During a recent visit to a bookshop, a tin of specialty Anne of Green Gables tea caught my attention. It's called "Anne of Green Tea Gables" by NovelTeas. The company produces a delightful library of punny teas for book lovers that include "Pekoe Pan," "Pippi Oolongstocking," and "Oliver Lemon Twist." The Anne-inspired tea is a green tea flavored with raspberry pieces and orange peel. You can purchase it here.
Here's the charming description of the tea by NovelTeas:
"Guaranteed to be non-alcoholic, eternally optimistic and not get you into trouble. Our blend will romance you away to Avonlea and the world L. M. Montgomery brought to life through the eyes of Anne Shirley."
What a fun concept. Aren't books and tea a perfect match? Would you like to try Anne of Green Tea Gables? I think I'd like to try "Don QuixoTea - Man of La ManChai" myself.
Created January 29, 2024.
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After many years, I designed a fourth set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines to give to your kindred spirits on St. Valentine's Day. Save the Anne Shirley-inspired Valentines shown below. Print the Valentine cards out on cardstock paper in landscape mode, cut them out, and share them.
You can save the individual Anne of Green Gables Valentines below if you like a specific one and want to text it to a friend:
To design this set of Anne of Green Gables Valentines, I used public domain clipart, quotes from Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, and images of Anne Shirley and Diana Barry from Sullivan Entertainment's Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Nippon Animation's Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An.
Download and print more Anne of Green Gables Valentines here: Set 1, Set 2, and Set 3.
Created January 26, 2024. Last updated February 13, 2024.
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I love visiting bookstores and spending time browsing the shelves for new things to read. I'm sure I share this trait with many other fans of Anne of Green Gables. Last fall, while wandering around in a bookshop, I saw this pair of delightful Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe bookmarks by Page Petal.
Page Petal makes handmade, pressed flower bookmarks featuring literary characters, fictional TV characters, and celebrities. They have bookmarks for fans of Little Women, Harry Potter, The Gilmore Girls, Barbie, Taylor Swift, and more.
The company makes three Anne of Green Gables bookmarks featuring Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe, and Diana Barry. There's also an Anne of Green Gables bookmark collection that includes all three bookmarks.
Here's how Page Petal describes the characters:
"Anne: Passionate, stubborn, loyal, intelligent, an articulate chatterbox. Embodying her loving and imaginative nature, the Anne Shirley bookmark is made to add a bit of wonder and whimsy to your page."
"Gilbert. Keenly intelligent, and demonstrates a sense of patience and devotion. Handmade with love, the Gilbert Blythe Bookmark is inspired by his passion and curiosity."
"Diana is a kind and sweet girl. She's polite and versed in social etiquette. Loyal and diplomatic."
On another visit, the pressed flowers in the Gilbert Blythe bookmark were different. This time they were yellow.
In person, I couldn't recognize the pressed flowers. There was no description about how the flowers chosen were associated with the characters. The website does not list the flower types or explain the association either.
Personally, I associate certain specific flowers with Anne, Diana, and Gilbert, and I think flowers play a crucial role in several important scenes in the book.
What do you think of the bookmarks? Do you think the flowers chosen represent Anne, Gilbert, and Diana?
Created January 17, 2024.
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See how well you know Anne of Green Gables by playing this randomized trivia game.
Are you an Anne of Green Gables Trivia expert? Post your score below and share how you did.
Created January 13, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com
"Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"
The new year is a time for reflection and renewal. It provides an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, dream big, set goals, and make changes. Everything feels fresh, and the world is full of possibilities.
Anne Shirley felt this way with each new day. She didn’t have to wait for the new year to begin. Instead, Anne started her mornings with those feelings of freshness and renewal.
In Anne of Green Gables, Anne feels disgraced after baking Mrs. Allan a cake that she flavored with liniment instead of vanilla. Anne lamented, "I shall always be pointed at as the girl who flavored a cake with anodyne liniment." Mrs. Allan comforts Anne saying, "My dear little girl, you mustn’t cry like this...Why, it’s all just a funny mistake that anybody might make." Anne responds forlornly, "Oh, no, it takes me to make such a mistake." After they talk more, Mrs. Allan helps turn things around so that Anne finds some enjoyment in the evening.
Later, Anne tells Marilla, "Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" The ever-practical Marilla responds, "I’ll warrant you’ll make plenty in it...I never saw your beat for making mistakes, Anne."
