker. I found that during high school, college and graduate school, my homework load and responsibilities were so great I no longer had time for pleasure reading.

My daughter, Jewelle, fell in love with the series the summer she turned eleven. Anne helped her grow up as she read all the books. After she read the books, I bought the films for her for Christmas. It was at this point that my husband watched the films and enjoyed them every bit as much as the rest of us. He couldn't understand why he he couldn't tolerate watching them fifteen years ago. The next summer Jewelle convinced us to take a literary summer vacation to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Prince Edward Island in Canada. We toured all the Anne museums, saw the Anne musical, played Anne trivia and were able to further appreciate the stories and the author.

One reason I love the Anne series so well is that she and my daughter Jewelle are so much alike (aside from Anne’s incredible vocabulary). They are both lovable and memorable characters who live life to the fullest and take their families on rollercoaster rides with their escapades and the drama that erupts over every day events.