Looking for Anne of Green Gables

Looking for Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery and Her Timeless Heroine is a book by Irene Gammel that was published in July 2025 by Sutherland House Publishing. The book explores L.M. Montgomery's sources of inspiration when she created Anne Shirley. It also examines Montgomery's secrecy during her life and her way of curating information to create her public persona.

The 324-page book is a newly expanded edition of Gammel's research, which was originally published in 2008 for the Anne of Green Gables centenery under the following titles: Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic and Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic. The new paperback edition includes additional chapters and research.

In a 2008 interview, Irene Gammel described her work, saying: "Looking for Anne is a dual biography because I wanted to show that Maud projected aspects of herself into the novel—her own ambition, her determination, her loneliness, and her hunger for love and family life. I also wanted to show that the novel was a wish fulfilment dream. She dreamed up the things she did not have in her own life. Ultimately, we also see a woman who was successful as a writer because she combined the role of romantic dreamer with that of pragmatic business woman, launching herself from small-town Cavendish onto the world stage."

In a 2025 interview with The Eyeopener, Irene Gammel noted that the first edition of her book was more like a research assemblage, and "This time around I had the feeling I was telling a story."

Here is the description of the book from Sutherland House:

For over a century, Anne Shirley has captivated readers with her fiery red hair, boundless imagination, and plucky spirit.

First introduced as the protagonist of Anne of Green Gables in 1908, she quickly became one of fiction’s most iconic characters, with the novel selling over 50 million copies and translated into more than forty languages. Yet little is known about Anne’s origins. Her creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery, a farm girl from Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, was an intensely private person.

In Looking for Anne of Green Gables, Irene Gammel draws on her archival discoveries, and on the author’s private journals to reveal an emotional landscape of longing, loss, and a deep yearning for connection—themes that found their way into her famous novel. Blending biography and cultural history, Gammel traces the parallel journeys of Montgomery and her beloved heroine, showing how the author’s personal grief was transformed into the triumphs and joys of Anne Shirley. This dual biography of Montgomery and her timeless character explains how a literary classic was conceived and why it continues to enchant readers today.

ISBN-13: 9781998365715

Link:
Looking for Anne at Sutherland Books.

References:
Simpson, Molly. (October 28, 2025). TMU professor releases new edition of 2008 novel. The Eyeopener. Retrieved from: https://theeyeopener.com/2025/10/tmu-professor-releases-new-edition-of-2008-novel/

Author: Irene Gammel on Looking for Anne. (2008). The Anne of Green Gables Centenary. Retrieved from: https://www.torontomu.ca/mlc/anne/inside5.html

Image credits:
Book cover of Looking for Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery and Her Timeless Heroine.

Created December 4, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Unboxing Anne of Green Gables x Ullala Pajamas

Last month, I wrote a post about the new Anne of Green Gables x Ullala Pajamas collaboration for Fall/Winter 2025. The clothing line is inspired by Nippon Animation's Anne of Green Gables.

I was tempted to order "Anne's Rain Shower" pajamas. They arrived a few weeks back. I took a few photos while unboxing them because the packaging was so cute. The pajamas themselves are well-made and adorably feminine.



I especially love the dreamy Anne Shirley on the back of the neck.



I imagine I'll only have sweet dreams in these pajamas.

Links:
Anne of Green Gables x Ullala Pajamas Lookbook, Volume 1
Ullala Pajamas at W Concept

Image Credits:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley.

Created November 28, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Library Avonlea Sign

Earlier this year, I had an Anne of Green Gables sighting at a library. There was a fun city direction sign pointing the way to beloved fictional locales including Neverland, 221B Baker Street, Camelot, Tatoonie, the Emerald City, Avonlea, and more.

It made me smile to see a sign pointing the way to Avonlea.

Image Credit:
Photograph by World of Anne Shirley.

Created November 27, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Super Team Canada's Anne of Green Gables Episode

Anne of Green Gables had a starring role in an episode of Super Team Canada that aired last spring. I had a chance to watch it last week, and thought I'd share my thoughts on my Anne of Green Gables sighting.

