Anne of Avonlea Paperback - 1970

Anne of Green Gables is the first novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The story tells of the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan girl who is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who had intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm in Prince Edward Island.

Like many of her contemporaries, Montgomery did not consider submitting her first novel to a Canadian publisher, convinced that a more lucrative deal could be made with an American firm. The novel was completed in 1905, but was rejected by four major American publishing houses, and it was not until 1907 that Montgomery found a publisher. L.C. Page & Co. finally published Anne of Green Gables in 1908.

Anne of Green Gables has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Following the success of her first novel, Montgomery went on to write seven more books about Anne, following the beloved protagonist through adulthood and motherhood. Several novels in the series have been adapted and made into a successful television miniseries. Montgomery museums, plays, and houses on Prince Edward Island draw international visitors.

Anne of Green Gables was first published by L.C. Page & Co. in Boston in 1908. Bound in green cloth, true first editions state “First Impression, April 1908” on the copyright page and contain 8 illustrations by M.A. and W.A.J. Claus. In 2009, a first edition of Anne of Green Gables sold for $37,500 at a New York auction.