Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning is a book by filmmaker Kevin Sullivan, which was adapted from his original screenplay for the television movie Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008). The movie and book were created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables. Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was published in hardback in 2008 by Key Porter Books, and a paperback edition of the book was published by Davenport Press in 2009.

In his acknowledgements at the end of the book, Kevin Sullivan writes, "Lastly, to Lucy Maud Montgomery, whose journey through life as a magnificent storyteller provided me with the impetus to begin to question what Anne would have been like had she grown up to become an author like Montgomery herself, and how Anne as a child might have looked had Montgomery delved even deeper into her own personal back story in the creation of her illustrious heroine. With enormous gratitude at having had the privilege of creating a body of work inspired by one of Canada's most pre-eminent and enduring authors."

Here is the book's description from its inner cover:

It's the early 1940s, and the war in Europe is winding down. Anne Shirley—now a successful, middle-aged writer—has returned to Prince Edward Island for an extended visit. On a whim, she's agreed to write a play for theatre producer and friend Gene Armstrong; a play that will be performed as part of the White Sand Hotel's summer stock season.

But Anne is forced to admit that the play is nothing more than a distraction—a way to take her mind off troublesome recent events in her life. Her only son Dominic has yet to return from the war. The play, she reasons, will keep her busy—at least busy enough to not go out of her mind with worry.

But a long-hidden secret discovered under the floorboards at Green Gables provides a distraction of its own. As Anne struggles to complete the play she has promised to Gene, she delves into long-buried memories, reliving the troubled years before she arrived as an orphan at the Cuthberts' farmhouse. Over the course of one remarkable summer, Anne Shirley discovers the truth about her parents, the origins of her quest for "kindred spirits," and the roots of her brilliant, magical imagination.

In celebration of the centennial of the publication of L.M. Montgomery's original novel, and inspired by Montgomery's own creation of Anne, three-time Emmy award-winner and filmmaker Kevin Sullivan gives Anne fans a rare treat: a moving and complex glimpse into the circumstances that created one of the most beloved fictional characters of our time.

Image credit:
Photograph of my copy of Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning.

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Created October 27, 2008. Last updated December 4, 2024.
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Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery

Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery by Elizabeth Waterston was published by Oxford University Press in June 2008. This book examines L.M. Montgomery's novels in chronological order, drawing comparisons between her literary creations and her personal life.

Here is the description of the volume from the Oxford University Press (archived):

L.M. Montgomery grew up in Prince Edward Island, a real place of "politics and potatoes." But it's her fictional island, a richly textured imaginative landscape that has captivated a world of readers since 1908, when Anne of Green Gables became the first of Montgomery's long string of bestsellers.

In this wide-ranging and highly readable book, Elizabeth Waterston uses the term "magic" to suggest that peculiar, indefinable combination of attributes that unpredictably results in creative genius. Montgomery's intelligence, her drive, and her sense of humour are essential components of this success. Waterston also features what Montgomery called her "dream life," a "strange inner life of fancy which had always existed side by side with my outer life." This special ability to look beyond the veil, to access vibrant inner vistas, produced deceptively layered fictions out of a life that saw not just its share of both fame and ill fortune, but also what Waterston calls "dark passions."

A true reader's guide, Magic Island explores the world of L.M. Montgomery in a way never done before. Each chapter of Magic Island discusses a different Montgomery book, following their progression chronologically. Waterston draws parallels between Montgomery's internal "island," her personal life, her professional career, and the characters in her novels. Designed to be read alongside the new biography of Montgomery by Mary Rubio, this is the first book to reinterpret Montgomery's writing in light of important new information about her life. A must-read for any Montgomery fan, Magic Island offers a fresh and insightful look at the world of L.M. Montgomery and the "magic" of artistic creation.

Review

Revisiting the metaphor of the island, one that she first established in a classic essay on Montgomery in 1966, Waterston draws parallels between the island setting of the author's fiction (all but one of her novels take place on an island, and the majority are set on Prince Edward Island) and her internal island of imagination, exploring Montgomery's social relations, her professional career, and the sources for characters in her novels. 

— Kathleen A. Miller, Children's Literature

Image credit:
Book cover of Magic Island: The Fictions of L.M. Montgomery.

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Created August 2, 2008. Last updated August 19, 2024.
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100th Anniversary Anne of Green Gables Coin

On April 16, 2008, the Royal Canadian Mint released a special Anne of Green Gables coin on the 100th anniversary of the publication of L.M. Montgomery’s novel. The coin is presented in a illustrated full color folder with an illustration of the Green Gables house by Christopher Kovacs shown above. The 25 cent coin is a beautiful collector’s piece with a multicolor image of Anne Shirley by Ben Stahl on the reverse side and an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side.