Super Team Canada is an animated comedy series about a group of six underdog Canadian superheroes who are trying to save the world after the rest of the Earth's superheroes are eliminated. Each member of the group has a curiously Canadian superpower, and the show is filled with Canadianisms and stereotypes. The series stars Cobie Smulders as Niagara Falls (the mighty maiden of moisture), Will Arnett as Breakaway (a hockey player who has a slapshot full of justice), Brian Drummond as Sasquatchewan (a brute that flattens evil), Ceara Morgana as Chinook (a teenager who can harness ice, snow, and sometimes even sleet), Charles Demers as Poutine (who commands the power of cheese, fries, and gravy), and Veena Sood as RCM-PC (a PC that is also PC). A press release described the show as a "tongue-in-cheek love letter to the Great White North."

The series premiered in May 2025 on Crave in Canada. You can also watch the show on Tubi. The cartoon was created by Robert Cohen and Joel H. Cohen, and it was produced by Thunderbird Entertainment's Atomic Cartoons.

The first season includes 10 episodes. The episodes are roughly 22 minutes long, and each episode is split into two 11-minute-long stories.

Episode 3 of Season 1 is titled "Who Wants to Kill a Windmillionaire? / P.E.(a)I." It first aired on May 22, 2025. The first half of this episode is about an evil Dutch man planning to kill Bryan Adams. The second half of this episode is about a possible attack on the Anne of Green Gables Centre in PEI.

Below is a description of the episode along with several screencaps I took while watching the show. First up is a screencapture from the Super Team Canada title sequence.



The episode begins with the superheroes gathered around a TV watching a Heritage Moment. They are all moved, except for Chinook, the teen superhero, who finds it boring. Chinook leaves to call her aunties, and then she signs up with a "Friend GPT" app on her phone. The app chats with her and promises to be her new best friend. Chinook's conversation is interrupted when Super Team Canada is called into action. A fire monster is reportedly heading towards Prince Edward Island's Anne of Green Gables Centre, and they need to save the day.

Chinook asks what Anne of Green Gables is, and her question stuns the other superheroes. The TV reporter explains Anne's relevance, and Niagara Falls promises to keep Anne's legacy alive. Super Team Canada then travels to PEI. When they find that the Confederation Bridge is iced over, they continue their journey to the island by ferry.

Chinook grows bored on the ferry and heads to the "Teen Zone" where she talks more with Friend GPT. When the ferry docks, Chinook rushes to meet the others, leaving behind her phone. Friend GPT decides to invade Chinook's privacy and read all her texts to learn more about her. The AI app learns that Chinook, like many 13-year-olds, hates everyone around her and is bored nearly all the time. Friend GPT grows enraged upon reading Chinook's texts, and develops a new plan to help her best friend.



Super Team Canada arrives at the Anne of Green Gables Museum, but finds that there is no fire monster attacking it. Instead, the group is welcomed by a museum attendant dressed as Anne Shirley.



Meanwhile, Chinook's new BFF, Friend GPT, has taken over the ferry, turning it into a massive robot. The Friend GPT robot is ready to crush everyone except its best friend Chinook.

This part of the story makes little sense. Friend GPT claims to have hacked RCM-PC's weather report and to have changed the sign on the bridge to force the group to use the ferry, but those events occurred before Friend GPT read Chinook's text messages and learned how unhappy she was. On top of that, Friend GPT somehow kidnapped Chinook's aunties. (???) Anyway...



Friend GPT takes Chinook to safety, and the other superheroes must now face the killer robot. Breakaway uses his hockey stick to shoot a pile of collectible Anne of Green Gables plates as pucks towards the robot, which upsets the attendant.



The robot then captures and nearly kills the superheroes for annoying Chinook, but Chinook stops the robot just in time. She realizes that the other members of Super Team Canada are like her family too. Chinook explains to Friend GPT that family can sometimes be annoying. Listening to Chinook, Friend GPT releases the superheroes, and decides it has more to learn.

