Anne of Avonlea (1997)

Anne of Avonlea (1997) is a play by Joseph Robinette based on the novel Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. Joseph Robinette also wrote an Anne of Green Gables play (published in 1989) as well as an Anne of Green Gables musical (with Evelyn Swensson).

The premise of the play is that Anne is applying to Redmond College and is struggling to write a one-page autobiography for her application. Marilla suggests that Anne "talk it out" before she decides what to write. The story unfolds from there. There is some retelling of Anne's story from Anne of Green Gables, but most of the play is set during Anne of Avonlea.

Anne of Avonlea is a full-length play that is approximately 120 minutes long. The script was published by Dramatic Publishing in 1997 and is available through the Dramatic Publishing website.

The play is described as follows:
"This delightful, enchanting sequel to Anne of Green Gables continues the exciting adventures of one of literature's most enduring characters, Anne Shirley. From her first days as a young teacher to her departure for Redmond College, we are reacquainted with such old friends as Marilla Cuthbert, Rachel Lynde, Diana Barry and Gilbert Blythe. We also meet many new ones: a cantankerous neighbor, Mr. Harrison (and his offstage parrot!); the mysterious Miss Lavendar; the beguiling Charlotta the Fourth; the irrepressible twins, Dora and Davy; and Anne's lively, but (usually) lovable, high-spirited students. Rejoin Anne and enjoy the embarrassment of mistakenly selling Mr. Harrison's cow, the anxiety of her first day teaching school, the humorous essay-writing assignment, the plum marmalade incident, the encounter with Miss Lavendar, the devastating storm and its aftermath, and the wedding at Echo Lodge. There are also flashbacks to Anne's young life and how she came to live at Green Gables. Anne of Avonlea is ideal for junior highs, high schools and community theatres and is a true ensemble piece. This heartwarming and humorously uplifting play will be fondly remembered by audiences and performer alike long after the final curtain."


Image Credit:
Adapted Anne of Avonlea (1997) book cover by Dramatic Publishing.

Created September 24, 2006. Last updated June 21, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables (1989)

Anne of Green Gables (1989) is a play by Joseph Robinette based on the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

It is a full-length play and is approximately 105 minutes long. The script was published by Dramatic Publishing in 1989 and is available through the Dramatic Publishing website.

The play is described as follows:
"This dramatization captures the charm and excitement of L.M. Montgomery's enduring classic about an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, from her first encounter with her austere guardian to her thrilling graduation from Queen's Academy. The play faithfully recreates the memorable events and characters from the brilliant novel. All the tragedies and triumphs that mark Anne's growth from adolescence to early adulthood are here: her friendship with Diana, her feuds with Gilbert, her adoration of Matthew, the mistaken wine bottle, the cake disaster, the broken leg, the scholastic achievements, and the saving of Green Gables. Whether the playgoer is an "old friend" of Anne's or meeting her for the first time, this play will solidify a lasting friendship between the audience and one of literature's most unforgettable characters. The flexibility of casting and the simplicity of the set make this an ideal production for community and school groups."


Image Credit:
Image adapted from Anne of Green Gables (1989) poster by Dramatic Publishing.

Created September 24, 2006. Last updated June 21, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne of Green Gables (1997)

Anne of Green Gables (1997) is a musical by Joseph Robinette and Evelyn Swensson based on the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The book is by Joseph Robinette, and the music and lyrics are by Evelyn Swensson. The musical made its world premiere at the Delaware Children's Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware where it was directed by Marie Swajeski. The script was published by Dramatic Publishing in 1997.

The musical has two acts and is approximately 105 minutes long. The script is available through Dramatic Publishing.

The musical is described as follows:
"This sparkling new musical further enhances the enduring story of Anne Shirley, the orphan girl whom Mark Twain called "the most delightful child of fiction since the immortal Alice." The exciting, melodious score offers great variety from the opening chorus number "Prince Edward Island," wherein we meet the townspeople of Avonlea, to the spirited "Charlottetown Rag." Other delightful songs include "Kindred Spirits" performed by Anne and Diana, "I Dare You," and the lilting "Green Gables." Eminently singable and easily staged, this humorous and heartwarming Anne of Green Gables is the ideal family musical."


