Plot introduction

Following Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...

(1908), the book covers the second chapter in the life of Anne Shirley

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...

. This book follows Anne from the age of 16 to 18, during the two years that she teaches at Avonlea school. It includes many of the characters from Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...

, as well as new ones like Mr. Harrison, Miss Lavendar Lewis, Paul Irving, and the twins Dora and Davy.

Explanation of the novel's title

The book's title is fitting, as Anne is no longer simply "of Green Gables" as she was in the previous book, but now takes her place among the "important" people (and the "grown up" people) of Avonlea society, as its only schoolteacher. She is also a founding member of the A.V.I.S. (the Avonlea Village Improvement Society), which tries to improve (with questionable results) the Avonlea landscape.

Plot summary

Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book soon introduces Anne's new and problematic neighbor, Mr. Harrison, and his foul-mouthed parrot, as well as the twins, Davy and Dora. They are the children of Marilla's third cousin and she takes them in when their mother dies while their father is out of the country. Dora is a nice, well-behaved girl, while Davy is much more of a handful and gets into many scrapes. They are initially meant to stay only a short time, but the twins' father postpones his return to collect the twins and then eventually dies, and Marilla is relieved to know the twins will remain with her.

Other characters introduced are some of Anne's new pupils, such as Paul Irving, an American boy living with his grandmother in Avonlea while his widowed father works in the States. He delights Anne with his imagination and whimsical ways, which are a lot like Anne's in her childhood. Later in the book, Anne and her friends meet Miss Lavendar Lewis, a sweet but lonely lady in her 40s who had been engaged to Paul's father 25 years before, but parted from him after a disagreement. At the end of the book, Mr. Irving returns and he and Miss Lavendar marry.

Anne discovers the delights and troubles of being a teacher, takes part in the raising of Davy and Dora, and organizes the A.V.I.S. (Avonlea Village Improvement Society) together with Gilbert, Diana, and Fred Wright, though their efforts to improve the town are not always successful. The Society takes up a subscription to repaint an old town hall, only to have the painter provide the wrong color of paint, turning the hall into a bright blue eyesore.

Towards the end of the book, Mrs. Rachel Lynde's husband dies and Mrs. Lynde moves in with Marilla at Green Gables, allowing Anne to go to college at last. She and Gilbert make plans to attend Redmond College in the fall.

This book sees Anne maturing slightly, even though she still cannot avoid getting into a number of her familiar scrapes, as only Anne can -- some of which include selling her neighbor's cow (having mistaken it for her own), or getting stuck in a broken duck house roof while peeping into a pantry window.

Characters

Anne Shirley - Once a spunky, freckled orphan who has grown up into a beautiful teacher of the Avonlea school. She still has not lost her imaginative spirit.

Marilla Cuthbert - The woman who took Anne in five years before, Marilla now gets along with Anne much better.

Gilbert Blythe - Anne's childhood enemy and now good friend. Gilbert is also a teacher at the nearby White Sands School. He is in love with Anne but does not yet admit it to her.

Diana Barry - Anne's kindred spirit since childhood. The two remain best friends.

Rachel Lynde - Marilla's best friend and neighbour, an outspoken and opinionated, but well-intentioned woman. Though she still argues with Anne, she is genuinely fond of her.

Davy Keith - One of the twins who Marilla takes in. Davy is mischievous, loves to eat sweets and rarely does what he is told. He has fair, fuzzy ringlets all over his head, one dimple, roguish hazel eyes, a snub nose and is often smiling.

Dora Keith - Dora, Davy's sister, is completely the contrary. She does everything she is told without mistake and is very docile. She has fair, long, sleek curls, mild hazel eyes, a straight nose and "prunes and prisms" mouth.

Jane Andrews - Anne's childhood friend, also a teacher at the Newbridge School.

Mr. J.A. Harrison - Anne and Marilla's new neighbour, a man who initially appears bad-tempered, but becomes a good friend of Anne's with his grounded and practical attitude. He has a very rude parrot named Ginger.

Paul Irving - One of Anne's students, an imaginative young boy and a fast friend for Anne. He was raised in the United States and has come to Avonlea to live with his paternal grandmother.

Miss Lavendar Lewis - An imaginative, attractive, old maid with snow white hair who Anne and Diana come across on their way to a friend's place. She becomes good friends with Anne.

