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T he story—which is set at Green Gables (in real life
it was Maud's cousins' home)--involves a plucky,
sharp, creative orphan named Anne, who's adopted
at age 11 by a 60-year-old bachelor named Matthew
and his spinster sister, Marilla. The problem was that they had
requested a boy to help them out on their farm—and instead
got Anne, a talkative, irresistible, freckle-faced red-head with a
wildly colorful imagination, who arrived at the train station car-
rying a small, shabby bag holding “all my worldly goods.” And
the adventures start there.
Of course, I had heard of the book (and planned to buy it in the
gift shop to read on the ship)—the first in the series.
“Anne of Green Gables is one of the most popular books ever
written,” said Mike. “It's had great impact; it put us on the map!”
To date, it has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and
has been translated into 20 languages in more than 30 coun-
tries. It's also been featured in films, television, plays, and mu-
sicals--"the longest-running musical in Canadian history,” ex-
claimed Mike--”50 years! It's a beautiful, feel-good story.”
According to Mike, each year 1-1.5 million tourists visit PEI
(with several hundred thousand visiting Green Gables), mostly
in July and August.
Testifying to its global appeal, Anne of Green Gables is especial-
ly popular with the Japanese. It’s been part of their school cur-
riculum since its publication there in 1952. Thousands make
pilgrimages to this tiny area to see Anne's world for themselves.
“Since April 2014, interest in the book has been revived with the
new 15-minute morning 'TV novel' called 'Hanako and Anne,'
the story of the woman who translated Anne of Green Gables
into Japanese,” says Karen Smith Takizawa, a university En-
glish professor in Tokyo who is originally from San Diego, Ca-
lif. “Hanako Muraoka came from a poor family in a rural area,
but was given the chance to study at a school run by Canadian
missionaries. She worked on her translation of Anne of Green
Gables under duress during World War II, when she was in her
50s and the study of English was banned.”
Takizawa recalls, as a child in Southern California, observing a
sixth grade classmate “so totally focused on Anne of Green Ga-
bles it was like she was miles away.” But Takizawa didn't read it
herself until she was a young adult, when an enthusiastic Japa-
nese student in one of her classes gave a presentation about her
favorite character in literature: “Red-haired Anne from Anne
of Green Gables.” Takizawa bought the famous story—and has
since read every book in the series.
And now here I was at Green Gables to learn more about charm-
ing Anne (whom Mark Twain described to Maud in a fan letter
as “the sweetest creation of child life since the immortal Alice”).
Prior to touring the house, we browsed items in the small vis-
Top: The visitor center entrance to Green Gables farm and museum. Middle: Vis-
itors look at displays of old photos and documents in the museum. Right: Maud
Montgomery’s scrap book. Opposite: Illustration from Green Gable’s museum
depicting Maud writing and thinking about Anne.
Wine Dine & Travel Summer 2014 47

