L.M. Montgomery was a prolific Canadian author who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the early 20th century. Montgomery became famous immediately after writing Anne of Green Gables, a classic coming of age story featuring an orphaned girl named Anne Shirley, and its many sequels. Montgomery also wrote The Emily of New Moon novels which were made into a popular television series in the late 1990's. Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908, is the first novel of the classic series. The book begins with 11 year-old Anne Shirley being mistakenly sent to the Cuthbert siblings who had hoped for a boy to help them around the farm. Anne of Avonlea is the 2nd novel in the Anne of Green Gables series. The book describes Anne's experiences over the course of two years of teaching at Avonlea school.