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Before Green Gables Hardcover – February 21, 2008
A must-read for generations of book lovers. This remarkable, and heart-warming prequel to the classic Anne of Green Gables was specially authorized by L.M. Montgomery's heirs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of the original novel.
Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley's life before her arrival at Green Gables-a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her to overcome difficult circumstances and of a young girl's ability to love, learn, and above all, dream.
Published in 1908, L. M. Montgomery's coming-of-age classic Anne of Green Gables has enchanted generations of readers, both children and adults. The story of the spunky red-haired orphan from Prince Edward Island is known to millions, and copies of the eight titles in the series have never gone out of print.
But when readers first meet Anne, she is eleven, and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. No one ever learned the events of Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables.
Until now.
For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistible treat; the account of how one of literature's most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherG.P. Putnam's Sons
- Publication dateFebruary 21, 2008
- Dimensions6 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches
- ISBN-10039915468X
- ISBN-13978-0399154683
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- Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons; First Edition (February 21, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 039915468X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0399154683
- Item Weight : 1.14 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #171,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #33 in Canadian Literature
- #321 in Deals in Books
- #1,639 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
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When I got remarried we spent three days just driving to Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon, where we stayed at the hotel that shows up at the start of " Anne of Avonlea " and serves as the White Sand Hotel on " Road to Avonlea ." We went to see "Anne of Green Gables: The Musical" in Charlottes town and saw every L.M. Montgomery site there was to see on PEI. On the way home we stopped at several of the places where they filmed the Sullivan adaptations, including the bridge where Anne finally told Gilbert she did not want sunbursts and marble halls, she just wanted him. We have a display case that has a couple of ceramic figures of Anne and Matthew, photographs of Green Gables, and assorted odds and ends including sandstone the peculiar shade of red you find on PEI. So when I found out that the Montgomery estate had authorized Budge Wilson to write a prequel to Montgomery's books, I was pretty excited to read "Before Green Gables."
Cranky old Mark Twain declared Anne Shirely to be "the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice ." But for my two cents Anne has Alice beat across the board. Alice is arguably the least interesting person in Wonderland or through the Looking Glass, while nobody on Prince Edward Island holds a candle to our beloved little red-headed orphan. If you ever thought that Anne grows up a bit too quickly in that first novel, "Before Green Gables" allows you the grand pleasure of reacquainting yourself with the young girl that Matthew Cuthbert discovered waiting for him instead of a boy at the Bright River station
Anne's history is laid out in chapter five of "Anne of Green Gables," so the framework of this new novel was essentially laid out by Montgomery herself a hundred years ago. Consequently, Wilson avoids having to come up with major developments in Anne's life, unlike those writers who have tried to come up with sequels to classic novels (e.g., those divergent paths taken by the sequels to "Gone with the Wind"). Wilson was ably assisted in her efforts by an army of knowledgeable Montgomery fans and scholars who were able to provide her with every detail of Anne's past to be gleaned from Montgomery's novels and short stories. Wilson focuses on fleshing out those key chapters in Anne's life. Montgomery's strength was always writing about children, and once Anne became a mother she faded into the background in the final novels. "Before Green Gables" keeps the spotlight on our beloved Anne-girl and is filled with familiar elements from Montgomery's writing, such as the people who thought they would never be married finding happiness, bratty kids getting their comeuppances, and Anne's peculiar ways thawing the hearts of sundry adults.
The only parts of Wilson's novel that are a bit discordant are when Anne is confronted with certain facts of life. I still remember failing to pick up the subtle clues in " Anne's House of Dreams ." Anne was suddenly staying at home and then Marilla shows up. Next thing I know there is a baby. Wilson deals more explicitly with such things and while she goes farther than Montgomery ever would have dared, you have to admit that young Anne would be puzzled as to how a baby gets out of a mother's tummy and think that the bellybutton makes perfect sense as an available point of exit. More importantly, Wilson captures the voice of the young Anne Shirley, including her exquisitely elaborate vocabulary. The ending of the Wilson's story was a slight disappointment to me, but only because I had become firmly convinced that Anne's final line in this book would be her first line from Montgomery's novel. However, Wilson picks a different and totally reasonable point to end the prequel, so the dashed expectations were my own fault. Overall I found "Before Green Gables" to be charming and a worthwhile addition to the canon.