Image Credit:
Anne of Green Gables (1997) book cover by Dramatic Publishing.

Created September 24, 2006. Last updated June 21, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Anne With an “e” – The Green Gables Musical (1998)

Anne...With an “e” - The Green Gables Musical (1998) is a musical by Neil K. Newell and C. Michael Perry based on the novel Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The musical was produced and made its world premiere at the Spanish Fork Community Theatre in Spanish Fork, Utah, USA on July 19, 1998.

The original production was directed by C. Michael Perry, produced by Cherie Murray, and choreographed by Tara Christopher. The musical direction was by Steve Boothe and Gregory Lawrence Duffin, and the sets were designed by Jim Nicholet and LeEarl Peck.

The musical has two acts and is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes long. The script is available through Eldridge Publishing.

The play is described as follows:
"Anne of Green Gables,” by L. M. Montgomery, is an enduring story of innocence, joy, and the true meaning of love that has delighted and inspired readers for over a century. Now this heartwarming story of the irrepressible Anne Shirley is impressively adapted to the stage and has inspired a musical score that will knock your socks off! The story begins as Anne arrives at Green Gables and follows her through mishaps and adventures, through Matthew’s death and her reconciliation with Gilbert, and finally to her determination to stay at Green Gables and help Marilla while pursuing her education. There are 20 songs including “Breath of Air!” “Bosom Friends” “The Lady of Shallot” “The Perfect Man,” and “Bend in the Road.” This charming, faithful adaptation appeals to those of every generation."


Image Credit:
Promotional artwork for Anne With an “e” - The Green Gables Musical.

Purchase and read Anne With an “e” – The Green Gables Musical - Vocal Selections Music Book :


Created September 24, 2006. Last updated September 2, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Incredible Life of the Creator of Anne of Green Gables

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Incredible Life of the Creator of Anne of Green Gables is a biography by Stan Sauerwein. It was published by Altitude Publishing in October 2004 as part of their "Amazing Stories" series. This 128-page book tells L.M. Montgomery's life story by drawing from her journals, autobiography, letters, and other biographical sources.

Here is the book's description from its back cover:

"I set my teeth and said, 'I will succeed.' I believed in myself and struggled on alone... I never told my ambitions and efforts and failures to any one. Down, deep down, under all discouragement and rebuff, I knew I would arrive someday."
L. M. Montgomery

True stories. Truly Canadian.
This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in

• biography
• the Maritimes

L. M. Montgomery, the creator of Anne of Green Gables and author of more than 20 books, is a household name the world over. Anne of Green Gables has been translated into 40 different languages and immortalized on film. The spirited story of orphaned Anne was inspired by the natural beauty of Prince Edward Island.

Image credit:
Scan of my book cover of Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Incredible Life of the Creator of Anne of Green Gables.

Purchase and read Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Incredible Life of the Creator of Anne of Green Gables:


Created August 6, 2006. Last updated September 1, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

After Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery's Letters to Ephraim Weber, 1916-1941

After Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery's Letters to Ephraim Weber, 1916-1941 edited by Hildi Froese Tiessen and Paul Gerard Tiessen was published by the University of Toronto Press in June 2006. The book is a collection of letters from L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, a Mennonite farmer living in Alberta, Canada. The pair corresponded with one another for nearly forty years.

Montgomery took great pleasure in receiving Weber's thoughtful and intellectually stimulating letters. Both Montgomery and Weber had literary aspirations, and they wrote to one another about literature and writing, world events and politics, and their daily lives. In appreciation of their close and meaningful friendship, L.M. Montgomery dedicated her novel The Blue Castle to "Mr. Ephraim Weber, M.A. who understands the architecture of blue castles."

In 1960, early letters from L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber were published as The Green Gables Letters: From L.M. Montgomery to Ephraim Weber, 1905-1909 in a book edited by Wilfrid Eggleston. After Green Gables is a collection of Montgomery's later letters to Weber from 1916-1941 over a period spanning 25 years.

Here is the description of the book from University of Toronto Press:

Ephraim Weber (1870-1956) was a struggling young writer when he began corresponding with L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) in 1902, six years before she published her first novel. Weber's initial letter was that of an admirer. Montgomery responded warmly, and the two quickly began a correspondence that became an intellectual mainstay for both of them over the following forty years. After Green Gables is a fascinating collection of letters sent by Montgomery to Weber between 1916 and 1941. This was the period of Montgomery's greatest literary success, but privately she was deeply troubled by her unhappy marriage.

