How old is Anne Shirley?

Anne is eleven when she arrives at Green Gables. By the end of the book she is sixteen and a half.

Why did Anne break a slate over Gilbert’s head?

Gilbert teased her by calling her “carrots” because of her red hair, and Anne was so furious that she cracked her slate over his head. She did not forgive him for years.

Does Anne marry Gilbert?

Not in this first book. They become good friends at the very end, and they marry in later books of the series.

From Anne of Green Gables

Anne Shirley

Orphan girl • Full of imagination

An orphan girl with red braids, freckles and an imagination that never stops talking.

Who is Anne Shirley?

Anne is an eleven-year-old orphan with red braids, freckles and an imagination as big as the sky. She talks a mile a minute, gives beautiful names to ordinary places and feels every joy and sorrow with her whole heart. Sent to Green Gables by mistake, Anne longs for a real home and someone to love her.

Anne Shirley is a character in Anne of Green Gables, the 1908 novel by L. M. Montgomery, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.

What is Anne Shirley like?

imaginative
talkative
loyal

Anne Shirley’s story

Anne Shirley is eleven when she steps off the train at Bright River, hoping to find a family at last. She has lived with two families who needed a helper, and then in an orphanage, so she has never had a home of her own. Matthew and Marilla had asked for a boy to help on the farm, and the mix-up nearly sends her back. Marilla decides to keep her after meeting a harsh woman who might have taken Anne instead.

Anne’s years at Avonlea are full of scrapes. She loses her temper at Mrs. Rachel, breaks her slate over Gilbert’s head when he calls her “carrots,” and dyes her hair, which turns green. She mixes up a bottle of currant wine and a bottle of raspberry cordial, and bakes a cake flavored with liniment. Every time she learns something and tries again. She also finds a bosom friend in Diana, a kind teacher in Miss Stacy, and a growing wish to teach.

Anne works hard to win a place at Queen’s Academy and does so well that she earns a scholarship. When Matthew dies and Marilla’s eyesight is failing, Anne gives up the scholarship to stay at Green Gables and teach nearby. By then she is sixteen and a half, and the book closes on a quiet, hopeful note.

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.”

Anne Shirley, after finding a new friend. From the original 1908 novel by L. M. Montgomery.

A moment to remember

Riding under the blossoming apple trees on her way to Green Gables, Anne decides the road needs a prettier name and calls it the White Way of Delight.

Marilla Cuthbert: guardian who raised her
Matthew Cuthbert: gentle guardian
Diana Barry: bosom friend
Gilbert Blythe: school rival, later friend
Miss Muriel Stacy: favorite teacher

Talk about it

Anne loved giving special names to places. What name would you give to your favorite spot?

Questions about Anne Shirley

How old is Anne Shirley?: Anne is eleven when she arrives at Green Gables. By the end of the book she is sixteen and a half.
Why did Anne break a slate over Gilbert’s head?: Gilbert teased her by calling her “carrots” because of her red hair, and Anne was so furious that she cracked her slate over his head. She did not forgive him for years.
Does Anne marry Gilbert?: Not in this first book. They become good friends at the very end, and they marry in later books of the series.