Anne of Green Gables
Nine books, one redheaded orphan. Montgomery follows Anne from her mistaken arrival at Green Gables clear into the next generation, in publication order.
- You settle into Avonlea with Anne Shirley, whose fierce imagination turns mishaps, rivalries, and ordinary red hair into matters of consequence. Her friendship with Diana and her prickly, slowly softening bond with Marilla make the book warm without making Anne any less unruly or wonderfully dramatic.
- Anne's sixteen here and teaching school, which mostly means learning how little she knows, and the mischief of little Davy Keith will make you laugh out loud. Gentler and more episodic than the first book, so read it when you want comfort, not momentum.
- You get to watch Anne grow into herself at Redmond, with a lively circle of friends, ridiculous escapades, and the ache of leaving Green Gables behind. It’s more romantic and sentimental than the earlier books, but Anne’s imagination and stubborn heart still make every page feel companionable.
- public domain 2032
- You follow Anne and Gilbert into married life at a little seaside house, where domestic happiness sits beside Leslie Moore’s loneliness and Captain Jim’s wonderfully salty stories. It’s gentler and more bittersweet than the earlier books, but the sense of friendship, home, and hard-won hope runs deep.
- public domain 2035
- You settle into the Meredith children’s games in Rainbow Valley, where lonely, imaginative kids turn an ordinary patch of woods into a world of their own. Anne is more of a neighboring presence here, so expect a gentler, more episodic book, warmest when it notices how children make a family for one another.
- You watch Rilla Blythe grow from a frivolous sixteen-year-old into someone steadied by wartime loss, while Susan’s care of the abandoned baby Jims brings warmth and grit. It’s more somber than the earlier Anne books, but its letters, small acts of courage, and unsentimental tenderness stay with you.
- not yet in the public domain