First, I must point out one error that I read in "Before Green Gables." At one point, Anne is musing about how Mrs. Hammond must be very good at delivering babies after having done it six times. At that time, Mrs. Hammond had birthed two regular babies and two sets of twins, going on her third set. Arguably, she had only done it four times, but I suppose each baby might be counted individually.
Second, I must say that the author, Budge Wilson, missed just one important detail (from what I could tell.) She failed to mention that Mrs. Hammond told Anne that "God made Anne's hair red on purpose." which is why Marilla Cuthbert finds Anne so heathan-ish in the original "Anne of Green Gables." In case some of you are not as familiar with Anne as others, I will explain the story more properly. In "Anne of Green Gables", Anne tells Marilla that the reason she never prays or beleives in God is that Mrs. Hammond once told her that God made Anne's hair red on purpose so she never cared for him since. In "Before Green Gables" Anne simply loses interest in God after several of her prayers seem to go unheeded. Instead, she turns to the stars to pray at the orphan assylum.
Thirdly, Budge Wilson merely sped by the fact that the Hammond children all had croup regularly, which, in "Anne of Green Gables" is how Anne can help with Minnie May when she had croup. I was somewhat appeased when Anne helped Noah Thompas through the croup but it was not as effective, in my opinion.
In reading this book, you'll discover what one writer's thoughts of who Anne Shirley was before she arrived at Green Gables. I think Budge Wilson did a Superb job in writing a sound & wholesome story. She included many details that linked to the Anne of Green Gables books. Alert readers will catch on, and have appreciation for what those fine points mean. Of course, the deeply descriptive style of the original L.M. Montgomery has been neglected, but for the sake of the book, it was well worth it. Anne's spunky, hopeful, and in-the-depths-of-despair character still feels the same.
The story begins before Anne is even born, so you will get to know her parents first. You'll be taken through the entire journey Anne experiences... through all her difficult work, her playful dreams that leave a smile on your face, and through both the dazzling and the tough times of her young childhood.
I would recommend this book to any other readers who have a substantial understanding of Anne's charming ways. I have to say that you cannot fully enjoy this story unless you know who the real Anne Shirley is.
It takes Anne eleven long years to arrive at her destination... and what a fantastic eleven years that was.
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Order of the Anne of Green Gables books
1/ Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
2/ Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
3/ Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
4/ Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
5/Anne of Windy Willows by L. M. Montgomery
6/Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery
7/ Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery
8/ Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery
9/ Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery
10/ Anne of Green Gables A New Beginning by Kevin Sullivan
I don't recommend the last book because, it has to many mistakes where the dates and names are concerned and it turns Anne's history completely on its head.
A gentle warning, Rilla of Ingleside is a very hard, sad read, I would not let children under the age of 10 read this book.
Before Green Gables is told in 3rd person omniscient. The story shows that everyone has a good side to them, no matter how horrible they may seem. Nobody is all bad or all good. The book can be sad at times, but Anne is very optimistic, and tries to make situations better instead of feeling sorry for herself. She is a very interesting character, so it makes you want to keep reading and find out what happens next.
This book is for children and adults, although I would say ages 10 and up because it is longer and uses bigger words. There are a few illustrations, which help to picture what people look like.
Budge Wilson did an amazing job, all details are very accurately lined up with Montgomery's series. Before Green Gables also helps you to understand Anne better, and explains shy she behaves the way she does.
I really enjoyed Before Green Gables. It has a good amount of description, and it is the type of book you could read more than once. This is a story you will not forget.