Google Doodle Celebrates Lucy Maud Montgomery on her 141st Birthday

Today's Google Doodle celebrates L.M. Montgomery's 141st birthday with three animated doodles by Olivia When featuring scenes from Montgomery's beloved story Anne of Green Gables.

In one Google Doodle, Anne Shirley and Diana Barry are laying in a field of field of flowers. Anne is writing, while Diana is reading. The pair are wearing flower crowns in their hair.

In a second Google Doodle, Anne Shirley turns green when she tastes the layered cake she prepared for Mrs. Allen's visit to the Cuthbert home. Anne accidentally flavored her cake with anodyne liniment, thinking it was vanilla. Marilla had poured her liniment into an old vanilla bottle and hadn't relabeled the bottle.



A third Google Doodle pictures show scenes on the Lake of Shining Waters, with Anne walking to school, Anne and Diana running together, and Gilbert Blythe saving Anne after she played Elaine, in the chapter titled, "An Unfortunate Lily Maid."



Google posted the following info about the L.M. Montgomery Google Doodles:

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote her first novel in 1905. It was rejected by every single publishing house that received it. A few years later, Montgomery tried shopping it again and succeeded. Her story about the adventures of a red-headed girl in Prince Edward Island became a smash hit. That novel ultimately became one of Canada’s most all-time popular books, being translated into around 20 languages and selling more than 50 million copies to date. Anne of Green Gables and its many sequels made Montgomery a wildly successful author and turned PEI into a destination for the book’s thousands of fans.

One of Canada’s most celebrated writers, Montgomery also wrote hundreds of poems and short stories as well as a number of novels apart from the Anne series. She was the first Canadian woman to be made a member of the British Royal Society of Arts and was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Today, on what would have been her 141st birthday, we salute Lucy Maud Montgomery with a Doodle that pays tribute to her most iconic book.

Doodler Olivia When, herself an Anne of Green Gables fan, wanted to honor Montgomery by illustrating several scenes from the beloved novel, including a particularly memorable one in which Anne mistakenly bakes a cake with liniment (a medicated oil) instead of vanilla. Here’s to Anne with an “e” Shirley and her revered creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Created November 30, 2015. Re-posted online September 4, 2023. Last updated September 4, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Christina Hendricks on Anne of Green Gables

I love finding mentions of Anne Shirley and L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables in interviews. Here’s my most recent find.

Christina Hendricks is an actress and model who stars as Joan Holloway on the television series Mad Men. The show is a period drama about a fictional advertising agency set in the 1960s. Christina Hendricks’s talent and striking beauty have made Joan Holloway a favorite on the show. In May of this year, in a poll of female readers, Hendricks was named Esquire’s sexist woman of the year.

This July, prior to the debut of the fourth season of Mad Men, Leslie Gornstein interviewed Christina Hendricks for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. It was a great interview, in which Gornstein asked Hendricks about Joan and Mad Men, her playing the accordion, her seeing Tom Waits perform and once dining with him and his wife, her three-episode role on Firefly, and her appearances in several music videos. She also spoke about finding red carpet gowns, dressing in retro costumes, and the Joan Holloway Barbie doll.

Best of all (for me, at least), Leslie Gornstein asked Christina Hendricks about how she began dying her hair red:

You’ve said you started dying your blond hair red at age 10. How exactly did you sell that choice to your folks?
They did it to me! I was obsessed with the Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables. I decided I was Anne of Green Gables. There was something that spoke to me about her, and I wanted to have her beautiful red hair. So my mother said, “Let’s just go to the drugstore and get one of those cover-the-gray rinses!” My hair was very blond at the time, but it went carrot red. And I was over the moon. I went to school the next day and felt like myself. And then I went back [to that color] over and over again. What a cool mom, right?

I think we can all agree that Christina Hendricks’s Mom was super cool for supporting her daughter’s obsession with Anne of Green Gables. And I adore Christina Hendricks’s red hair.

