Hubba-Hubba: This ain’t Grandma’s Anne of Green Gables.

Canadians are shaking fists in the air over the recent makeover of the nation’s most beloved literary heroine, Anne of Green Gables. A new edition of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 novel, produced by CreateSpace, depicts the spunky and until now, red-headed heroine as a striking blonde teenager, sparking a fierce backlash from scholars and fans alike. Anne’s new look has readers and Tweeters seeing red — and not in a good way.

The image contradicts the specific textual references to Anne’s appearance and is committing what some are calling a “character assassination of a figure known for her vivid imagination and knack of defying convention.” One Amazon.ca commented:

“Anne’s fiery hair, unfortunate complexion and gangly build define her character… for she learns to cultivate ideals of inner and outer beauty.”

Another added:

“What a different life Anne would have led if she had been the peachy, buxom, gold-tressed maiden that graces the cover of this edition.”

Megan Follows, who won a Gemini Award playing Anne in the 1985 TV movie, is trying to stay upbeat about the controversy, telling reporter this month:

“Perhaps the person who picked the photo is color blind. We’ll give them that.”

Nick Mount, Canadian literature professor at the University of Toronto, believes the new image was selected, at least in part, due to strict copyright protections. The Anne of Green Gables text is part of the public domain, but the image of red-headed, pig tailed Anne is owned jointly by the province of Prince Edward Island and the heirs to Montgomery’s estate.

But the professor adds:

“If there’s any one book that Canadians, even today in this generation, continue to have in common it’s Anne of Green Gables, so messing with this particular image is asking for trouble.”

Written by Castina on February 10th, 2013 | Tagged as: Books