Here's an image showing the back of the coin presentation folder:

The Anne of Green Gables coin is described as follows:

"This magnificent 35mm nickel plated steel coin celebrates the literary heroine Anne Shirley with a beautiful painted portrait reflecting her colourful, melodramatic nature. One can easily imagine Anne on the red shores of Prince Edward Island looking out to sea with romantic longing, her blue dress, straw hat and wildflowers so characteristic of 19th-century island life. Based on an original image by Ben Stahl."

"In 1908, an unassuming novel by L.M. Montgomery of Prince Edward Island captivated the world with its heartwarming tale of Anne Shirley, an irrepressible orphan girl who enchants the island’s quiet community of Avonlea with her vivid imagination and endless mishaps. Published in over 20 languages and now 100 years in print, this story continues to delight and charm."

Created July 2, 2008. Last updated June 13, 2022.
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100th Anniversary Anne of Green Gables Stamps

On June 20, 2008, Canada Post and Japan Post jointly released special Anne of Green Gables stamps on the 100th anniversary of the publication of L.M. Montgomery's novel. The dreamy portrait of Anne Shirley is by Ben Stahl, and the painting of the iconic Green Gables house is by Christopher Kovacs. The sweet animated drawings of Anne Shirley, Matthew Cuthbert, Diana Barry, Gilbert Blythe, and Marilla Cuthbert are from the anime series Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage no An by Nippon Animation, which was part of the World Masterpiece Theater series.

Canada Post also issued a souvenir sheet with a set of two 52¢ Anne of Green Gables stamps to commemorate the occasion with artwork by Ben Stahl and Christopher Kovacs.



The following wonderful article was published by Canada Post upon the release of the stamps with biographical information on L.M. Montgomery, a description of her beloved Prince Edward Island, and details on the artwork, digital illustration, and stamp design:

Issued: June 20, 2008

Article published in

Canada's Stamp Details (Vol. XVII No 2; April to June 2008)

It's hard to believe that the irrepressible Anne Shirley might have lain hidden in a hat box forever. When Lucy Maud Montgomery completed her first novel in 1905, she received several rejections from publishers, so she put the story away. But Anne, with characteristic persistence, must have tugged at her imagination. A few years later, Montgomery retrieved the novel and sent it out again. Anne of Green Gables was finally published in Boston in 1908, to immediate success.

One hundred years later, Anne and her story are featured on a pair of domestic rate (52¢) stamps issued by Canada Post to celebrate the novel's centennial. The stamp images are based on original artwork officially authorized by The heirs of Lucy Maud Montgomery and the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority Inc. The painting of Anne was created by Ben Stahl, and that of her beloved Green Gables house by Christopher Kovacs.

"Anne is such a unique character, so full of life and so inspired by nature," says designer Dennis Page. "These paintings represent her story well-the images are surrounded by nature, and Anne appears lost in her thoughts."

Anne's name, he notes, is printed on the stamps in a typeface as personal and expressive as she is. Page also worked with digital illustrator Mike Little on a unique frame for the two images, which serves as a subtle reminder that Anne's famous story is actually a work of fiction. "The stamp frames are meant to resemble the pages of a book printed in 1908, with deckle edges and an original look and feel."

Even Montgomery said she never felt quite truthful admitting that this vibrant red-headed girl was indeed a fictional character. Although Anne of Green Gables was her first novel, Montgomery had been writing poems and stories since childhood, inspired by her life on Prince Edward Island. Born in 1874, she was not even two when her mother died of tuberculosis and she was sent to live with her grandparents in Cavendish, a town later made famous as Avonlea. She grew up immersed in nature and Anne's scenic descriptions of Avonlea are drawn from Montgomery's own experiences of living in Cavendish where she was enchanted by the orchards, woods and beaches. Montgomery once wrote, "Everything was invested with a kind of fairy grace and charm, emanating from my own fancy, the trees that whispered nightly around the old house where I slept, the woodsy nooks I explored, the homestead fields, each individualized by some oddity or fence or shape, the sea whose murmur was never out of my ears - all were radiant with 'the glory and the dream'...amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty."¹ Montgomery continued writing while training and working briefly as a teacher, and was earning a comfortable income from her published work even before the success of Anne of Green Gables. Eventually she married and moved to Ontario, but her heart and imagination stayed on the Island.