Reference:
Gornstein, Leslie. (2010, July) Past Perfect Christina Hendricks. Los Angeles Times Magazine. Originally retrieved from: https://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/07/christina-hendricks.html (presently, dead link). Archived at: https://web.archive.org/web/20101227122133/https://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/07/christina-hendricks.html

Image credits:
Left: Photograph of Christina Hendricks by Joshua Jordan with styling by Hayley Atkin from "Past Perfect Christina Hendricks", Los Angeles Times Magazine, published July 2010.
Right: Screen capture of Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel © Sullivan Entertainment.

Created July 6, 2010.  Re-posted online October 8, 2022. Last updated September 4, 2023.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Galactic Gables by Tom McHenry

Have you ever wondered what Anne Shirley would be like if she traveled to outer space? Well, comic and zine creator Tom McHenry has imagined it out for you.

In McHenry's one-off webcomic, Anne and Matthew Cuthbert are traveling through space. Anne is ashamed to be wearing a "horrid old wincey" spacesuit. Then she lightens up, smiling and asking Matthew about the blue planet they arrived at. When Matthew explains that it's called Earth, Anne replies, "They shouldn't call it 'Earth.' There's no meaning in a name like that. They should call it 'The Azure Orb of Delight.'"

McHenry's sci-fi comic based on Anne of Green Gables was featured in an article called, "When Classic Literature Gets Updated" by Graeme McMillan at io9.com. McMillan writes, "Move over, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies, a new updating of classic literature has come along to win your heart... Or at least make you laugh. Yes, it's Anne of Green Gables... in space."

On his livejournal, McHenry explains his inspiration: "Sara and I have been reading the original Anne novels (not my ill-fated science fiction sequels including Anne of Lavaworld and Rilla of Planetside) aloud before bed."

At io9, McMillan goes on to say, "The strip was just one of McHenry's "Future and Space Things" themed week of comics, alongside Space Yuppies. More proof that more people should be forced to come up with science fiction when they least expect it." I heartily agree. I enjoyed reading this fantastic and fun comic.

Created February 16, 2009. Re-posted online April 17, 2024. Last updated April 17, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Who is Your Fictional Crush?

Might it be Gilbert Blythe or Anne Shirley?

I read a fun article on literary crushes by Alison Flood at The Guardian today that mentions Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. Flood describes a petition that was launched in Japan to legalize marriages between humans and cartoon characters. Flood writes, "it made me wonder which fictional character I'd marry, legal niceties permitting. As a teenager I'd have plumped for any of the Georgette Heyer heroes (particularly the Earl of Rule), or Jilly Cooper's Rupert Campbell-Black, or Rhett Butler. Before those days I had quite a crush on Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables and Laurie from Little Women."

Do you have a fictional crush? If so, who is it? L.M. Montgomery's Gilbert Blythe is surely on my list. And I know from my many years on the Anne of Green Gables Forum that Jonathan Crombie's Gilbert makes many women swoon. We joked for years there about solid chocolate Gilbert dolls.


Reference:
Flood, Alison. (2008, October 30). Who is your literary crush? The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/oct/30/literary-crush-alison-flood

Image credit:
Photograph of Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe and Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel © Sullivan Entertainment

Created October 31, 2008. Re-posted online April 19, 2024. Last updated April 19, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

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. Re-posted online June 13, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

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. Re-posted online November 18, 2022. Last Updated January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) Screening

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City is showcasing a film exhibition called "A View from the Vaults: Warner Bros., RKO Pictures, and First National Pictures, Inc." from February 9–24, 2007. This exhibition includes a screening of Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) on Saturday, February 10, 2007 at 3:45 p.m.

The film series includes a "selection of ten enduring films produced by Warner Bros., RKO Pictures, and First National Pictures, Inc., from 1938 through 1949. These films were all recently acquired by the Museum."

"A View from the Vaults" is organized by Anne Morra, the Assistant Curator in the Department of Film.

