This children's novel is by the Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. It is a coming-of-age story about an orphan girl named Anne Shirley, who comes to live with elder siblings. The character Matthew Cuthbert and his sister, Marilla live in a town called Avonlea on Canada's Prince Edward Island. They decided to adopt a little boy from an orphanage in order to receive more help on their farm. However, instead of a boy, the orphanage makes a mistake and sends a girl. Initially, Matthew takes a liking to Anne, but the prim Marilla was unsure if they should keep her. Anne's cheery and radiant  personality gradually warms both Marilla and Matthew and they eventually accept her as their daughter.

In Livesey's The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Gemma mentioned that both she and Carruther's wife have a shared passion for Anne of Green Gables (Livesey, p. 27) . This mention serves as a parallel within the piece, which is essentially about Gemma being seen as an orphan by her extended family at Yew House. This particular novel, can also be thought of as a mode of escape for Gemma, in that being an orphan herself, she shares that aspect with Anne Shirley. In a sense, the novel also serves as a symbol of optimism for Gemma, as she can live vicariously through Anne, with the hope that if Anne was able to find her happily ever after in the form of a loving family, so could she. Parts of Anne of Green Gables somewhat comes to fruition when Gemma becomes an au pair and lives with Vicky, Seamus and Hugh Sinclair, who are all related to one another and work on a farm that they all share.

Bibliography

Livesey, Margot. The Flight of Gemma Hardy. HarperCollins, 2012.

Information Source: Lowne, Cathy. "Anne of Green Gables." britannica.com. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 29 Aug. 2019. Web. Date Accessed, 28 Oct. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anne-of-Green-Gables

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