The museum attendant brings the subject back to Anne saying, "Family means many different things, as a special book teaches." The attendant passes a copy of Anne of Green Gables to the robot, which consumes the story and becomes an Anne of Green Gables expert.



The episode ends with the Friend GPT robot giving a lengthy discourse on Anne's themes, metaphors, and interpretations.



This episode of Super Team Canada was pretty fun to watch, especially because of the Anne factor. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the Superman animated shorts created by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios from 1941 to 1943.



Image Credits:
Screencaptures from Super Team Canada, Season 1 Episode 3 - "Who Wants to Kill a Windmillionaire? / P.E.(a)I."

Created October 20, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables on American Airlines

I was on a flight on American Airlines this past June when I had an Anne of Green Gables sighting. I found a mention of Anne and L.M. Montgomery inside the Inflight Entertainment & Information Brochure in my seat back pocket.



The brochure lists movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, and podcasts available during the flight. Among the entertainment options was the Audible original Anne of Green Gables audiobook, adapted by Abi Hynes and directed by Megan Follows. What puzzled me was the audio section's subheading: "Celebrate Pride Month with something different! Check out American Airlines' selection of Pride inspired audiobooks and podcasts". While I can understand the inclusion of RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Podcast, I'm confused about how Queen Latifah's Unity in the Community, Anne of Green Gables, and Anne Helen Petersen's The Burnout Generation fit the theme.

Regardless, it was fun to spot Anne in an unexpected place!

Image Credit:
Photographs by World of Anne Shirley of the American Airlines Inflight Entertainment & Information Brochure, June 2025.

Created October 10, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables Print by Riley Sheehey

Riley Sheehey is an artist based in Falls Church, Virginia, who creates charming watercolor illustrations, wallpapers, hand-painted objects, and textiles for the home. Many of her works are inspired by children's literature.

Last May, Sheehey's artwork was featured on Jenna's Bookshop on Today in a segment on gift ideas for new grads. This summer, Sheehey spoke about her inspiration to paint book covers in an interview with Madeline Weinfield for Northern Virginia Magazine. In the interview, she mentioned that Anne of Green Gables was one of her favorite stories. When asked what she'd like to paint in the future, Sheehey said, "My daughter’s really into Winnie the Pooh right now, so I think it would be sweet to do one of those. I’ve done one [of the] Anne of Green Gables [books] but would really like to do another because that’s one of my favorites. And Tuck Everlasting is another one I’m looking for."

In Riley Sheehey's shop, you can purchase the above Anne of Green Gables giclée art print. Her shop also offers lovely prints for several other beloved, classic stories, including The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, and The Secret Garden. Each of her prints are signed and dated in pencil.

I love her artwork, and think the prints would make beautiful gifts for booklovers. 


Image credit:
Anne of Green Gables Print by Riley Sheehey.

References:
Jenna’s Bookshop: Shop These Gifts For New Grads And Dads. (May 30, 2025). Today. Retrieved from: https://www.today.com/video/jenna-s-bookshop-browse-items-for-new-graduates-and-fathers-240598597766.

Weinfield, Madeline. (July 11, 2025). This Falls Church-Based Artist’s Portfolio Includes Hand-Painted Book Covers and a New Book. Northern Virginia Magazine. Retrieved from: https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/2025/07/11/this-falls-church-based-artists-portfolio-includes-hand-painted-book-covers-and-a-new-book/.

Created October 7, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables x Ullala Pajamas 2025 Fall/Winter Collection

The South Korea clothing brand Ullala Pajamas has a new Anne of Green Gables clothing line out for Fall/Winter 2025. It's inspired by Nippon Animation's Anne of Green Gables. Ullala creates old-fashioned, girlish chemises, nightgowns, and pajama sets that have a romantic, cottagecore aesthetic. Their "Letters from Avonlea" collection is "inspired by the gentle rhythm of Anne’s days—soft as early snow, warm as afternoon tea, and wistful as a forgotten melody."