The house known as Green Gables is now a national historic site, with an operational period-style post office. Montgomery never actually lived there, but it was home to relatives, and she often explored the surrounding property. The setting clearly inspired her-the landscape near Cavendish is as vivid a character in her books as any other. To recognize this special place as uniquely Canadian, the souvenir sheet bears a maple leaf die perforation between the two stamps.

The Cavendish connection is featured on a souvenir sheet official first day cover (OFDC), and on two additional OFDCs, each bearing double cancels-one real (Cavendish PE) and one fictional (Avonlea PE).

Anne has captured the imaginations of girls around the world and her story has a special history for many Japanese. Anne first arrived in Japan in the 1930s with Canadian missionary Loretta Shaw. When Shaw left the country at the start of the Second World War, she gave a copy of the novel to her friend Hanako Muraoka, who translated it as Akage no An, literally "Anne of the Red Hair". After the war ended, Japanese education officials were eager to introduce children to Western texts, and Muraoka suggested the novel. In 1952, it was included in the school curriculum, and it has been well loved by generations of students ever since. Today, thousands of Japanese travel to Cavendish each year to visit Anne's fictional home.

Despite its distinctly Canadian setting, Anne of Green Gables belongs to the world. The story has captured the imaginations of readers in many languages and countries. "In Japan, readers have formed a fan club called the 'Buttercups,' named for Anne's favourite flower," says Joy Parks, Research Officer, Stamp Services, at Canada Post. Buttercups appear on the floral envelope seals included with the stamp booklet, part of a collection of flowers reproduced from the paintings depicted on the stamps. Like the wildflowers that return to bloom each spring, Anne lives on in the imagination of her readers, as real today as when she was first published.

Additional information is available on the following websites:
www.gov.pe.ca/lmm
www.lmmontgomery.ca

¹ Stan Sauerwein, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Incredible Life of the Creator of Anne of Green Gables (Canmore, Alberta: Altitude Publishing Canada Ltd.) 2004, p. 22-23.

Created June 30, 2008. Last updated January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Imagining Anne: L.M. Montgomery's Island Scrapbooks

Imagining Anne by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly presents L.M. Montgomery's Prince Edward Island scrapbooks, which she created from 1893 to 1910. Montgomery's scrapbooks present memories from a joyful time in her life during which she created Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. The book presents full-page images from two scrapbooks owned by the Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace and maintained by the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Epperly provides explanatory notes throughout to provide insight into Montgomery's life and interpret her scrapbook presentations.

This book was first published in February 2008 as Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery by Penguin Canada as part of the "100 Years of Anne" celebration.

In July 2019, a second edition of the book entitled Imagining Anne: L.M. Montgomery's Island Scrapbooks was released by Nimbus Publishing.

Here is the description of the book from Nimbus Publishing:

L. M. Montgomery’s beautiful Island scrapbooks, covering a period from 1893 to mid-1910, are finally back in print. Reflecting Montgomery’s youth and optimism, these full-colour pages are filled with meaningful insight into the life of a young writer’s inspiration during the period when she would create the beloved character of Anne Shirley, who would win the hearts of readers worldwide with the publication of Anne of Green Gables in 1908. With annotations and notes from Montgomery scholar Elizabeth Epperly, Imagining Anne allows fans a revealing look inside the mind of one of the most cherished writers of the twentieth century.

Image credit:
Book covers of Imagining Anne: L.M. Montgomery's Island Scrapbooks and Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery.

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Created February 20, 2008. Last updated September 20, 2024.
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Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

Before Green Gables is a book by Budge Wilson about the early life of Anne Shirley prior to her arrival at Green Gables. The book was published in February 2008 to commemorate the centennial of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, which was published in 1908. Penguin Publishing and some of Montgomery's descendants designated the book as an "official prequel." In 2009, an anime called Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables was released that was based on Budge Wilson's Before Green Gables.

In Chapter V of Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery describes Anne's early years in a sad conversation between Anne and Marilla following Anne's arrival at Green Gables. The chapter, entitled "Anne's History," gives Marilla and the reader insight to Anne's early life. When Anne was three months old, her parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley, died of scarlet fever in Nova Scotia. Following their deaths, Mrs. Thomas and her drunken husband took Anne in. Anne lived with the Thomas family and took care of their four youngest children until Mr. Thomas's death when Anne was eight years old. Then Anne was taken in by the Hammond family. Anne spent over two years with the Hammonds, taking care of their eight children, which included three pairs of twins. When Mr. Hammond died, Anne was sent to the Hopeton Asylum where she lived for four months. From there, Anne was sent to Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert at Green Gables. From the succinct details Anne gives Marilla, we know that Anne's early life was harsh and that she was exploited as a housekeeper and babysitter. Anne's imagination guarded her from the lack of love and care she received in her childhood.

