If you aren't familiar with Anna Green Gables — dare we ask, where have you been? Because of this book, this story is everywhere. It was written at the turn of the 20th century by P.E.I. resident Lucy Maud Montgomery, and it was published in the summer of 1908. The book was an immediate sensation. Readers were charmed by the central character, young Anne Shirley, a feisty orphan girl with red hair. The story follows Anne as she's adopted by aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. It’s one of the best selling books in Canada of all time, not to mention Anne movies, TV shows, musicals and cartoons. 

The question we answer in this episode is: how did this young red-headed, freckle-faced PEI protagonist become such a sensation on an island nation over 10,000 kilometres away? Surprised? So were we. Listen in...