Curating the Anne of Green Gables Manuscript

A digital facsimile of the manuscript of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is now launched in an exhibit curated by Dr. Emily Woster, who will share an exclusive look at the exhibit, how it was created, and what Anne’s origins tell us about Montgomery and her legacy.

This event takes place in the Library North Reading Room.

L.M. Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables is beloved the world over. It has been translated into dozens of languages and adapted and readapted for page, stage, and screen. But until now, only a lucky few have seen the original manuscript that started it all. Over the past two years, Emily Woster has been at work curating a new online exhibit that will share, for the first time, the fully digitized and annotated manuscript of Montgomery’s classic novel. With support from project partners at the University of Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and funding from Digital Museums Canada, Emily has built an exhibit that will allow readers to explore each page and pen stroke that brought Anne to life. The manuscript shows Montgomery’s unique blend of thoughtful planning and creative spontaneity, and it includes a few intriguing mysteries yet to be solved. Some pages are without a single edit and others are full of Montgomery’s alphanumeric system of notes and additions. Along with hundreds of archival images and audio/video clips, the exhibit also includes contextual articles from dozens of scholars and experts that help the world of Anne come alive. This presentation will share an exclusive look at the exhibit, how it was created, and what Anne’s origins tell us about Montgomery and her legacy.

Emily Woster, CSS English B.A. ’06, is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She completed her Ph.D. in English Studies, with a focus on children’s literature, at Illinois State University in 2013. A past visiting scholar for the L.M. Montgomery Institute, and founding co-editor of the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies, Emily’s research explores intertextuality, girls’ fiction, women’s manuscript diaries, and the intersection of L.M. Montgomery’s reading experiences with her journals. Emily is also at work on other digital humanities projects, including the construction of a searchable database of Montgomery’s reading experiences