Anthology book reimagines Anne of Green Gables in junior high, steampunk dystopia

A new anthology book reimagines Anne of Green Gables in different settings and genres.

Hope Dalvay, originally hailing from Prince Edward Island, spent several years living overseas before she eventually moved to Cape Breton. Like so many people from P.E.I., Dalvay was familiar with the story of Anne of Green Gables, but she was always surprised to see how far the tale of the spirited redhead travelled.

“I lived in Saudi Arabia and people asked where I’m from, and they would say, ‘Oh, Anne of Green Gables,’” Dalvay said. “It would shock me. I met a nurse from New Zealand who knew Anne of Green Gables.”

Dalvay first encountered Anne of Green Gables through a musical in Charlottetown. She soon read the books and became a lifelong fan. She said the secret to the books’ popularity is their ability to appeal to different people for different reasons.

“Some people like her imagination, some people like the love story with Gilbert, some people like that she makes mistakes,” Dalvay said. “A lot of people read Anne of Green Gables every year. I think It’s a comfort read for them.”

Dalvay and a group of fellow writers are taking their interpretations of Anne to a new level with an anthology (or rather “ANNEthology”) book that imagines the titular heroine in wildly different scenarios, genres, and settings.

“I thought what Anne would be like in junior high, would she fit in?” Dalvay said. “It’s a contemporary setting. I’m hoping people laugh when they read the story.

“I like writing with humour. With L.M. Montgomery’s novels, there’s a lot of humour, but I think people forget about it.”