Anne of Green Gables Summary

Plot overview

Anne of Green Gables is a warm, character-driven novel about an imaginative, talkative redheaded orphan who transforms the lives of a quiet farming household and the small village around it. L. M. Montgomery tells the story with gentle humor and close attention to everyday details, following Anne’s misadventures, small triumphs, and the growth of her friendships and ambitions.

The premise begins when siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert arrange to adopt a boy to help on their Prince Edward Island farm but instead receive Anne Shirley. Thrust into a new home at Green Gables, Anne’s vivid imagination, outspoken ways, and romantic view of the world unsettle local expectations: she offends a nosy neighbor, wins a devoted childhood friend in Diana Barry, sparks rivalry and later intellectual competition with Gilbert Blythe, and becomes both a source of embarrassment and pride for Marilla and Matthew. Much of the book follows Anne’s schooldays, theatrical mishaps, and progress toward higher education without revealing how those paths finally resolve.

The novel endures because of its memorable central character, its affectionate portrait of rural community life, and its balance of comic episodes with sincere feeling. Readers return to Anne’s optimism and moral coming-of-age as a reminder of how personality, imagination, and steady relationships shape identity.

Chapter summaries

1. Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is SurprisedMrs. Rachel Lynde notices Matthew Cuthbert's unusual outing and learns that the Cuthberts are adopting a boy from an orphan asylum.
2. Chapter 2: Matthew Cuthbert Is SurprisedMatthew collects a long-awaited orphan from the station and discovers, to his astonishment, that the child is an imaginative, talkative girl, Anne Shirley.
3. Chapter 3: Marilla Is SurprisedMatthew brings home an orphan who is a girl, and Marilla must decide whether to keep Anne despite expecting a boy.
4. Chapter 4: Morning at Green GablesAnne wakes at Green Gables, marvels at the landscape, meets Marilla and Matthew at breakfast, and faces the possibility of being sent away.
5. Chapter 5: Anne’s HistoryOn a drive along the shore, Anne tells Marilla the facts and imaginings of her orphaned childhood, and Marilla begins to pity her.
6. Chapter 6: Marilla Makes Up Her MindA mix-up at Mrs. Spencer's brings Anne before a prospective adopter, but Marilla decides—after consultation with Matthew—to keep her at Green Gables.
7. Chapter 7: Anne Says Her PrayersMarilla instructs Anne in household habits and insists she learn to pray, while Anne offers an imaginative, unconventional prayer.
8. Chapter 8: Anne’s Bringing-up BeginsMarilla decides to keep Anne; Anne begins her new life at Green Gables, learns rules, imagines friendships, and memorizes the Lord’s Prayer.
9. Chapter 9: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is Properly HorrifiedMrs. Rachel inspects Anne at Green Gables, insults her appearance, and Anne explodes in anger; Marilla must decide how to punish and soothe her.
10. Chapter 10: Anne’s ApologyAfter refusing to eat as punishment, Anne reluctantly apologizes to Mrs. Rachel Lynde and wins forgiveness while deepening her bond with Marilla and Matthew.
11. Chapter 11: Anne’s Impressions of Sunday-schoolAnne receives plain new dresses, attends Avonlea Sunday-school alone, feels out of place among girls with puffed sleeves, and narrates her imaginative response to worship.
12. Chapter 12: A Solemn Vow and PromiseAnne angers Mrs. Lynde with flowers on her hat, meets Diana Barry, and the two girls swear to be bosom friends.
13. Chapter 13: The Delights of AnticipationAnne learns of a Sunday-school picnic and spends the week dreaming and preparing while Marilla worries about her obedience.
14. Chapter 14: Anne’s ConfessionAnne admits to taking Marilla’s amethyst brooch, claims she lost it in the Lake of Shining Waters, but Marilla later finds the brooch caught in her shawl.
15. Chapter 15: A Tempest in the School TeapotAnne is teased at school by Gilbert Blythe, lashes out, is publicly shamed, and then refuses to return to Mr. Phillips's class.
16. Chapter 16: Diana Invited to TeaAnne invites Diana to tea; Diana drinks what she thinks is raspberry cordial but is actually currant wine, becomes sick, and Mrs. Barry forbids their friendship.
