The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon

With 2024 marking the 150th anniversary of beloved author L. M. Montgomery's birth, there has been an abundance of celebrations as well as new literary offerings to mark the occasion. Among these is an anthology commissioned and produced by PEI's own Acorn Press. The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon features 10 short stories written by a number of contemporary Canadian young adult authors. The idea for this project came from Judith Graves who solicited and compiled all the stories and also contributed a story of her own.

In seeking stories for this collection, Graves gave the authors only a few very basic parameters (including: the character had to be Anne with an e and had to have been adopted by an older couple) but otherwise asked them to write about “who is YOUR Anne?” Authors were encouraged to include themes, plot elements, characters and details from L. M. Montgomery's original story but to reimagine the character of Anne in their own unique ways. The result is a collection of incredibly wide-ranging stories and settings and Annes: sci-fi and futuristic tales, a ghost story and a zombie Anne, modern-day stories of human trafficking and school cafeteria shenanigans and PTSD, and an obese, gay male Anne.

As short stories, these stories are compelling and original. Some are richly atmospheric, filled with dramatic tension. Some feature a beautifully-realized setting, and each one provides a fascinating main character. They are extremely varied in style and content, and in their approach to Anne. Yet, in spite of their differences, it is interesting to note the familiar themes that emerge and the emotions that they evoke. Several of the stories incorporate Anne's love of books and poetry and words; her love of nature; her longing for home and a sense of belonging. They showcase her fiery spirit, passion and outrage in the face of injustice, her fierce protectiveness of the people she loves. Her tenacity and courage and unfailing optimism. Her loving heart. They also explore themes of grief and life-altering loss, deep-seated fear and insecurity, sadness and self-discovery. They are funny and dark and beautiful and disturbing. They all evoke strong feelings and reactions. In their tremendous variety, they powerfully demonstrate the myriad of ways in which Montgomery's red-headed orphan has touched generations of readers.

In addition to common themes and character traits, readers will also delight in discovering the elements from the original story that the authors chose to keep and/or weave into their tales. The worn carpetbag that Anne arrives with; Marilla's amethyst broach; the peddler with the hair dye. Scenes and characters and lines from Montgomery's story find their way into these Anne tales in ways that are unexpected and clever.
As is the case for any short story collection, the majority of readers may not like each story equally, and with this collection in particular, Anne and LMM fans may find some of these reimaginings difficult to relate to. But together and individually they invite everyone who has read and loved Anne to think about the question “who is MY Anne?” While I personally loved Shari Greene's Anne in the northern landscape and her beautiful story in verse as well as Deirdre Kessler's Anne who clung to the poetry of Emily Dickinson, and Hope Dalvay's delightful Anne who creates “chaos in the cafeteria” and eventually discovers that “kindred spirits aren't as scarce as I once thought”, I was nonetheless intrigued by all of the Annes. I loved trying to relate to each version of her that was presented, to find the common threads with the original story, to understand how LMM's Anne inspired each of the characters in this collection. Because the authors were specifically asked to come up with their own versions of Anne, even the ones that I struggled to identify with felt legitimate because such is the nature of Montgomery's magic: she has created a character that speaks to so many people, each in their own way. This diverse and surprising collection is a wonderful and thought-provoking homage to Montgomery and her world-renowned literary creation.