Ultimate Guide: Anne of Green Gables Books in Order
By Lily | Published 5 August 2022 | Book titles and covers are affiliate links.
This heart-warming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. For more than a century, Anne of Green Gables has warmed the hearts of readers around the world.
From the hilarious cordial fiasco to the infamous slate scene, this much-loved series is a worldwide bestseller with translations in more than 36 languages and has sold more than 50 million copies.
If your child is reading the series for the first time, or revisiting a beloved favorite in a new light, here are two ways she can read the Anne of Green Gables books in order.
You can read the books either in publication order as original fans of the series would have done more than a century ago, or in the chronological order put forth by L. M. Montgomery.
What order to read the Anne of Green Gables series?
Below are lists of the Anne of Green Gables books in order of both storyline and publication date (as they differ). Regardless of which order you choose, the first three books will remain the same. These books track Anne’s adolescence on the Island. From there, as Anne grows, moves away from the Island, then moves back, the reading orders shift slightly.
Reading the books in chronological order might offer a smoother, more fluid journey than if you read them in publication order. When authors change their publication order to follow a new timeline, they're usually trying to focus on something special that had to be put off before.
That's certainly true with Anne of Green Gables – if you go through the books chronologically, you'll be able to trace Anne's growth from a young girl at Cuthbert's farm all the way up to homesteading her own property.
So continue reading “kindred spirts” to determine which reading order is best for you.
Anne of Green Gables Books in Publication Order
The first way to read Anne of Green Gables is in the order of publication. However, reading the books in this order will jump around in perspectives slightly as the sixth book is published from the perspective of the next generation. Montgomery then returned to Anne’s perspective for the final two books but jumped back in time to the beginnings of Anne’s marriage.
1. Anne of Green Gables (1908)
2. Anne of Avonlea (1909)
3. Anne of the Island (1915)
4. Anne of Windy Poplars (1946)
5. Anne’s House of Dreams (1917)
6. Anne of Ingleside (1938)
7. Rainbow Valley (1919)
8. Rilla of Ingleside (1921)
Anne of Green Gables Books in Chronological Order
The second, and recommended, way to read the Anne of Green Gables series of novels is in order of publication date. Reading in this order will offer a more cohesive and linear reading experience.
1. Anne of Green Gables (1908)
2. Anne of Avonlea (1909)
3. Anne of the Island (1915)
4. Anne’s House of Dreams (1917)
5. Rainbow Valley (1919)
6. Rilla of Ingleside (1921)
7. Anne of Ingleside (1938)
8. Anne of Windy Poplars (1946)
What is the order of books in the Anne of Green Gables series?
Below are summaries of all eight Anne of Green Gables books in order of the storyline (not the publication order). Spoiler Alert: Since the storyline chronicles Anne Shirley’s life from child to adult, there are spoilers about what happens throughout her lifetime.
1. Anne of Green Gables (1908)
This is the first book in the charming series that introduces readers to an 11-year-old red-headed orphaned spitfire named Anne Shirley. Anne Shirley has arrived in Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada only to discover that the Cuthberts — elderly Matthew Cuthbert and his stern sister, Marilla Cuthbert — want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl. But before they can send her back, Anne — who simply must have more scope for her imagination and a real home — wins them over completely.
2. Anne of Avonlea (1909)
In Anne of Avonlea, Anne is now “half-past sixteen” years old and about to embark on a new adventure. Over the next two years, she becomes the teacher in her old Avonlea school. Now, she plays a greater role in the community of Avonlea which is filled with characters big and small whose lives intertwine with Anne’s.
In this book, it’s an exciting year as Anne struggles to win over all her students, learns the timeless lessons of being a working adult and feels the first stirrings of love.
3. Anne of the Island (1915)
In the 3rd book Anne of the Island, new adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves goodbye to childhood, and heads for college.
With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises. Momentous events include a marriage proposal from the worst man imaginable, the sale of her first story, and a painful tragedy that teaches Anne a lesson.
4. Anne of Windy Poplars (1946)
Anne of Windy Poplars (also known as Anne of Windy Willows) is Anne of Green Gables book 4. It picks up after Anne has left Redmond College to begin a new job and a new chapter of her life away from Green Gables. Now she faces a new challenge: the renowned Pringles.
This family in Summerside becomes her greatest challenge when she serves as the principal of Summerside High. Luckily, Anne finds allies in the widows’ Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty, and their housekeeper Rebecca Dew. When trying to win over the Pringles, Anne learns all of Summerside’s strangest secrets and eventually the support of the prickly Pringles.
5. Anne’s House of Dreams (1917)
Anne’s House of Dreams is the pivotal story in which Anne marries Gilbert Blythe, now a doctor, in the old orchard of Green Gables among their dearest friends. Together, they move to their dream house to start their new life on the shores of Four Winds.
Anne and Gilbert make new friends and meet their neighbors like the lighthouse attendant Captain Jim; the honest Ms. Cordelia Bryant, and the tragic, but beautiful, Leslie Moore. In this fifth book, their newlywed years are filled with ups, downs, and the spirit of imagination for which Anne is known.
6. Anne of Ingleside (1938)
In Green Gable’s book 6, Anne of Ingleside, Anne is now the mother of five children, and another on the way. There is never a dull moment in her lively home but there’s still no place she would rather be.
Aunt Mary Maria visits, but soon wears out her welcome, and Anne begins to wonder if Gilbert still loves her. So she sets out to make her cherished husband fall in love with her all over again!
She may be a little older, but she's still the same irrepressible, irreplaceable redhead — the wonderful Anne of Green Gables, all grown up.
7. Rainbow Valley (1919)
In Rainbow Valley, Anne Shirley is married to her beloved Gilbert and is now the mother of six mischievous children. These children discover a special place all their own but never dream of what will happen when a strange family moves into an old mansion nearby.
The Meredith family has two boys and two girls, as well as a runaway named Mary Vance. Soon, the Merediths conspire with Anne’s children in their private hideout where they plan to save Mary from the orphanage, bring happiness to the lonely minister, and keep a pet rooster from ending up in the soup pot. Just like when Anne herself was a child, this seventh book is full of adventure.
8. Rilla of Ingleside (1921)
Rilla of Ingleside is the eighth and final book in the Anne of Green Gables book set. Now, Anne’s children are mostly grown up, but young Rilla, who’s both high-spirited and pretty.
Rilla looks forward to her first dance and, hopefully, her first kiss, but a far-off war changes everything in a dramatic turn of events, testing her courage and forever changing her.
Books Related to the Anne of Green Gables Series
Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery also wrote the following books related to the Anne of Green Gables collection:
• Chronicles of Avonlea: a short story collection published in 1912 of this freckle-faced orphan
• Further Chronicles of Avonlea: a short story collection published in 1920
• The Road to Yesterday: an abridged collection of some of the stories in The Blythes Are Quoted, completed shortly before Montgomery’s death in 1942
• The Blythes Are Quoted: a book of short stories and poems that follows Rilla of Ingleside, completed shortly before the author’s death in 1942
Author Budge Wilson also wrote the official prequel to Anne of Green Gables, Before Green Gables, which was published in 2008 and fully authorized by Montgomery’s heirs.