Anne Shirley, the orphan child who brings happiness and love into the lives of her foster family, is one of the most beloved heroines in all literature. This wildly imaginative, red-headed chatterbox tries to fit into the narrow confines of Victorian expectations, but her exuberant spirit keeps leaping delightfully beyond the bounds.

When Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew find that they are getting too old to work the farm by themselves, they decide to adopt an orphan boy to help out. To their dismay, they are sent a girl by mistake—an impetuous girl with a hopeless lack of manners. Pragmatic Marilla is determined to return her, but warm-hearted Matthew urges that she be given a chance to prove herself. The challenge laid down for this eleven-year-old girl—and the mishaps that befall her before she wins the heart of her foster mother—make for a delightfully charming story.