In Anne of Avonlea, Anne arrives home at Green Gables after a hard day teaching. She recounts her day to Marilla who listens to the whole story. Marilla responds by quoting Anne’s old words back to her: "Well, never mind. This day’s done and there’s a new one coming tomorrow, with no mistakes in it yet, as you used to say yourself. Just come downstairs and have your supper. You’ll see if a good cup of tea and those plum puffs I made today won’t hearten you up."
At first, Anne cannot take Marilla’s words to heart, and she responds, "Plum puffs won’t minister to a mind diseased." But, in the end, Marilla’s words and her delicious plum puffs worked wonders, and Anne did hearten up over their cheerful supper. Then Anne "had a good sleep that night and awakened in the morning to find herself and the world transformed."
As she got dressed for the new day, Anne sings,
"Every morn is a fresh beginning,
Every morn is the world made new,"
Anne Shirley believed that the world could transform over night. Isn’t it nice to think of a new, fresh day with no flaws, blunders, or misunderstandings? No matter how bad a mistake might feel, one can start fresh and begin again tomorrow.
Image credit:
Drawing of Anne Shirley running down a red road on Prince Edward Island from Akage no An, the anime production of Anne of Green Gables.
Purchase and read Anne of Green Gables:
Created January 8, 2024.
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Here are five facts about Anne of Green Gables:
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Anne of Green Gables is a novel written by Lucy Maud Montgomery that was first published in 1908.
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The novel is a classic Canadian story that has been translated into many languages and is beloved worldwide.
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The story is set in the fictional town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
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Anne of Green Gables has been adapted into films, television series, and animated series.
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Anne of Green Gables tells the story of a young orphan girl named Anne Shirley.
Anne of Green Gables image © Sullivan Entertainment
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Created November 15, 2023.
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Check out this wonderful Anne of Green Gables Paper Doll Book by Eileen Rudisill Miller that was published by Paper Studio Press in 2014. Miller is an illustrator and painter. You can visit her website and Etsy store to see more of her paper doll books, coloring books, and artwork.
The Anne of Green Gables Paper Doll Book includes two dressable figures: Anne Shirley and Anne's bosom friend, Diana Barry. The figures are 10 inches tall and include stands.
You can dress Anne Shirley and Diana Barry in 16 outfits from L.M. Montgomery's story, including several displayed below. The outfits include Anne and Diana's school clothes, play clothes, and dresses worn when picking flowers in Lover’s Lane. There's also Anne's first dress with puffed sleeves and the gowns Anne and Diana wore when visiting Miss Josephine Barry. Additionally, the book includes Anne and Diana's outfits for the recital at the White Sands Hotel (Anne wears the pearls Matthew gave her), their clothes worn when Anne left for Queen’s College, and dresses worn when Anne returned home to teach in Avonlea.
The Anne of Green Gables Paper Doll Book is available for purchase on Amazon.
Image Credits:
Images from the Anne of Green Gables Paper Doll Book (2014) by Eileen Rudisill Miller.
Created September 14, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com
"'My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.' That’s a sentence I read in a book once, and I say it over to comfort myself whenever I’m disappointed in anything."
As a lonely orphan, Anne Shirley finds solace in books. Reading provides her with comfort and room to explore, learn, and grow. We learn about Anne's love of words, stories, and books early on in the novel Anne of Green Gables.
In Chapter 5, Marilla has decided to take Anne back to Mrs. Spencer. She expects that Anne will be returned to the asylum in Nova Scotia. Aware of her fate, Anne decides that she will still enjoy the buggy ride to Mrs. Spencer’s home. Anne looks around and sees beauty in an early wild rose and comments on how the color pink is "bewitching."
When Anne asks Marilla if she ever knew anyone whose hair was red when she was young that changed to a different color when she grew up, Marilla coldly dashes Anne’s hopes. Anne then quotes a sentence she read once telling Marilla, "Well, that is another hope gone. 'My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.' That’s a sentence I read in a book once, and I say it over to comfort myself whenever I’m disappointed in anything."
Marilla is prosaic. She doesn’t see anything comforting in Anne’s quote. Anne explains that she finds the words, "nice and romantic, just as if I were a heroine in a book." Anne's imagination saves her and comforts her and provides her with hope when things are dark.
Just as Anne finds comfort in stories, quotes, and reading, the readers of Anne of Green Gables find comfort in L.M. Montgomery’s creation. Anne Shirley is a character who somehow brings comfort and joy to readers everywhere.
Image credit:
Drawing of Anne Shirley reading a book in front of Green Gables from Akage no An, the anime production of Anne of Green Gables.