As the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables approached, Helen Reeves, an editor at Penguin, had the idea of publishing a prequel novel. In an interview with Randy Boswell of The Edmonton Journal, Reeves explained that Montgomery "gave us something to build on" by providing "little snippets about Anne's early life." Reeves continued saying, "We know Anne's had a very difficult time," and she felt, "It makes sense to dramatize it."

Helen Reeves approached author Budge Wilson to write the prequel. Budge Wilson is a Halifax-native and a prize-winning author who has written more than 30 books for children. She has won seventeen Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" Awards and the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Canadian Book Award. In 2004, Wilson was made a member of the Order of Canada.

Initially, Budge Wilson was daunted about taking on the project and took two months before she agreed to write the prequel. In an interview with CBC News, Wilson said, "it was like being asked to do a prequel to the Bible." Wilson worried about the project and told CBC News, "I was very concerned that L.M. Montgomery might not want this done." Furthermore, Wilson said she would not want another writer "to do something like this" with her own characters or books. Even after completing the novel, Wilson spoke of her concerns, telling Maria Kubacki of The Calgary Herald, "I wondered whether L.M. Montgomery would want me to do this, or anybody to do this."

In spite of these misgivings, Budge Wilson was drawn to the project telling The Calgary Herald, "One of the things that drew me in was the puzzle of how Anne came to be." Wilson wondered, "How did she get off that train such a feisty, spirited, forward-looking person?" In an interview with CBC News, Wilson explained, "I knew if I was going to do this book, it was my job to fill in the gaps and explain how she could go through all that and still emerge in P.E.I. as a feisty and mentally healthy and articulate, forward-looking person."

In a 2006 interview with The Edmonton Journal, Wilson emphasized that she would use her own voice in writing the prequel saying, "I will, of course, try to be true to the astonishing character that Lucy Maud Montgomery created." Wilson continued saying, "For this, I am grateful to her. But I would not -- in fact, could not -- presume to tell my part of Anne's history in Montgomery's voice. I will do this in my own voice, hoping that she would approve of the project if she were alive today." Upon re-reading the Anne series, Wilson remarked, "Anne really is a marvellous, marvellous character. I'm just anxious to be true to who she is."

Once she began the book, Budge Wilson wrote a chapter a day in longhand over the course of 71 days, and completed the 71 chapters of her draft on her 80th birthday, according to an article in Dalhousie Magazine. The prequel will enlighten readers about Anne's parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley, and she how they influence Anne's personality. Wilson explained her perspective to The Edmonton Journal saying, "I feel that genetics is important."

Helen Reeves realizes that the prequel may be controversial and that, "there are going to be a lot of people who think it should be left alone." With this in mind, Penguin sought approval for the prequel from some of L.M. Montgomery's descendants, who agreed to put their stamp of approval on the project in return for having a say in the creative process and a share in the profits. As part of this process, Wilson submitted a 38-page outline for the prequel as well as a sample chapter for approval by L.M. Montgomery's family. Montgomery's grandson David Macdonald stated, "I think my grandmother would have thought it appropriate for an author who grew up in Nova Scotia to write about Anne's life before she came to Prince Edward Island and Green Gables."

L.M. Montgomery's granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler told The Calgary Herald that she was glad her family published an Anne of Green Gables prequel before anybody else. Montgomery's family had been approached about doing a prequel previously, but had always said no. This time they agreed because of Penguin's assurance that they would have "complete creative control." Kate Macdonald Butler noted to The Calgary Herald that the prequel could make "a lot of money."

Budge Wilson was relieved that the family approved of her story telling The Calgary Herald, "The family is pleased and that's important to me," and although she will never know what L.M. Montgomery would think of the prequel, she said, "I hope she wouldn't have minded."

Penguin will release Before Green Gables alongside two other books to mark Anne's 100th anniversary. One is a commemorative edition of the original Anne of Green Gables with the 1908 cover art. The second is a book called Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery, which explores Montgomery's life in the years leading to Anne's publication.

