L.M. Montgomery was very secretive about her writing. When she returned to Cavendish, she took on the duties of assistant postmistress. That way, she could send out submissions and receive responses from publishers without anyone knowing. In 1902, she had 30 pieces accepted. In 1904, she earned $600 from writings. In 1906, she earned $700, when the average woman made $300. [1]
After being rejected by several publishers, Anne of Green Gables was first published on 13 June 1908 by Boston (USA) company, L.C. Page & Co. It quickly became a best seller and over 19,000 copies were sold in the first five months. Since then, over 50 million copies have been sold worldwide and it has been translated into over 36 languages. The musical version is Canada’s longest-running musical, and the novel has had a significant impact on the tourism revenues of Prince Edward Island.
The novel was inspired by a newspaper story, and author Lucy Maud Montgomery infused the work with her own girlhood experiences and the rural life and traditions of Prince Edward Island in Canada. Anne of Green Gables was adapted for film, stage, and television. Although Montgomery was not interested in continuing the story, she wrote several sequels that traced Anne’s life from girlhood to motherhood in Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), and Anne of Windy Poplars (1936). These were less popular than the original novel.
Anne of Green Gables was not written as a novel for children, and in Montgomery’s lifetime some of her greatest fans were adult men. For years it was dismissed by critics as just a simple tale for girls, but now academics are studying it more closely, analysing Montgomery’s brilliance as a writer, and giving the book its rightful place amongst world classics. It crosses cultural and generational lines, the Japanese turn to it for lessons in cheerfulness and optimism, Polish soldiers in World War II were issued copies of Anne of the Island to take to the front for inspiration, and Montgomery received fan mail from Tibet, Namibia and Australia.
Mark Twain called Anne “the most lovable child in fiction” since Lewis Carroll’s Alice. I fell in love with Anne when I was about 7 years old. Until I discovered Jane Austen, the Anne books were the books I adored more than any other – I read and re-read, dreamed I would marry Gilbert Blythe, sobbed over Matthew’s death (and still do!), and longed to have red hair.