Marilla Before Anne

Marilla Cuthbert was fifty-two years old when the plucky red-headed Anne Shirley came to live with her and her brother, Matthew, at Green Gables farm on Prince Edward Island. A seemingly cold and dour spinster, her heart eventually softens to the loveable orphan girl. But for over a century readers have wondered, who was Marilla before Anne?


Genre: Historical

"There's such 'scope for the imagination' in L. M. Montgomery's Marilla Cuthbert, and in her debut novel, Marilla Before Anne, Louise Michalos depicts a rich and vivid history of love, heartbreak, and resilience to illuminate this character we know so well. I was captivated by this story." - Kerry Clare

"Beloved characters live in our minds. For those who think they know Marilla Cuthbert, Louise Michalos creates a heart-rending and imaginative fantasy of who our Marilla might have been." - Lesley Crewe

"Taking us back to Marilla's passionate youth, this book is part old-style romance, part history, with complicated heroes, heroines, and villains. It plays fast and loose with the Marilla and Matthew who may already live inside readers' heads-those willing to take that leap are in for a galloping ride." - Liz Rosenberg