Here are the descriptions of the 10 featured films:

Jezebel. 1938. USA. Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston, based on the play by Owen Davis. With Bette Davis, Henry Fonda. Davis won an Oscar for her iconic portrayal of Julie Marsden, a woman whose assertion of independence is tragically misunderstood in 1850s New Orleans. Larger than life, Julie sets out to win back her lost social standing—but only on her own terms. 104 min. Friday, February 9, 5:45; Saturday, February 17, 6:00. T1

Gunga Din. 1939. USA. Directed by George Stevens. Screenplay by Joel Sayre, Fred Guiol, based on a story by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, adapted from the poem “Gunga Din” by Rudyard Kipling. With Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen. This account of the tragicomic exploits of three members of the French Foreign Legion and their fight against the corrupt Guru in India was voted to the National Film Registry in 1999. 117 min. Saturday, February 10, 1:30; Wednesday, February 21, 6:00. T1

Anne of Windy Poplars. 1940. USA. Directed by Jack Hively. Screenplay by Michael Kanin, Jerry Cady, based on the novel by L. M. Montgomery. With Anne Shirley, Patric Knowles. A follow-up to Anne of Green Gables (1934), this film follows a grown-up Anne as she moves to the remote Canadian town of Pringleton and builds a new life as a teacher at a small provincial school. 86 min. Saturday, February 10, 3:45. T1

They Drive by Night. 1940. USA. Directed by Raoul Walsh. Screenplay by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, based on the novel The Long Haul by Albert Isaac Bezzerides. With George Raft, Ida Lupino. Brothers Joe and Paul Fabrini haul produce from farms in northern California to Los Angeles. They refuse to drive for anyone else, and attempts are made to intimidate them into joining a ruthless competitor’s business. 95 min. Saturday, February 10, 5:30; Monday, February 19, 8:30. T1

The Man Who Came to Dinner. 1942. USA. Directed by William Keighley. Screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, based on the play by George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart. With Monty Woolley, Bette Davis. Radio personality Sheridan Whiteside slips and falls on an icy sidewalk in front of the home of a prominent Ohio family. With a broken leg, he cannot be moved—and soon the meddlesome Whiteside is interfering with the lives of his hosts. 113 min. Sunday, February 11, 5:00; Monday, February 19, 6:00. T1

Action in the North Atlantic. 1943. USA. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Screenplay by John Howard Lawson, based on the story “Heroes without Uniform” by Guy Gilpatric. With Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey. In this WWII thriller, Lieutenant Joe Rossi (Bogart) must navigate through enemy-filled waters on the perilous journey from Halifax to Murmansk. 128 min. Monday, February 12, 6:00; Saturday, February 24, 2:00. T1

The Corn Is Green. 1945. USA. Directed by Irving Rapper. Screenplay by Casey Robinson, Frank Cavett, based on the play by Emlyn Williams. With Bette Davis, Nigel Bruce. Schoolteacher Lily Moffat is determined to change the primitive education system in her tiny Welsh mining town. The townsfolk oppose her innovative pedagogy, but they cannot deter Lily from her efforts. 114 min. Monday, February 12, 8:30; Friday, February 16, 5:45. T1

Murder, My Sweet. 1945. USA. Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Screenplay by John Paxton, based on the novel Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. With Dick Powell, Claire Trevor. Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired to find the missing girlfriend of an ex-convict. This must-see thriller, steeped in film noir atmosphere, features the disappearance of a dame and some dirty double-crossing—not to mention the iconic stature of Marlowe himself. 95 min. Wednesday, February 14, 6:00; Saturday, February 17, 2:00. T1

Flamingo Road. 1949. USA. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Screenplay by Robert Wilder, Edmund H. North, based on the play by Robert Wilder, Sally Wilder. With Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott. Crawford plays Lane Bellamy, a woman with an unfavorable reputation who attempts to climb the social ladder in a sinister Southern town run by a corrupt political boss. 94 min. Wednesday, February 14, 8:00; Saturday, February 17, 4:00. T1