Charlotta the Fourth - Miss Lavender's maid. Her real name is Leonora and she is the youngest of four girls who have all been employed by Miss Lavendar. Her eldest sister was named Charlotta and Miss Lavender kept referring to Charlotta's three sisters as "Charlotta" as well.

Stephen Irving - Paul's father and Miss Lavendar's sweetheart from her youth. The two had an argument before Paul was born and Mr. Irving left for the States and married Paul's mother. They are once again reconciled by Anne many years after Mr. Irving's first wife's death.

Series

Montgomery continued the story of Anne Shirley in a series of sequels. They are listed in the order of Anne's age in each novel.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's books on Anne Shirley

#	Book	Date published	Anne Shirley's age
1	Anne of Green Gables Anne of Green Gables Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...	1908	11 — 16
2	Anne of Avonlea	1909	16 — 18
3	Anne of the Island Anne of the Island Anne of the Island is a the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery about Anne Shirley.Anne of the Island was published in 1915, seven years after the bestselling Anne of Green Gables...	1915	18 — 22
4	Anne of Windy Poplars Anne of Windy Poplars Anne of Windy Poplars, also published as Anne of Windy Willows in the UK, Australia and Japan, is an epistolary novel by L. M. Montgomery. First published in 1936 by McClelland and Stewart, it details Anne Shirley's experiences over three years teaching at a high school in Summerside, Prince Edward...	1936	22 — 25
5	Anne's House of Dreams Anne's House of Dreams Anne's House of Dreams is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1917 by McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart....	1917	25 — 27
6	Anne of Ingleside Anne of Ingleside Anne of Ingleside is a children's novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in August 1939 by George G. Harrap & Co Ltd. It is the sixth book in the chronology and the final book to be published....	1939	34 — 40
7	Rainbow Valley Rainbow Valley Rainbow Valley is the seventh book in the chronology of the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, although it was the fifth book published...	1919	41—48
8	Rilla of Ingleside Rilla of Ingleside Rilla of Ingleside is the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, but was the sixth of the eight "Anne" novels she wrote. This book draws the focus back onto a single character, Anne and Gilbert's youngest daughter Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe...	1921	49 — 53

Related books in which Anne Shirley plays a lesser part

#	Book	Date published	Anne Shirley's age
—	Chronicles of Avonlea Chronicles of Avonlea Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery, related to the Anne of Green Gables series. It features an abundance of stories relating to the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea, and was first published in 1912....	1912	—
—	Further Chronicles of Avonlea Further Chronicles of Avonlea Further Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery and is a sequel to Chronicles of Avonlea. Published in 1920, it includes a number of stories relating to the inhabitants of the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea and its region, located on Prince Edward Island.-...	1920	—
—	The Blythes Are Quoted The Blythes Are Quoted The Blythes Are Quoted is a book completed by L.M. Montgomery near the end of her life as the ninth book in her beloved Anne of Green Gables series...	2009	—

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The book formed the basis for the 1987 CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 miniseries Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel

Anne of Avonlea (1987 film)

Anne of Avonlea is a 1987 television film. It is a sequel to the 1985 Anne of Green Gables film. The film dramatizes material from several books in the eight-novel "Anne" series by L. M. Montgomery; they are Anne of Avonlea , Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars...

, which aired as Anne of Avonlea on the Disney Channel in the United States.

External links

• Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery (Project Gutenberg)
• Anne of Avonlea LibriVox (free audio books of public domain)
• Official page on the Sullivan Anne trilogy On the world famous Canadian miniseries, based in part on Anne of Windy Poplars, with a message board for fans
• An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page Resource on L.M. Montgomery and Anne's Legacy
• Anne and Gilbert, The Musical - New musical set during the years of Anne of Avonlea.
• The Anne Shirley Homepage - A great resource for all Anne fans with galleries, fan art, time lines, recipes and calendars.
• The L.M. Montgomery Research Group This scholarly site includes a blog, an extensive bibliography of reference materials, and a complete filmography of all adaptations of Montgomery texts.
• The L.M. Montgomery Literary Society This site includes information about Montgomery's works and life and research from the newsletter, The Shining Scroll. See the December 2009 edition of The Shining Scroll which celebrates the centennial of Anne of Avonlea.