17. Chapter 17: A New Interest in LifeDiana is forbidden to play with Anne, they exchange a solemn farewell and tokens, and Anne returns to school where she finds new rivalries and triumphs.
18. Chapter 18: Anne to the RescueAnne and Matthew stay home; Diana brings word of baby Minnie May's croup; Anne administers aid and saves the child, restoring her friendship with Diana.
19. Chapter 19: Concert, Catastrophe, ConfessionAnne persuades Marilla to let her attend a Debating Club concert, causes a night-time scare by jumping on a bed, and then confesses to Miss Josephine Barry.
20. Chapter 20: A Good Imagination Gone WrongAnne's vivid imagination leads her to invent a 'Haunted Wood,' and Marilla forces her to walk through it after dark to cure her of ghostly fears.
21. Chapter 21: A New Departure in FlavoringsAnne prepares a grand tea for the new minister and his wife but accidentally flavors her layer cake with liniment, causing embarrassment that Mrs. Allan kindly diffuses.
22. Chapter 22: Anne Is Invited Out to TeaAnne is invited to tea at the manse, worries over etiquette, and returns ecstatic about Mrs. Allan, singing, and the new teacher.
23. Chapter 23: Anne's Ridgepole FallAt a girls' party Anne accepts a dare to walk a kitchen ridgepole, falls and breaks her ankle, then endures seven weeks of convalescence.
24. Chapter 24: Miss Stacy's Concert ProjectMiss Stacy proposes a Christmas concert to raise funds for a school flag, and Anne throws herself into the preparations despite Marilla's disapproval.
25. Chapter 25: Matthew Insists on Puffed SleevesMatthew decides Anne should have a pretty dress with puffed sleeves, buys it secretly, and Anne shines at the Christmas concert.
26. Chapter 26: The Story Club Is FormedAfter the concert excitement fades, Anne and friends form a girls' story club; Anne narrates her birthday walk and a melodramatic tale she wrote.
27. Chapter 27: Vanity and Vexation of SpiritAnne dyes her hair to hide its red color, it turns green, she shaves it off and endures humiliation while resolving to be good.
28. Chapter 28: An Unfortunate Lily MaidAnne plays Elaine in a drifting flat, it leaks and sinks, Gilbert rescues her, and she rejects his offer of friendship.
29. Chapter 29: An Epoch in Anne’s LifeAnne and Diana go to town to visit Miss Barry and the Exhibition, and Anne returns home feeling the visit marks an important moment in her life.
30. Chapter 30: The Queen’s Class Is OrganizedMiss Stacy invites Anne to join a special Queen's Entrance class; the Queen's class forms and winter study leads to summer vacation and neighborhood praise for Anne.
31. Chapter 31: Where the Brook and River MeetAnne enjoys a restorative summer, returns to school more mature, and faces the looming anxiety of the Entrance examinations.
32. Chapter 32: The Pass List Is OutAfter the exams, Anne endures anxious waiting; the pass list finally arrives and she and Gilbert top the Island results, to great joy.
33. Chapter 33: The Hotel ConcertAnne dresses for and performs at a charity concert at the White Sands Hotel, conquering stage fright and winning admiration.
34. Chapter 34: A Queen’s GirlAnne prepares to leave Green Gables for Queen's, struggles with homesickness, and learns of an Avery scholarship that sparks new ambition.
35. Chapter 35: The Winter at Queen'sAnne adjusts to Queen's life, makes close friends, observes rivalries and anxieties over exams and the coming spring.
36. Chapter 36: The Glory and the DreamAnne wins the Avery scholarship, returns to Green Gables for a jubilant homecoming, and senses a change coming in her life.
37. Chapter 37: The Reaper Whose Name Is DeathMatthew collapses and dies after reading bank-failure news; Avonlea mourns and Anne faces first deep grief.
38. Chapter 38: The Bend in the RoadMarilla faces possible blindness and the sale of Green Gables; Anne gives up college to stay and teach, and Gilbert withdraws his claim to the Avonlea school.

Characters

• Anne ShirleyProtagonist
• Marilla CuthbertMajor character
• Matthew CuthbertMajor character
• Diana BarryMajor character
• Jane AndrewsMinor character
• Ruby GillisMinor character
• Rachel LyndeMinor character
• Gilbert BlytheMajor character
• Josie PyeMinor character
• Charlie SloaneMinor character
• MMrs. AllanMinor character
• MMrs. LyndeMajor character

All 23 characters ›