Mighty Joe Young. 1949. USA. Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack. Screenplay by Ruth Rose, based on a story by Merian C. Cooper. With Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore. For twelve years Jill Young has tenderly nurtured her pet gorilla Joe in Tanzania. When a Hollywood promoter arrives and convinces Jill to bring Joe to Tinseltown, the trouble begins. Winner of the 1950 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. 94 min. Thursday, February 15, 6:00; Wednesday, February 21, 8:30. T1

Please visit the MOMA website for further details.

Thank you to Julia Crimmins for sending along this news.

Image credit:
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) film poster featuring Patric Knowles and Anne Shirley, RKO Pictures.

Created January 21, 2007. Re-posted online June 9, 2022. Last updated June 9, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Christmas Ornament

On my honeymoon on Prince Edward Island, I bought this Anne of Green Gables Christmas ornament to hang on my Christmas tree. It's a little straw hat with red braids attached.



If you can't make it to PEI, there's a similar Christmas ornament available here.

Created July 26, 2006, Re-posted online January 25, 2024. Last updated January 25, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables U-Haul Truck

When I opened my front door today, I found this Anne of Green Gables U-Haul truck parked right outside my apartment. I took this photograph of it from my doorstep.

The under the illustration of Anne and Green Gables, the side of the truck reads:

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
HOME OF THE LEGENDARY ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
FOYER DE LA LÉGENDAIRE «ANNE DE LA MAISON AUX PIGNONS VERTS»

Seeing the truck made me smile. It's always nice to have a reminder of Prince Edward Island and Anne Shirley.

Here's a crisper view of the Anne Shirley graphic art from the U-Haul website:



Created September 3, 2005. Re-posted online June 10, 2022. Last updated June 10, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Miniature Diorama

My boyfriend gave me a blind box, which he spotted while traveling in Seattle. It's from the "Little Anime Series World Masterpiece Theater" collection. Each box contains a miniature diorama from one of five World Masterpiece Theater anime series produced by Nippon Animation. One of the anime series included is Anne of Green Gables (Akage no An). Knowing that I love Anne of Green Gables, my boyfriend bought a box for me and hoped for the best. Lucky for me, my box contained the Anne of Green Gables scene.

This blind box collection was manufactured by MegaHouse in 2003. The five World Masterpiece Theater series included in the collection are: Anne of Green Gables (1979), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), Rascal the Raccoon (1977), A Dog of Flanders (1975), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980). The scenes for the five series are depicted on the sides of the blind box and on the insert inside the box (pictured below):





Inside the red box was a pink case that looked like a tiny book:



A brown plastic box, designed to look like wood, slides out of the pink case:



Opening the box reveals the eight items shown below: the Green Gables kitchen, Matthew's couch and shoes, the Green Gables kitchen table, a bowl, a pair of birds, and three characters: Matthew Cuthbert, Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley:



Here's a closer view of Matthew Cuthbert (who's asleep), Marilla Cuthbert, and Anne Shirley (carrying a layered cake):



Here are a few views of the Anne of Green Gables diorama with Matthew asleep on his couch, Marilla bustling about the kitchen, and Anne carrying a lovely layered cake (that hopefully is flavored with vanilla instead of liniment):





Here's a close-up view of the Green Gables diorama:



Created June 27, 2005. Re-posted online with new photos and content January 20, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Word Search

Enjoy this Anne of Green Gables word search. You can print the image below or download a PDF version of the word search.



Created April 29, 2004. Re-posted online October 24, 2022. Last updated October 24, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Emily of New Moon Word Search

Enjoy this Emily of New Moon word search. You can print the image below or download a PDF version of the word search.



Created June 27, 2001. Re-posted online October 28, 2022. Last updated October 28, 2022.
© worldofanneshirley.com