Kindred spirits. A dress with puffed sleeves. A broken slate. Tasting ice cream for the first time. The beloved story of Lucy Maud Mongomery’s Anne of Green Gables starts with the titular character of Anne (spelled with an “e,” of course). The first and most popular novel tells of Anne’s adoption by unmarried siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, living in a beautiful home called, “Green Gables” on Prince Edward Island. Such a life quickly begins to fulfill all of Anne’s most sacred dreams, including a home of her own (with a brook nearby), a best friend (also called a “bosom friend”), and even a family who wants her. However, Anne’s forgetfulness, spirit, and imagination lead to no end of “scrapes” for her adoptive parents and new friends to navigate along with her. An intoxicated best friend, a slate broken over a classmate’s head, a liniment-flavored cake, and a mouse drowned in the pudding keep the town gossip, Mrs. Rachel Lynde convinced that Matthew and Marilla will live to regret adopting Anne. But Matthew calls his girl a “blessing” they really needed, and even strict Marilla learns to see Anne as a “kindred spirit after all” who she loves like her “own flesh and blood.” In the following novels, Montgomery continues to weave the adventures of everyone’s favorite redhead as she grows up, attends college, marries her childhood rival, and raises her own family.

Although many of today’s readers quickly dismiss Anne’s stories perhaps because of their age and juvenile appearance, open hearts of all ages love Montgomery’s stories for their childlike innocence and imaginative essence. Throughout the last century, Anne’s adventures have inspired several films, sequels, and even TV shows. Of course, Montgomery’s original writing choices contribute to the beauty and success of these beloved classics. Her characters are vibrant, their experiences are relatable, and the lessons they share are timeless.

Montgomery’s readers, along with Anne, explore the profoundest mysteries and learn the deepest lessons of life… “Look at that sea, girls—all silver and shadow and visions of things not seen. We couldn’t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds” (Anne of Green Gables).

One of Montgomery’s most valuable contributions to a literary collection are her thoughtful insights on and heartfelt appreciation of the “everyday.” While some readers might find eight novels filled with the adventures of Anne and her children juvenile or even irrelevant today, I hope others will choose instead to appreciate their exceptional descriptions of the ordinary. Through word choice and sentence structure, Montgomery returns her readers of all ages to a place of childlike innocence and wonder. Her words have the ability to transform a white house and green shutters into a lonely orphan girl’s castle. The graveyard across from the school becomes hauntingly enchanted, the monotonous sound of the ocean waves becomes the song of a lonely lightkeeper, and that single raindrop becomes the promise of Spring. I invite you to return with me to the classics: Curl up with a cup of tea from Marilla’s kitchen, an open book, and an open heart, and enter Anne’s world of childhood imagination.