• Anne Shirley •

Birth Name: Anne Shirley

Date of Birth: March 1865

Birth Location: Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia, Canada

Parents: Walter and Bertha Willis Shirley

Spouse: Gilbert Blythe

Children: Joyce, James Matthew 'Jem', Anne 'Nan', Diana 'Di', Walter Cuthbert, Shirley, Bertha Marilla 'Rilla'

Location: Avonlea (Green Gables), Four Winds (House of Dreams), Glen St. Mary (Ingleside)

Hair colour: Fiery red, later auburn

Eye colour: Greenish-grey

In Books: Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne of Windy Poplars (1936), Anne's House of Dreams (1917), Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1920), Chronicles of Avonlea (1912), Further Chronicles of Avonlea (1920)

Background: Anne Shirley is the main character in the Anne series, all written by the Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne's character blossomed while Montgomery was caring for her grandmother in Prince Edward Island. The Anne series are based on her childhood experiences and the plot of the story is based on a notebook entry from 1904: 'Elderly couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent them.' Anne's fiery, ambitious character combined with the lovable story itself raised a roaring interest among readers. The series focus on her struggle between imagination and propriety as a child, and the conclusion of her finally understanding decorum as an adult. This theme progresses in all the seven sequels proceeding Anne of Green Gables.

Last updated: March 12, 2006
Back