Purchase and read Anne of Green Gables:
Created April 12, 2023.
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My brother got me a sweet gift for Christmas. It's an Anne of Green Gables jigsaw puzzle. The image is from the anime Anne of Green Gables series (Akage no An, 1979), which was produced as part of Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater series. The pretty painted scene shows Anne Shirley and Diana Barry sitting together and talking in an apple orchard. If you want one too, you can purchase the 1014-piece puzzle here.
Created January 27, 2023. Last updated March 4, 2023.
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The Google Play store includes information about the "Oh my Anne" mobile app, which had its soft launch last month. Version 1.0.0 of the app was released/last updated on December 3, 2022 by NEOWIZ. The game is rated "E" for everyone, and there are in-app purchases.
NEOWIZ provided the following description of the game to the Google Play store:
Enjoy calming, relaxing match 3 puzzle levels & renovate the Green Gables.
Unlock endless chapters about Anne’s encounters and makeover!
Adventures in Avonlea are at the doorstep!
"But if you call me Anne, please call me Anne with an 'e'."
Encouraging & Heartwarming Story!
It all began when Matthew and Marilla accepted Anne to the family..
Folllow Anne through her times of true romance, friendship, and tears - all unexpected!
Watch how her relationship with the townspeople of Avonlea flourish!
“I thought my story at Green Gables was about to end, but it was just the beginning.”
Enjoy Renovating the Green Gables
Oh my, what a dusty room!
Mop the floors! Change the carpets!
Unlock & renovate rooms, spread happiness in the air!
Help Anne Bring warmth back to the Green Gables, and to her loved ones as well.
Renovate your mansion, give it a fantastic makeover!
"Seeing the place nice and clean makes me so happy.”
Easy Match 3 Puzzle Levels
Match puzzle pieces, use delicate booster effects to beat levels!
Equip yourself with Anne’s mighty spirit!
Show off your match 3 skills by clearing various fun challenge modes ahead!
“I couldn''t tell where to begin at first, but after placing the tiles one by one, before I knew it, I was already done!”
Experience Calming and Relaxing Game
Sit back, and enjoy relaxing makeovers.
The most heartwarming words from Anne, will certainly brighten up your day!
"You can enjoy anything if you make up your mind to enjoy it."
The Google Play store features the image above ("Follow Anne's Romantic Story") as well as the following images and screencaptures of "Oh my Anne" with explanations of how to play the game.
Meet new friends and the townspeople of Avonlea:
Unlock more rooms and renovate Green Gables:
Watch and immerse yourself in Anne's precious moments:
Play match-3 levels:
Earn daily rewards:
Collect beautiful dresses:
Anne Shirley dreams of a dress with puffed sleeves:
Some of the game's aspects don't seem to relate to the story, but I'm still interested in checking out the app.
Created January 25, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com
In December, NEOWIZ, a South Korean online game developer and publisher, announced the soft launch of a mobile app called "Oh my Anne." It’s a mobile game based on the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. "Oh my Anne" has launched in Canada and in select regions so far, and the global launch of the game will soon follow. It will be available on iOS and Android.
It's a game about Anne Shirley's time in Avonlea. The player helps unlock chapters as Anne brings warmth to Green Gables and to Anne's loved ones. Through the game, Anne develops relationships with the townspeople of Avonlea. The story follows Anne through moments of friendship, romance, and sorrow. The gameplay also involves match games and makeover/renovation elements where the player collects dresses for Anne and helps her clean and renovate Green Gables.
Here are a couple of screenshots of the game from NEOWIZ's announcement on twitter:
The artwork and animation look so lovely. I'm curious about "Oh my Anne." and I hope to be able to check it out soon. Has any reader downloaded the game? What did you think of it?
Read more about the game in an article by Catherine Dellosa at PocketGamer.
Created January 24, 2023.
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Here's a lovely gift idea for an Anne of Green Gables fan. It's a pretty fall watercolor print by the artist Lane Martin with a quote by L.M. Montgomery from Anne of Green Gables. You can customize your order to be printed on different types of paper or canvas in a variety of sizes (8 x 10", 11 x 14" or 18 x 24"). Several framing choices are available for the print too.
Created November 14, 2022. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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Here's a lovely box set of classic books by Puffin Books that includes L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. It's part of their Puffin in Bloom series. The collection includes four cherished stories: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Heidi by Johanna Spyri. All four books are among my favorites.
Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. painted the cover illustrations for all four hardcover books as well as the keepsake box. See the illustration of Anne Shirley on the book cover of Anne of Green Gables below:
These books would be a treasured gift for any child (or adult) who loves stories about smart, strong girls and young women.
Purchase the Puffin in Bloom Classics Collection or the individual Anne of Green Gables novel:
Created June 19, 2022.
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I came across this pretty and cozy Anne of Green Gables fleece sweatshirt today. It’s by Out of Print, a company that sells wonderful book-themed products based on literary classics. Out of Print’s mission is to spread the joy of reading, and each purchase helps to fund literacy programs and book donations to communities in need.
The cover artwork illustration of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. Anna Bond painted Anne Shirley for Puffin Books for their Puffin in Bloom book collection.
There’s also a dolman t-shirt with the same Anne of Green Gables print:
Purchase the Out of Print Anne of Green Gables Sweatshirt and T-Shirt:
Created June 14, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com
Twenty years ago, in 2002, Mattel released an Anne of Green Gables Barbie doll. Mattel’s eight-inch-tall Anne Shirley doll was part of their “When I Read, I Dream” Timeless Treasures Collection.
Which dolls were part of Mattel's “When I Read, I Dream” collection?
This collection included the following four dolls based on storybook heroines:
- Anne from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables
- Heidi inspired by Johanna Spyri’s Heidi
- Fern from E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web
- Jo inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
How did Mattel describe their Anne of Green Gables recreation?
The back of the doll's box introduces the collection and Anne Shirley:
"When I Read, I Dream™ collector dolls celebrate the friends we make between the pages of best-loved books. Meet Anne Shirley, the lively and talkative little girl from Green Gables of Prince Edward Island.
The spirited Anne is always full of surprises, not only for her adoptive parents, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, but also for delighted readers of the L.M. Montgomery classic.
She is re-created here in a Victorian-style peach-and-green print dress, boater hat and, of course, her 'life-long sorrow'—her signature red hair. Standing at the Green Gables gate, she looks ready for adventure, perhaps a drift downriver in a leaky boat or a trembling walk through the 'Haunted Wood'!"
Mattel's Technical Product Details webpage for the doll (Product# 50726) describes it as follows:
"When I Read I Dream™ collector dolls celebrate the friends we make between the pages of best-loved books. Anne is re-created here in a Victorian-style outfit in soft shades of peach and celadon green. Her dress has a peach sailor-like collar accented with a celadon bow and a crisply pleated peach linen skirt. Atop her head is a boater hat trimmed with a green ribbon. Off-white tights and white shoes add finishing touches. Anne is beautifully detailed, right down to her green eyes and, of course, her “life-long sorrow”—her signature red hair."
The Barbie Collectibles Website provides the following description of the Anne Shirley doll:
"From the beloved children's story Anne of Green Gables comes this darling 8" doll. Anne wears a delightful peach and green sailor-style dress accented with a green bow, and a pleated peach linen skirt. Her ensemble also includes off-white tights and matching shoes, and a straw-like boater hat accented with a green ribbon. Her darling red hair and sparkling green eyes make this doll perfectly precious!"
According to Planet of the Dolls, the doll’s body was based on that of Barbie’s little sister Stacie from the 1990s.
Is the Anne of Green Gables Barbie doll still available?
Mattel's Anne of Green Gables Barbie doll is no longer available in retail stores, but you can still find it on ebay and other resale websites.
Created April 27, 2022.
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I came across a beautiful Anne of Green Gables planner and diary today on Etsy by CALIKET. It's called "Anne Story" and is a classic story diary. This 13-month undated planner can be used to keep track of your day-to-day tasks, and you can also fill it with drawings, quotes, and diary entries. It looks so pretty and has such sweet drawings of Anne Shirley.
The CALIKET Etsy shop sells several Anne of Green Gables greeting cards too, including one with the sweet image of Anne Shirley featured above and one with Anne under a blooming cherry tree.
Created February 7, 2022.
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Have you ever wanted an Anne of Green Gables doll? Do you know how to crochet or wish to learn? Well, here's your opportunity to make your very own Anne Shirley doll!
Check out Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang. This book teaches the basics of crochet and provides tutorials on how to create cute and beloved characters from literature. You just need some yarn, a crochet hook, and a little patience. Along with providing a pattern to make an Anne Shirley doll, the book contains 21 other crochet projects to make amigurumi—sweet stuffed yarn creations. The literary characters include the monster from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the master detective Sherlock Holmes from the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Dorothy and friends from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, the White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and many more.