Official Website:
100 Years of Anne at Penguin Books

Image Credits:
The Canadian, American, and British book covers of Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

References:
Boswell, Randy. (October 28, 2006). Anne of Green Gables gets a prequel: Nova Scotia Children's Author to Create Canadian Literary Heroine's Early Years. The Edmonton Journal. Canwest News Service. Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5482cc2e-dd52-40b3-94c3-621f8cb9fdf9&k=49996.

Gessell, Paul. (February 3, 2008). Survival of the Fittest: Credible Prequel Paints Grim Picture of Anne's Life Before Canada's Famous Orphan Found Green Gables. The Calgary Herald. Canwest News Service.

Kubacki, Maria. (February 10, 2008). How Anne Became Anne: Prequel Traces Life Before Green Gables. The Calgary Herald. Canwest News Service. Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/booksandthearts/story.html?id=83cefa6c-249e-4812-94a6-204be89b5371.

Wilson Tackles 'Daunting' Prequel to Anne of Green Gables. (February 11, 2008). CBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/02/11/green-gables-prequel.html.

Smulders, Marilyn. (June 25, 2008). Reading Between the Lines. Dalhousie Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.dal.ca/news/2008/06/25/budge.html.

Review:
Ward, Elizabeth. (February 17, 2008). How Anne Got to Green Gables. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/2008/02/17/how-anne-got-to-green-gables/7877e8f2-c685-4abc-8458-f1377f7fa23d/.

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Created February 5, 2008. Last updated December 16, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning is a television film that made its world premiere at the Boston Film Festival on September 15, 2008. It then made its television premiere on CTV on December 14, 2008, airing from 7:00-10:00 p.m. The movie serves as both a prequel and sequel that bookends Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables miniseries trilogy: Anne of Green Gables (1985), Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987), and Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000). Set in 1945, the film's plot diverges from L.M. Montgomery's Anne series and re-imagines Anne Shirley's life.

Kevin Sullivan, who produced, directed, and wrote the film, explained, "I wanted to create a film that would offer a rare insight into Anne Shirley's personality. I tried to imagine what Anne would have become if she had grown up to be an author like Montgomery herself; a gifted storyteller who was haunted by her childhood her whole life."

Emmy and Golden-Globe winner Barbara Hershey plays Anne Shirley in her 50s during World War II, and Hannah Endicott-Douglas, a 12-year-old Toronto native, plays Anne Shirley as a child. Hannah Endicott-Douglas was chosen to play young Anne Shirley after a three-month search, including an open casting call on YouTube and auditions that took place across Canada. Her elder sister Vivien Endicott-Douglas co-stars in the film and plays Violetta. Rachel Blanchard plays Louisa Thomas, and Jayne Eastwood returns as Mrs. Hammond.

Patricia Hamilton, who appeared in the original Anne of Green Gables miniseries trilogy, reprises the role of Rachel Lynde, and her son Ben Carlson plays Anne's father Walter Shirley. In an interview with The Calgary Herald, Hamilton spoke about her family's involvement in the film: "We've just finished a new movie, you know"..."'I'm in it for a day in a wheelchair, looking like I'm 110,' Hamilton says, good-naturedly. 'But my son (Ben), who's a wonderful actor who's at the Stratford Festival this summer -- he's playing Hamlet -- plays Anne's original father.'" As a side note, Leslie Carlson, Hamilton's ex-husband and Ben Carlson's father, appeared as Mr. Lawson in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987).

Academy-award winner Shirley MacLaine plays matriarch Amelia Thomas, a powerful, rich, and unlikable widow, who runs a flourishing lumber town called Marysville. Kevin Sullivan glowingly issued the following statement when he announced that MacLaine had joined the cast: "Shirley MacLaine is a screen legend. To be able to cast her unique personality in the role of Amelia Thomas promises to bring both humour and pathos to this production, in a grand style that only a movie star of her stature can elicit."

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was filmed in Scarborough Valley, Toronto, Hamilton, Dundas, and Rockwood in Ontario, Canada from October 10 to November 15, 2007. The film's executive producer was Trudy Grant. The production features costumes by Martha Mann and music composed by Peter Breiner. The movie is 144 minutes in length.

In Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, Anne's history is not what it seems. Kevin Sullivan elaborated on his vision for retelling Anne's story, saying:

"I began to envisage what Anne would be doing if she were actually Montgomery herself, because Montgomery really wrote about her own childhood. She created Anne of Green Gables, partly due to the loneliness and estrangement that she felt from her own father. Her father deserted her when she was a child. Montgomery was brought up by very strict grandparents, and she created the characters of ‘Marilla Cuthbert’ and ‘Matthew Cuthbert,’ who were certainly loving parents. The issues with her father affected her life well into middle age. Her father remarried and had an entirely different family. It was out of all this that she imagined Anne as an alter-ego.

