Summary

Since the publication of Anne of Green Gablesin 1908, L.M. Montgomery and the world of Anne have propelled themselves into a global cultural phenomenon, popular not only in Canada, but in places as diverse as Japan, the United States, and Iran. Making Avonlea, the first study to focus on Montgomery and her characters as popular cultural icons, brings together twenty-three scholars from around the world to examine Montgomery's work, its place in our imagination, and more specifically its myriad spin-offs including musicals, films, television series, t-shirts, dolls, and a tourist industry. Invoking theories of popular culture, film, literature, drama, and tourism, the essayists probe the emotional attachment and loyalty of many generations of mostly female readers to Montgomery's books while similarly scrutinizing the fierce controversies that surround these books and their author's legacy in Canada. Twenty-five illustrations of theatre and film stills, artwork, and popular cultural artefacts, as well as snapshot pieces featuring personal reflections on Montgomery's novels, are interwoven with scholarly essays to provide a complete picture of the Montgomery cultural phenomenon. Mythopoetics, erotic romance, and visual imagination are subjects of discussion, as is the commercial success of various television series and movies, musicals, and plays based on the Anne books. Scholars are equally concerned with the challenges and disputes that surround the translation of Montgomery's work from print to screen as well as the growth of tourist sites and websites that have themselves moved Avonlea into new cultural landscapes. Making Avonleaallows the reader to travel to these sites and to consider Canada's most enduring literary figures and celebrity author in light of their status as international icons almost one hundred years after they first arrived on the scene.

Author Biography

Irene Gammel is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Making Avonlea: An Introduction	p. 3
Mapping Avonlea: Cultural Value and Iconography
Anne of Green Gables Goes to University: L.M. Montgomery and Academic Culture	p. 17
Anatomy of a 'National Icon': Anne of Green Gables and the 'Bosom Friends' Affair	p. 32
Confessions of a Kindred Spirit with an Academic Bent	p. 43
Taking Control: Hair Red, Black, Gold, and Nut-Brown	p. 58
'This has been a day in hell': Montgomery, Popular Literature, Life Writing	p. 72
The Visual Imagination of L.M. Montgomery	p. 84
Writing in Pictures: International Images of Emily	p. 99
Safe Pleasures for Girls: L.M. Montgomery's Erotic Landscapes	p. 114
Viewing Avonlea: Film, Television, Drama, and Musical
'It's all mine': The Modern Woman as Writer in Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables Films	p. 131
Who's Got the Power? Montgomery, Sullivan, and the Unsuspecting Viewer	p. 145
'She look'd down to Camelot': Anne Shirley, Sullivan, and the Lady of Shalott	p. 160
Road to Avonlea: A Co-production of the Disney Corporation	p. 174
Melodrama for the Nation: Emily of New Moon	p. 186
Paul Ledoux's Anne: A Journey from Page to Stage	p. 201
Snapshot: Listening to the Music in Anne of Green Gables: The Musical	p. 216
Touring Avonlea: Landscape, Tourism, and Spin-off Products
Towards a Theory of the Popular Landscape in Anne of Green Gables	p. 225
Mass Marketing, Popular Culture, and the Canadian Celebrity Author	p. 238
Through the Eyes of Memory: L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish	p. 252
Consumable Avonlea: The Commodification of the Green Gables Mythology	p. 268
Snapshot: Making Anne and Emily Dolls	p. 280
Snapshot: My Life as Anne in Japan	p. 286
Taishu Bunka and Anne Clubs in Japan	p. 295
Avonlea in Cyberspace, Or an Invitation to a Hyperreal Tea Party	p. 310
Epilogue: A Letter from Germany	p. 317
Works Cited	p. 321
Contributors	p. 343
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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