In 1908 Canadian author LM (Lucy Maud) Montgomery published the first of what would become a series of novels about Anne – always, always spelled with an “e” – Shirley, an orphan girl adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister who were expecting a boy to help them around the farm. Anne Shirley is an optimist and a dreamer, a passionate romantic who often gets into terrible scrapes but whose kind spirit warms the hearts of those around her. Endearing without being saccharine, Anne is the kind of heroine modern audiences still adore – as evidenced by yet another adaptation of the series arriving on Netflix.
Anne was first brought to the screen in a silent film adaptation in 1919, and Anne of Green Gables: The Musical (1965 to present) is Canada’s longest-running musical. It has been adapted for television several times, typically by either Canadian or British production companies. A television film aired last year featured Martin Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert, though the best-known adaptation is Kevin Sullivan’s 1985 mini-series, starring Megan Follows as Anne and inspiring multiple spin-offs. The new series, titled simply Anne, is written by Moira Walley-Beckett (who has worked as a writer and producer on Breaking Bad). Currently airing on CBC in Canada, it hits Netflix today.
To mark the occasion, beautiful new Virago Modern Classics editions have been released. Donna Coonan, editorial director at the imprint, began publishing children’s titles in 2013. “I’d been offered some of Rumer Godden’s books for younger readers alongside her adult novels and I loved them so much that I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity of publishing them. Adding children’s classics to the list was something I’d wanted to do for years anyway, so this gave me the impetus I needed.”
When Coonan asked “everyone she knew” for their childhood favourites, LM Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon trilogy kept turning up. Emily is, in Coonan’s words, “less rambunctious and more reflective” than Anne, but “they are soul sisters, both inspired by nature and poetry, and both possessing vivid imaginations and strong wills”. When she came across Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini’s illustrations in a magazine at Christmas time, she knew she’d be ideal as an artist for the Emily covers.
“I wanted the cover to be quite traditional, a little whimsical, and as appealing to children as to adult fans of Anne who hadn’t yet discovered Emily. Daniela’s style is painterly, sensitive and sophisticated, and she is brilliant at conveying a sense of wonder. It was important, too, that as well as visualising the heroine, she could also depict the natural world beautifully as that is such a strong element of the books.” The covers have received an incredibly positive response from readers, so it made complete sense that Terrazzini would be called upon again for the new Anne covers.
Working on such iconic texts seems like it might be daunting, but Terrazzini approached it with joy. “I can imagine why there might be perceived pressure about designing a new cover for a classic, but I only feel excitement at the idea of being able to give my own interpretation. I don’t feel that the process is different. I try to approach all my projects with an open mind.”
She formally trained in fine art painting in Milan but describes herself as “self-taught when it comes to illustration, watercolour, ink and computer based design”. Despite the increasing role of technology in art, Terrazzini still leans much more on “traditional art tools. I try to do everything on paper, depending on the style I’m working in. This balance is different when I work on patterns, or styles other than watercolour. I try to use my computer as an equal tool, the way I would choose a flat brush over a round one. In other words, I try to use each tool for what they are best at, and not to give in to the temptation of unnecessary shortcuts that might over time diminish my abilities.”
This respect for tradition is evident in the Anne covers, which avoid the temptation to make Anne a modern girl and instead reflect the classic feel of the novels and the ever-present backdrop of Prince Edward Island. Anne clutching a handmade bouquet of flowers and gazing in awe at a butterfly on the Green Gables cover, or perched on a bridge reading with her "bosom friend" Diana on the Avonlea cover, is very much the Anne of the novels – very much in love with nature, books and the world as a whole. And as she reads a letter from her sweetheart Gilbert Blythe – over whose head she breaks a slate in the first volume of the series after he mocks her red hair and calls her "Carrots" – on the Windy Willows cover, we see her grow up into someone ready to put childish things away, without ever losing that sense of childhood wonder. More than a century after she first appeared in print, readers still adore Anne-with-an-e.
Claire Hennessy is a writer, editor and creative writing facilitator