I love to crochet, so Literary Yarns is now on my wishlist. I think an Anne Shirley doll would be a perfect companion for my L.M. Montgomery collection on my bookshelf.
Cindy Wang also has a fun website where she shares her wonderful creations called The Geeky Hooker (Not THAT kind of hooker. The kind armed with a crochet hook). Her latest project, little Grogu from The Mandalorian, is so stinking cute. From time to time, she drops off her little critters in various places for strangers to discover and adopt. It would be so special to discover a surprise like that. Check out her website and follow her on Twitter @GeekyHooker for more of her adventures!
Created January 29, 2022.
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On Monday, The New Yorker published an article titled, "The 'Anne of Green Gables' V.R. Experience" by Weike Wang. The article appears in the "Shouts & Murmurs" section, which contains humor, satire, and funny observations. It's a curious piece, and I recommend reading it if you're an Anne of Green Gables fan.
The article begins without mentioning any history of Anne of Green Gables and fails to mention the novel's author, L.M. Montgomery, by name. These were odd omissions. But perhaps Anne is such an iconic character that she and Montgomery no longer need an introduction.
Rather than spending time on introductory matters, Weike Wang dives into a description of your Anne of Green Gables virtual reality experience. You (as Anne Shirley) have a choice in skin tones, but must have long red hair styled in two braids. Your journey in the carriage occurs in the autumn and without Matthew (unlike the book), and you meet the Cuthberts at Green Gables.
Later, your virtual reality experience continues in the classroom where your teacher leaves a vowel out of your name to your dismay. When your classmate Gilbert Blythe insults you, you have the option to hit him with a virtual arsenal of weapons including the standard slate, as well as a retractable prop dagger, a dead fish, and more. After class you go on "life-affirming adventures" with your bosom friend Diana Barry.
Then you must study, eventually graduating with your teaching license from Queen’s and winning the prestigious Avery scholarship, which allows you to attend a four-year college. Your friends, including Gilbert, celebrate you. Weike Wang notes that you can choose to end your virtual reality experience here, "feeling galvanized, like you can do anything," or you can choose to stay for the final two minutes. In these final minutes, your family loses their savings, Matthew Cuthbert dies of a heart attack, and you defer your dreams for a time and stay at Green Gables. Then you marry Gilbert, have seven children, and live in an idyllic home. Wang writes, "though you do leave the room less galvanized, you are relieved that the immense pressure to amount to something has resolved itself and, in the natural course of adulting, priorities must change."
The article had a bit of humor and weirdness, but it also left me thinking about the author's purpose. Was it simply a humorous piece, poking fun at virtual reality and Zuckerberg's metaverse, or was it more? Weike Wang brings up an interesting point, namely, that in this virtual reality version of Anne's story, you could stop your experience at a wonderfully high point in Anne's life. When Anne wins the Avery scholarship, she has so many ambitions and dreams ahead of her, and she's on the cusp of success.
Do many modern women truly want to live out Anne's full life story? When she's young, she's charismatic and passionate, and she doesn't conform. She's not ordinary. But later, she gives up her dreams of teaching and writing for her loving brood of children and devoted (but mainly absentee) husband. As Weike Wang notes, "A person can’t trailblaze forever; she has to slow down sometimes and take stock of societal norms." This piece left me wondering where I would choose to conclude my own Anne of Green Gables virtual reality experience and whether I would prefer to leave before those final two minutes.
Created January 27, 2022.
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"Anne blew a couple of airy kisses from her fingertips past the cherry blossoms and then, with her chin in her hands, drifted luxuriously out on a sea of daydreams."
-L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables
Read more quotes by L.M. Montgomery.
Image credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.
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Created January 13, 2022. Last updated April 19, 2024.
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In 1908, after Anne of Green Gables was published, the novel was reviewed by The New York Times Book Review. The book was harshly reviewed by an anonymous reviewer who said the character Anne Shirley, “greatly marred a story that had in it quaint and charming possibilities.”
Personally, one of the first words I think of in describing Anne Shirley is "charming." It's a bit sad that the reviewer missed out on Anne's charms, don't you think?
In 1924, bylines were required for the The New York Times Book Review, and reviewers had less freedom to be callous because they were no longer anonymous. Read more about the unsympathetic reviews written anonymously for The New York Times Book Review prior to 1924 in "When the Book Review Went Really Harsh" by Tina Jordan published in The New York Times on August 27, 2021.
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Created September 12, 2021.
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