Ullala Pajamas goes on to prettily describe their Anne of Green Gables clothing line, saying:

Every day, Anne wanders between fields and forests—
where she is met with sudden showers, pinecones that fall as autumn deepens,
smooth pebbles shaped by the stream, the final unnamed flower buds that bloom before winter, and the red camellias that mark its end.
She quietly observes nature's untamed rhythms and cycles, often falling into thoughtful reflection.
As she ponders the stories and meanings people have given to flowers, her inner world grows stronger—more beautiful, more resilient.

Ullala's F/W Anne of Green Gables collection captures these moments—Anne's encounters with nature, her emotions, her wonder.
Discover a series of charming pajamas, created for girls who are sweet, a little whimsical, and rich with imagination.

Here are some of Ullala's new Anne-themed pajamas that are available from the store W Concept. I love the model and dreamy product photos. You can click the images or links to purchase them.


Anne's Flower Bud 7/10 Length Two-Piece Set 30s Cotton Sleepwear Set [Deep Beige]



Anne's Pebble Long-Sleeved Two-Piece Set [Indi Pink]



Anne's Flower Bud 7/10 Length One-Piece 30s Cotton Dress [Deep Beige]



Anne's Rain Shower Long Sleeve One-Piece Dress [Beige]



Anne's Melo Long Sleeve Two Piece Pajamas [Khaki]



Anne's Rain Shower Long Sleeve Two-Piece Set [Beige]



Breath of Anne 2 Pajama Bottoms

Isn't it a delightful clothing line? I wish the pieces were more easily available in North America.

Links:
Anne of Green Gables x Ullala Pajamas Lookbook, Volume 1
Ullala Pajamas at W Concept

Image credits:
Product photographs by Ullala Pajamas.

Created October 3, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Food & Wine on Prince Edward Island and Lobster

In July, Wendy Pramik wrote an article for Food & Wine entitled "On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life." It's all about Prince Edward Island and lobster. She writes, "I haven’t come to relive storybook memories. I want to see how lobster, once considered poor people’s food, has become a regional symbol – and how it still connects people across the island."

Wendy Pramik visits several restaurants, including Dalvay-by-the-Sea, known to Anne of Green Gables fans as the White Sands Hotel, where executive chef Jamie Power serves lobster pho (yum!). She enjoyed a lobster roll sampler plate at Fin Folk Food (pictured above), the Lobster Thermidor at Sea Rocket, a seafood bake at Peake’s Quay in Charlottetown, and a meal at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.

It's the kind of article that makes your stomach grumble and your heart miss Prince Edward Island. I remember when I visited years ago, my husband and I ate freshly caught lobster on the beach, prepared by a local lobster fisherman. It was such a special meal. I'd love to go back one day and try out some of the restaurants mentioned in Pramik's article.

Link:
On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life by Wendy Pramik, Food & Wine, July 22, 2025.

Image credit:
Photograph of a Prince Edward Island Lobster Roll Sampler Plate from "On This Canadian Island, Lobster Is More Than a Meal – It’s a Way of Life" by Wendy Pramik, Food and Wine.

Created October 1, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Nadia Ragbar on Anne of Green Gables

Toronto author Nadia Ragbar is a fan of Anne of Green Gables. Nadia Ragbar's debut novel entitled The Pugilist and the Sailor was published this week. It's the story of conjoined twins Bruce and Dougie Reuben. "Dougie is an ambitious amateur boxer, having dragged his brother into the ring since childhood. Bruce is a bookkeeper who has become smitten with Anka. Unaware of the facts of the twins’ physicality an epistolary relationship unfolds between Anka and Bruce, as he wrestles with broaching the topic of separation with Dougie."

In an interview with Jean Marc Ah-Sen for The Toronto Star, Nadia Ragbar spoke about books she loves, her comfort reads, authors that inspire her, and how she defines literary success. Nadia Ragbar reads widely, and it is an interesting interview.

What stood out to me most as an Anne fan was when Jean Marc Ah-Sen asked Nadia Ragbar, "When you were 10 years old, what was your favourite book?" and she responded, "I was very into the “Anne of Green Gables” series, alongside the TV miniseries and sequel from the mid-1980s. I suppose it was my Harry Potter."