The letters, revealing an intense social and intellectual dynamic between Montgomery and Weber, cover, among other subjects, their strong differences of opinion on matters such as pacifism and war and their joint rejection of the effects of literary modernism. Drawing on Weber's voluminous correspondence with other Canadian figures —particularly journalist Wilfred Eggleston—editors Paul Tiessen and Hildi Froese Tiessen skilfully illuminate Weber's interaction with Montgomery, especially in matters concerning literature and culture, religion and politics, and education and entertainment. The editors provide various readings of Weber, based on his aspirations as a writer, his active participation in the Canadian culture of his day (including his friendships with hometown schoolmate William Lyon Mackenzie King and community leader Leslie Staebler), and his heritage as a Mennonite.

After Green Gables brings to life a distinctly Canadian literary and intellectual association of writers. Montgomery's letters to a man committed to writing and to the cultural development of Canada reveal her intellectual preoccupations and her personal hardships. This is an essential text for Montgomery fans and scholars as well as readers with an interest in the development of Canada's literary culture.

Reviews

"After Green Gables is an outstanding contribution to the field of Montgomery studies. Paul Tiessen and Hildi Froese Tiessen have undertaken the painstaking task of deciphering, transcribing, and annotating L.M. Montgomery’s letters to Ephraim Weber, which shed light into an intriguing range of topics of interest to both. This book is exciting, timely, and important." -Irene Gammel, Ryerson University

"As social history, this collection of Montgomery’s letters to Weber (his half of the correspondence has been lost) is invaluable...After Green Gables should be in every Canadian library, and in every personal or public collection of Montgomery resources."
-Virginia Gillham, Canadian Book Review Annual Online (full review)

Image credit:
Scan of my book cover of After Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery's Letters to Ephraim Weber, 1916-1941.

Purchase and read After Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery's Letters to Ephraim Weber, 1916-1941:


Created July 28, 2006. Last updated October 21, 2024.
© 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. Last updated January 25, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com

L.M. Montgomery: The Norval Years, 1926-1935

L.M. Montgomery: The Norval Years, 1926-1935 by Deborah Quaile was published by Wordbird Press on June 15, 2006. The book includes illustrations by Jennifer Osborn. It is organized in the form of a scrapbook and follows Montgomery's years living and working in Norval, Ontario, Canada, including photographs, journal entries, and local newspaper and magazine articles.

Here is the description of the book from Wordbird Press:

The professional life and home life of Lucy Maud Montgomery Macdonald (author of Anne of Green Gables) were inextricably intertwined. This scrapbook-style history follows Maud’s village life in Norval, Ontario, Canada, where she lived from 1926 to 1935, through photographs, memorabilia, literary quotations, and local journalism. In long-unread issues of newspapers and magazines, and in personal archives, author Deborah Quaile has uncovered hints of Maud that haven’t been seen in decades. The story follows Norval and local history, while at the same time recreating the life of Canada’s favourite author, from her everyday appearance at church socials, to speaking engagements in far-flung cities where standing ovations were cordial recognitions of her other existence.

L.M. Montgomery: The Norval Years, 1926-1935 reconstructs the reality in which the writer revolved, presenting new material that has not been seen by the current generations of Montgomery scholars and fans. Knowing her fondness for scrapbooking through archives in Ontario and Prince Edward Island, perhaps these are the pages L.M. Montgomery would have loved to create.

The book includes the following contents:

Introduction: The Allure of L.M. Montgomery
Foreword
From Prince Edward Island to the World
Norval History
Maud's Home and Gardens
Friends and Family
Norval and Union Presbyterian Churches
Local Beauty
Life in the Village
Devotions and Duties
Maud's Days
L.M. Montgomery's Accomplishments
Leaving Norval
Remembering Maud: Montgomery in Modern Norval
Epilogue
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Image credit:
Book cover of L.M. Montgomery: The Norval Years, 1926-1935 from Wordbird Press.


Created June 7, 2006. Last updated June 23, 2024.
© worldofanneshirley.com