Magic for Marigold

Magic for Marigold was published by L.M. Montgomery in 1929. It is the story of young Marigold Lesley and is set on Prince Edward Island. The tale begins as the Lesley family gathers to celebrate Old Grandmother's birthday and to name the newest addition to the Lesley clan: Lorraine Lesley's baby. After a series of complications and clan machinations, the baby is finally given the name Marigold after four months. The story follows Marigold's imaginative adventures as she grows up.

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Created March 21, 2002. Re-posted online March 14, 2021. Last updated March 14, 2021.
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Further Chronicles of Avonlea

Further Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L.M. Montgomery that was published in 1920. The title page of the first impression explains that the stories "have to do with many personalities and events in and about Avonlea, the Home of the Heroine of Green Gables."

In his introduction to the 1920 volume, Nathan Haskell Dole writes,

"There is something in these continued Chronicles of Avonlea, like the delicate art which has made 'Cranford' a classic: the characters are so homely and homelike and yet tinged with beautiful romance! You feel that you are made familiar with a real town and its real inhabitants; you learn to love them and sympathize with them. Further Chronicles of Avonlea is a book to read; and to know."

Further Chronicles of Avonlea contains the following 15 stories:

"Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat"
"The Materializing of Cecil"
"Her Father's Daughter"
"Jane's Baby"
"The Dream-Child"
"The Brother Who Failed"
"The Return of Hester"
"The Little Brown Book of Miss Emily"
"Sara's Way"
"The Son of His Mother"
"The Education of Betty"
"In Her Selfless Mood"
"The Conscience Case of David Bell"
"Only a Common Fellow"
"Tannis of the Flats"

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Created March 12, 2002. Last updated April 21, 2021.
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Chronicles of Avonlea

Facing the demand for more tales of Anne Shirley and Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery gathered old short stories she had previously published to produce Chronicles of Avonlea in 1912. Originally, these stories bore no mention of Anne or Avonlea, but Montgomery edited them to bring the stories into familiar territory. This collection contains the following 12 stories:

"The Hurrying of Ludovic"
"Old Lady Lloyd"
"Each in His Own Tongue"
"Little Joscelyn"
"The Winning of Lucinda"
"Old Man Shaw's Girl"
"Aunt Olivia's Beau"
"The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's"
"Pa Sloane's Purchase"
"The Courting of Prissy Strong"
"The Miracle at Carmody"
"The End of a Quarrel"

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Created March 12, 2002. Last updated March 13, 2021.
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A Tangled Web

A Tangled Web is a novel published by L.M. Montgomery in 1931. It is the story of two intermarried families, the Darks and the Penhallows, and is a satire of family interactions. The humor of the story begins immediately when Aunt Becky, the clan's matriarch, announces that one of her family members will receive the heirloom Dark jug.

Instead of naming the recipient at her gathering, Aunt Becky announces her plan to leave the jug with a trustee who knows her wishes and will name the recipient after a year. Aunt Becky names Dandy Dark as her trustee, and her conditions are puzzling. She tells her family that she may have already named the recipient of the jug in a letter given to Dandy, or she may have instructed that the winner be settled by lot, or lastly, she may give Dandy the power to choose the recipient himself. Aunt Becky warns her family, "in case I have chosen the last alternative, it behooves you all to watch your step from now on." The story has many offshoots as we observe what various characters do to win the Dark jug. Unbelievable at times in its exaggerations of human behavior, this story generates many laughs.

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Created March 8, 2002. Re-posted online March 30, 2021. Last updated March 30, 2021.
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Kilmeny of the Orchard

Kilmeny of the Orchard is a novel by L.M. Montgomery that was first published in 1910. The story begins when Larry West writes a letter to his friend Eric Marshall, asking him to take his teaching position in Lindsay, Prince Edward Island. Eric is a rich and practical man with his future set out perfectly, and he expects to simply fulfill his duty to his friend and then go on with his life as planned. All this changes when he comes across a beautiful girl named Kilmeny Gordon playing haunting music on a violin in an orchard. In this brief encounter, Kilmeny imprints herself in Eric's mind. Strangely though, Kilmeny looks upon Eric in terror.

