"One thing's for certain, no house that Anne's in will ever be dull."

That's what Marilla Cuthbert says about Anne, the lively red-headed orphan she and her brother Matthew adopt. For decades, girls have agreed, eagerly reading every book in Lucy Maud Montgomery's series that chronicles Anne's coming of age.

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. The book was an immediate success. The title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following.