L.M. Montgomery was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following.The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Because many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and the Canadian province became literary landmarks. This book draws the focus back onto a single character, Anne and Gilbert's youngest daughter Bertha Marilla Rilla Blythe. It has a more serious tone, as it takes place during World War I and the three Blythe boys, Jem, Walter, and Shirley, along with Rilla's sweetheart Ken Ford, and playmates Jerry Meredith and Carl Meredith, end up fighting in Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.