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Created March 4, 2002. Re-posted online March 12, 2021. Last updated March 12, 2021.
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Anne of Green Gables (1919)

In 1919, L.M. Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables was made into a silent, black and white film. Mary Miles Minter starred as Anne Shirley. The cast also included Paul Kelly as Gilbert Blythe, Marcia Harris as Marilla Cuthbert, and Frederick Burton as Matthew Cuthbert.

The story was adapted for the screen by Frances Marion, a highly acclaimed female screenwriter, who was the first writer to win two Academy Awards. The film was directed by William Desmond Taylor and produced by Realart Pictures, Corporation (Paramount Pictures). Filming took place in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA in August through October 1919. The film was released later that fall in November 1919. Minter received critical acclaim for her performance as Anne Shirley, and the production received favorable reviews.

Today, there are no known surviving copies of the film, and it is considered "lost."

Created March 3, 2002. Re-posted online April 1, 2021. Last updated April 1, 2021.
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Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An

Anne of Green Gables aka Akage no An (translated to English as "Red-Haired Anne") is a beautifully animated television series that was based on L.M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables. The plotline closely follows that of the novel and begins when Anne meets Matthew at the train station in Prince Edward Island. The anime series was produced by Nippon Animation in Japan in 1979 as part of the World Masterpiece Theater series (1). The series is 50 episodes long, and it first aired on Fuji Television from January 7, 1979 to December 30, 1979.

Anne of Green Gables was written and directed by the acclaimed screenwriter and director Isao Takahata, who is known for directing Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013). In 1985, Takahata founded the treasured Studio Ghibli together with Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. Studio Ghibli is admired for its artistry, creativity, and beauty in storytelling. Hayao Miyazaki created the settings and layouts for episodes 1 to 15 of the Anne of Green Gables anime. Miyazaki is the beloved anime director of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Spirited Away (2001). In 1990, Takahata edited the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables into a film for theatrical release (1).

Yoshifumi Kondo was the character designer for the vibrant Anne Shirley. Anne’s voice was portrayed by the Japanese actress Eiko Yamada. She provided the voices of several other characters in the World Masterpiece Theater series, including Jo in Tales of Little Women and Little Women II: Jo's Boys. The opening and closing theme songs (“Kikoeru kashira” and “Samenai yume”) were composed by Akira Miyoshi and sung by Ritsuko Ohwada.

Anne of Green Gables aired in several countries throughout the world. It was broadcast in Canada in the mid-1990s under the title Anne...La maison aux pignons verts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and dubbed in French (1, 2). In addition, the anime aired as Anna dai capelli rossi in Italy, Ana de las Tejas Verdes in Spain, Ana dos Cabelos Ruivos in Portugal, and Anne mit den roten Haaren in Germany. The series was also dubbed in English and broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation and by Japan Entertainment Television in Taiwan.

In 2009, an anime prequel to Anne of Green Gables (1979) premiered called Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (translated to English as “Hello Anne: Before Green Gables”).


Image credit:
Drawing of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An. © Nippon Animation

References:
1. Helen McCarthy. Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. 1999. 223.
2. Team Ghiblink. Nausicaa.Net http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/wmt/index.html (2001).

Purchase and watch Anne of Green Gables (1979) aka Akage No An (Note: Most official Akage no An Blu-Ray/DVD sets are available for Region 2 (Japan), and they are not officially available in all region formats yet):



Created March 1, 2002. Re-posted online March 4, 2023. Last updated January 20, 2024.
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Jane of Lantern Hill

L.M. Montgomery wrote Jane of Lantern Hill late in her career. Published in 1937, the novel tells the story of Jane Victoria Stuart. Jane is 11 years old and lives in Toronto, Ontario with her mother Robin and her strict grandmother. Jane believes that her father is dead until she is age 10 when she learns that her mother left her father when she was three years old. She discovers that her father Andrew is actually alive and well and living on Prince Edward Island. When Jane is invited to visit her father on P.E.I. for the summer, they have a chance to develop a relationship, and Jane begins to dream that her parents will one day reunite.

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Created February 24, 2002. Last updated March 10, 2021.
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