Anne of the Island

Anne of the Island

A 1990s edition of Anne of the Island
Author	Lucy Maud Montgomery
Country	Canada
Language	English
Series	Anne of Green Gables
Genre(s)	Children's novel
Publisher	L. C. Page & Co.
Publication date	1915
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	326 pp (First Edition)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	Anne of Avonlea
Followed by	Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne of the Island is a book about Anne Shirley. This is the continuing story of Anne Shirley and the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. Anne attends Redmond College in Kingsport, where she is studying for her BA. The book is dedicated to "all the girls all over the world who have "wanted more" about ANNE." There was a gap of six years between the publications of Anne of Avonlea and the publication of this book.

Plot summary

Anne leaves her work as a teacher and family in Avonlea to attend Redmond College for four years. At first, she lives in a boardinghouse, but later shares a house (Patty's Place) with her old friends from Queen's, Priscilla and Stella, her new friend Philippa -- Phil for short -- and Stella's Aunt Jamesina, who takes care of the house for the girls. They also live with three cats, Rusty, Joseph and Sarah-Cat. Anne's trials and adventures include being stalked by a cat which she almost euthanises but ends up adopting, comedic proposals, and visiting the home of her birth parents. Her first proposal is from the brother of her childhood friend Jane Andrews, who uses his sister as an intermediary. Anne refuses, saddened and amused at once this very unromantic first proposal. Charlie Sloane also proposes to her, but she turns him down. One day at Patty's Place, Gilbert proposes to Anne, telling her he loves her more than anything. Anne turns him down, saying that she can never love him and wants to continue to be friends. Gilbert remarks how friendship will never satisfy him and leaves saying he was deceived into thinking she did care. Anne goes to her room where she tells Phil she doesn't love Gilbert. Phil says she has been blinded by what she sees as love so she does not see the real thing. After Gilbert's failed proposal, he and Anne separate for a while, acting like strangers whenever they meet. Gilbert grows pale and thin, while Anne tries to forget it. Meanwhile, in Avonlea, Anne's best friend Diana Barry marries Fred Wright and Jane marries a Winnipeg millionaire, Mr. Inglis. Diana has her first child, Fred Junior, settling down into domestic life. Ruby Gillis, a vivacious and flirtatious childhood friend of Anne's, dies of "galloping consumption." Anne's beliefs in heaven and the afterlife are explored at this juncture, as she tries to comfort Ruby during her last days. Eventually, Anne meets her 'Prince Charming', Royal Gardner, when he lends her his umbrella during a storm. They court, although Anne can not suppress jealousy over Christine Stuart, Gilbert's current girlfriend. When Roy proposes, Anne realises she cannot marry him. One of the main reasons for this is that he doesn't have a sense of humour. She rather harshly rejects him, and he becomes angry of her leading him on all these years. Anne then laments over what she will do now. After graduating successfully and receiving her BA in English, Anne returns home. While in Avonlea, Anne learns from Davy Keith that Gilbert is dying of typhoid fever. Anne nearly faints, and spends a long sleepless night keeping a vigil at her window. She realises it has been Gilbert all along -- she never loved Royal Gardner. She thinks of the horror of if Gilbert dies without ever knowing how she really felt about him. Anne is overjoyed the next morning to discover that Gilbert will live. As Gilbert recovers he constantly visits Anne. Though happy to be friends again, Anne is no longer just satisfied with Gilbert's friendship. She wants his love. On a walk Gilbert tells her of one of his unfulfilled dreams which involves her as his wife. He then proposes again, and Anne says yes. He talks of how Christine Stuart was already engaged to a man in her own village and her brother told Gilbert to watch over her, and it didn't matter what people said over the subject. He didn't care about anything after Anne said she could never love him. He then says he received a letter from Phil telling him to try again since there was nothing between Anne and Roy. He tells her she will have to wait three years for him to finish medical school, and that their wedding won't be a fancy affair. Anne says Gilbert is all she needs, and the two share their romantic first kiss.

Title

The title of the book reflects the development of Anne. While studying away from Prince Edward Island and in particular when visiting the place of her birth, she finds herself identifying the Island as her true home. Several times, she denies being a 'Blue Nose', as those born in Nova Scotia were nicknamed, considering herself an Islander to the core.

Series

Montgomery continued the story of Anne Shirley in a series of sequels. They are listed in the order of Anne's age in each novel.

Movies

The play is based on this book and Anne of Avonlea.

External links

• Anne of The Island, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Official page on the Sullivan Anne trilogy On the world famous Canadian miniseries with a message board for fans
• Anne and Gilbert, The Musical A new musical based on Anne and Gilbert's romance in Anne of the Island.
• An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page Resource on L.M. Montgomery and Anne's Legacy
• Anne Shirley Home Page Resource page specifically concerning Anne Shirley and the series.
• The L.M. Montgomery Research Group This scholarly site includes a blog, an extensive bibliography of reference materials, and a complete filmography of all adaptations of Montgomery texts.
• Anne of the Island LibriVox (free audiobooks of public domain)