With the new film, I tell a story about Anne prior to Green Gables. In the new film we learn that Anne made up stories all her life. Anne, as an adult, learns that her father is still alive. She finds a letter under the floor boards of Green Gables. It was never revealed to anyone that her father tried to communicate with her. It is quite an emotional story."

Kevin Sullivan wrote a book based on his original screenplay for the television film entitled Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, which was published in 2008.


Image credit:
Photograph of Hannah Endicott-Douglas as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning. © Sullivan Entertainment

Official Website:
Anne of Green Gables: The Official Website

References:

A new Anne lands at CTV. thestar.com. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/267180. (archived).

Anne 4 News. Sullivan Entertainment. Retrieved from: http://www.sullivanmovies.com/anne4news.html. (archived).

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning starring Hannah Endicott-Douglas. CTV's blog. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.tvthrong.ca/movies/anne-of-green-gables-a-new-beginning-starring-hannah-endicott-douglas. (archived).

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning premieres Sunday, Dec. 14. CTV. Retrieved from: https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20081113/anne_announced_081113/20081113. (archived).

CTV announces plans for new 'Anne of Green Gables' miniseries to air next year. The Canadian Press. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcboATqgH6JW7l5gSZS1FueGvf6A. (archived).

Hunt, Stephen. Avonlea star takes chilly road to Calgary: Patricia Hamilton hits city stage. Calgary Herald. (February 21, 2008). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=abd68d38-83a4-45fb-8809-66adf9a0dec3. (archived).

Kubacki, Maria. 12-year-old blond to play Anne Shirley in TV movie. The Ottawa Citizen. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/arts/story.html?id=f65fed17-bc60-4147-bbd0-9970b7a958c6.

McRanor, Graeme. Anne old story gets fresh legs. Vancouver 24 Hours. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20071023184403/http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Entertainment/2007/10/16/4579591-sun.html. (archived).

New 'Anne' prequel planned. The StarPhoenix. (October 16, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/lifestyle/story.html?id=ec45b404-9d52-4ec0-9166-a1e98737a5f7.

Shirley MacLaine joins Green Gables movie. The Canadian Press. thestar.com. (October 23, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/269536. (archived).

Shirley of Greene Gables. The Globe and Mail. (October 24, 2007). Retrieved from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071024.wbuzzout24/BNStory/Entertainment/home. (archived).

Wheeler, Katrina-Kasey. An Interview with Kevin Sullivan. Pop Media Examiner. (October 9, 2008). Retrieved from: http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Entertainment-Examiner%7Ey2008m10d9-An-Interview-with-Kevin-Sullivan.

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Created October 16, 2007. Last updated December 4, 2024.
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Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner

After spending many hours searching through microfiche in my university's library, I rediscovered an 100-year-old short story by L.M. Montgomery. The story is called "Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner," and you can read it here exclusively. "Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner" was originally published in 1907 in The Housewife, the year before Anne of Green Gables was published. To my knowledge this story has never been republished since.

The story is about four sisters: Laura, Kate, Margaret, and Agnes, who narrates the tale. Each girl has her own ambitions. Laura wants to be an artist, Kate plays the violin, Margaret wants to get a college education, and Agnes wants to be a writer. Aunt Susanna faintly approves of Margaret's desire for an education, but disapproves of the artistic, musical, and literary goals of her other three nieces. The sisters try to please Aunt Susanna, hoping their wealthy aunt will send Margaret to college.

The story begins when Aunt Susanna arrives at her nieces's home. She's full of criticism, but also needs a favor. She is in a bind, and must travel from town to visit a sick relative. She needs the girls to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her and Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert upon their return home. Agnes has just told Aunt Susanna that she's a good cook, so she feels she must agree to prepare the meal. With trepidation, Agnes says she will cook dinner, and Kate volunteers to help her.

Despite the their best efforts, Agnes and Kate's Thanksgiving preparations turn out to be a disaster. Will they be able to save Thanksgiving and win Aunt Susanna's approval?

Read the original scanned story text below or download a PDF version here:





Updated to add: Long after I posted this story on my website, it was gathered into another collection online.

Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1907, November). Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner. The Housewife. pages 5 and 14.

Created October 2, 2007. Last updated November 24, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com