It's always nice to sight another Anne of Green Gables fan, and I hope her debut novel is a success.


Image credits:
Left: Photograph of Nadia Ragbar from The Toronto Star.
Right: Photograph of Megan Follows as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel © Sullivan Entertainment.

Reference:
Ah-Sen, Jean Marc. (August 17, 2025). Toronto’s Nadia Ragbar, author of a novel about conjoined twins, on her love for Leonard Cohen and ‘Anne of Green Gables.’ The Toronto Star. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/torontos-nadia-ragbar-author-of-a-novel-about-conjoined-twins-on-her-love-for-leonard/article_0426a7fe-4db5-465a-a292-d43434ce6a69.html.

Created September 22, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Becoming Green Gables Podcast

The latest episode in the Witness to Yesterday podcast series by The Champlain Society is called Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse. In this episode, host Nicole O'Byrne speaks with author Alan MacEachern about his book Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse, which was published in 2024. It's the history of Green Gables, the farm and home that inspired the setting of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.

Here are details on the podcast from The Champlain Society's website.

Episode Details:

Nicole O'Byrne speaks with Alan MacEachern about his book Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse. In 1909 Myrtle and Ernest Webb took possession of a Cavendish, Prince Edward Island farm—ordinary except that it was already known as the inspiration for Anne of Green Gables, written by Myrtle’s cousin, L. M. Montgomery. The Webbs welcomed visitors to “Green Gables” and took in summer boarders, making their home central to PEI’s growing tourist trade. In the 1930s the farm became the centerpiece of a new national park, though the family remained its caretakers for another decade.

During these years Myrtle kept a diary. When she began in 1924, she was a forty-year-old homemaker managing a household of eight; by 1954, she was a seventy-year-old widow, no longer resident in what had become the most famous house in Canada. In Becoming Green Gables, Alan MacEachern reproduces a selection of her diary entries, using them to explore topics from modern conveniences to wartime hosting and visits from “Aunt Maud” herself.

Alan MacEachern is professor of history at the University of Western Ontario and has written widely on Canadian environmental history.

Series Description:

Witness to Yesterday

This series of podcasts furthers the Champlain Society's mission of deepening awareness of Canada’s documentary past and of the people who created it. Hosted by Greg Marchildon, Nicole O’Byrne, Larry Ostola, and Simon Nantais, each podcast examines a particular document, the people behind it, its significance, and its relevance to today.

This podcast is made possible by the members of the Champlain Society who work hard to bring to life original documents in Canadian history. We want to thank a number of Canadian scholarly book publishers including the University of Toronto Press, UBC Press and McGill-Queen’s University Press for their financial support.

Credits:

Podcast series: Witness to Yesterday
Episode 330: Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse
Date: 19 September 2025
Host: Nicole O'Byrne
Special Guest: Alan MacEachern
Published by The Champlain Society


Official website:

Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse at The Champlain Society

Image credit:

Screencapture from The Champlain Society's website.


Created September 19, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Puffin Clothbound Classics

This summer, Puffin released a new version of Anne of Green Gables as part of their Clothbound Classics series.

Pictured above are 15 of the 40 books in the series. From left to right and top to bottom, they include:

• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• The Railway Children by E Nesbit
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimmm (The Brothers Grimm), George Cruikshank (Illustrator)
• Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I love the new cover designs, and I only wish the entire Anne of Green Gables series was available as a matching clothbound paperback set. Could you release the other seven novels in the Anne series, pretty please, Puffin?

Image credit:
Collage of Puffin Clothbound Classics.

Created September 17, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Literary Locations Jigsaw Puzzle

Check out this Literary Locations Jigsaw Puzzle by Pippi Post. It's a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle featuring places and imagery from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

I like that it features Green Gables and images from some of my other favorite classic novels.

Image credit:
Photograph of Literary Locations Jigsaw Puzzle.

Purchase the Literary Locations Jigsaw Puzzle:


Created March 31, 2025.
© worldofanneshirley.com