Anne of Avonlea (1975)

On January 26, 1975, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) began airing the miniseries Anne of Avonlea. This production was a sequel to their 1972 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. Kim Braden returned to star as Anne Shirley, Barbara Hamilton returned to play Marilla Cuthbert, and Jan Francis returned as Diana Barry. Gilbert Blythe was portrayed by Christopher Blake, a different actor from the earlier miniseries. The production also featured Madge Ryan as Rachel Lynde, David Garfield as Mr. Harrison, and Anthony Forrest as Roy Gardiner.

Anne of Avonlea was based on L.M. Montgomery's novels Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, and the story was dramatized for the screen by Elaine Morgan. Joan Craft returned to direct the sequel, and the miniseries was again produced by John McRae. The Anne of Avonlea miniseries aired in six parts and had a running time of 5 hours and 50 minutes.

Anne of Green Gables is one of the few BBC 1 Sunday Serials that is lost and no longer exists in the BBC archives. Luckily for us, Anne of Avonlea survived intact. The Anne of Avonlea miniseries was purchased by Strawberry Entertainment, and it was subsequently purchased by KOCH Vision. The long-awaited DVD was released on September 5, 2006.

Acknowledgements:
Thanks Paul for the information that the miniseries was purchased by Strawberry Entertainment.

External Links (will open in new windows):
Internet Movie Database - cast list for the series
Anne of Green Gables topic at www.missing-episodes.com (archived topic by Internet Archive)

Image credit:
Photograph of Kim Braden as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables © BBC from the 1975 book cover by Penguin Books.

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Created May 12, 2002. Re-posted online March 20, 2024. Last updated April 16, 2024.
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Anne of Green Gables (1972)

On February 20, 1972, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) began airing an Anne of Green Gables miniseries as a BBC 1 Sunday Serial. The series starred Kim Braden as Anne Shirley, Barbara Hamilton as Marilla Cuthbert, and Elliott Sullivan as Matthew Cuthbert. Jan Francis played Diana Barry and Robin Halstead played Gilbert Blythe.

The Anne of Green Gables miniseries was based upon L.M. Montgomery's novel, and the story was adapted for the screen by Julia Jones. The series was directed by Joan Craft and produced by John McRae. The series was broadcast in five parts and was 4 hours and 40 minutes in length.

Unfortunately, Anne of Green Gables is one of the few BBC 1 Sunday Serials that is missing, and it no longer exists in the BBC archives. However, the BBC’s 1975 sequel Anne of Avonlea survived, and it was released by Koch Vision on September 5, 2006.

External Links (will open in new windows):
Internet Movie Database - cast list for the series
Anne of Green Gables topic at www.missing-episodes.com (archived topic by Internet Archive)

Personal Comments:
Unfortunately, I never saw this miniseries, and with its current "lost" status in the BBC archives, I am unlikely to see it in the future. If you have any knowledge about the miniseries, scans or images from the production, or if you have seen it and can tell me more about it, then please send me an e-mail, and I'll add the info to this site.

Image credit:
Photograph of Kim Braden as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables © BBC

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Created May 11, 2002. Re-posted online March 19, 2024. Last updated April 16, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

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.
© worldofanneshirley.com

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.
© worldofanneshirley.com