Anne of Green Gables

$20,000.00
By Moons Rare Books

6b L. M. Montgomery. Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1908. Scarce first edition.

Notes

Anne of Green Gables is a heartwarming coming-of-age novel set in the late 19th century in the fictional rural village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The narrative unfolds when Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, aging siblings who live together on their family farm, decide to adopt an orphan boy to help with the daily chores. Due to a misunderstanding, the orphanage mistakenly sends Anne Shirley, a wildly imaginative, talkative, eleven-year-old girl with fiery red hair and a penchant for melodrama. Though the austere Marilla initially intends to send the child back, Anne's infectious optimism, fierce loyalty, and unstoppable spirit eventually soften the siblings' hearts. The story chronicles Anne’s early misadventures, her academic rivalry and eventual romance with Gilbert Blythe, and her growth from a lonely outsider into a beloved and accomplished young woman.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in 1874 on Prince Edward Island, the stunning Canadian landscape that would serve as the backdrop for almost all of her fiction. Following the tragic death of her mother from tuberculosis when she was only twenty-one months old, she was left in the care of her strict and emotionally distant maternal grandparents. This isolated childhood drove Montgomery to seek solace in her immense imagination, keeping detailed journals and creating vivid imaginary worlds that would later mirror Anne Shirley’s own personality. Despite facing multiple rejections from publishers who initially passed on the manuscript, Montgomery persevered. Behind the immense joy and wonder of her books, her adult life was marked by private hardships, including her husband's severe clinical depression and her own personal struggles, which only fueled her drive to create stories of unyielding hope.

Since its publication in 1908, Anne of Green Gables has sold over fifty million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than thirty-six languages. The novel has achieved legendary cultural status, famously inspiring millions of tourists to visit the real Green Gables Heritage Place in Canada. Its universal appeal—celebrating individuality and the pursuit of one's dreams—has led to numerous high-profile adaptations across generations. Notable among these are the iconic 1985 television miniseries starring Megan Follows, a beloved 1979 Japanese anime series, and the popular Netflix series Anne with an E. Through theater, film, and television, Anne's timeless message about the power of imagination continues to captivate audiences around the globe.
Description 
Dark brown cloth (one of three cloth variations of each there is no priority or value placed on one color over the others). Minor wear at the spine ends and illustrative pastedown on the upper board. Illustration features some minor fading and scuffs. Complete with all eight illustrations and publishers catalog at the rear. Some minor foxing throughout. Small ownership pastedown to lower right corner of preliminary flyleaf. Very goof copy overall.
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