Anne -The Hopeless Dreamer

If you are a fan of Little Women or What Katy Did series, Anne of Green Gables and its sequels are just the thing you have been looking for! Penned in the early 20th century by the lauded Canadian author L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables is the first book of the series – chronicling the journey of an orphan, Anne Shirley in the picturesque Prince Edward Island.

The book opens dramatically with the Cuthbert siblings adopting charmingly feisty little Anne – a dreamer, a chatterbox, and an incorrigible bringer of catastrophes. The readers here in this book experience Anne's journey from adolescence to mid-teens – in the span of five years, her provincial life in a tiny little island village where everybody knows everybody, her trials and triumphs, and her metamorphosis – physical, psychological, and intellectual – from the caterpillar to the butterfly.

One of the best aspects of this book is the ensemble-like cast. Though the vivacious redhead heroine is given her due share of limelight, her dazzling persona does not steal the show from other characters; rather, hers enables them to flourish and be more endearing.

Apart from the unforgettable characters, another thing which makes this book a masterpiece is the language. Dreamy, magical, and evocative, no reader can help falling under the spell of Montgomery.

Anne of Green Gables is an enduring classic, and very justly so. The lively redheaded heroine makes the readers crave for Avonlea the way Alice makes us long for Wonderland or Heidi for Switzerland. The book ends with the long-awaited friendship between Anne and Gilbert – making us all the more eager for the next adventures of Anne!

T. S. Marin is obsessed with collecting and reading classics. She is a lecturer of English at Primeasia University and is the Sub Editor of Star Literature and Reviews pages.