Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, brother and sister who live
together at Green Gables, a farm in href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avonlea">Avonlea on Prince Edward
Island in Canada, decide to adopt a boy from an href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphanage">orphan asylum in
Scotia as a helper on their farm. Through a series of mishaps, the person who
ends up under their roof is a precocious girl of eleven named href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Shirley">Anne Shirley. Anne is
bright and quick, eager to please and talkative, and extremely imaginative. She does not
see herself as beautiful, but is interesting-looking, with a pale countenance dotted
with href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freckles">freckles, and long
would really like to be called Cordelia; but she insists that if you are to call her
Anne, it must be spelt with an 'E', as that spelling is "so much
more distinguished." Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life,
and adapts quickly, thriving in the environment of Prince Edward Island. She is
something of a chatterbox, which initially drives the prim, duty-driven Marilla to
distraction, although shy Matthew falls for her immediately.They become what Anne calls
'kindred spirits'.
The rest of the book recounts her
continued education at school, where she excels in studies very quickly; her budding
literary ambitions and her friendships with people such as Diana Barry (her best friend,
"bosom friend" as Anne fondly calls her), Jane Andrews, and Ruby Gillis; and her rivalry
with href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Blythe">Gilbert Blythe, who
teases her about her red hair and for that earns her hatred, although he apologizes many
times. Anne and Gilbert compete in class and Anne one day realizes she no longer hates
Gilbert, but will not admit it; at the end of the book, they become very good
friends.
The book also follows her misadventures in quiet,
old-fashioned href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avonlea">Avonlea. These adventures
include her games with her friends (Diana, Jane and Ruby), her rivalries with the Pye
sisters (Gertie and Josie), and her domestic mistakes such as dyeing her hair green or
accidentally getting Diana drunk (by giving her what she thinks is raspberry cordial but
is actually red currant wine). Anne eventually goes to the Queen's Academy, along with
Gilbert, Ruby, Josie, Jane and several other students. She obtains a teaching license in
one year, in addition to winning the Avery Scholarship in English, which allows her to
pursue a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_arts">B.A. at Redmond
College.
Near the end of the book, Matthew dies of a
attack after learning of the loss of all his and Marilla's money in a
failure. Anne shows her devotion to Marilla and Green Gables by giving up the
Avery Scholarship to stay at home and help Marilla, whose href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_vision">eyesight is diminishing, and
teach at the Carmody school, the nearest school available. In an act of friendship,
Gilbert Blythe gives up his teaching position at the Avonlea School to work at White
Sands School instead, thus enabling Anne to teach at the Avonlea School and stay at
Green Gables all through the week. After this kind act, Anne and Gilbert's friendship is
cemented, and Anne contentedly looks forward to the next "bend in the
road."
The bend in the road is revealed in Anne of Avonlea.
It is college, at last.
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