Much Ado About Anne

A friend asks why I've not weighed in on the Anne of Green Gables cover controversy. To be frank, I feel I've said all I have to say about wretched print on demand product – but more than this is the simple fact that the controversy is a media creation. I won't play along.

Let's be clear, hardly anyone noticed Blonde Anne until Greg Quill brought it to readers' attention in the Toronto Star. What he presented wasn't news but an invitation:

Remember when Anne of Green Gables leaned back on the barnyard fence, ran a hand through her shimmering blond hair and tossed off a sexy pout? You don’t? 

Then join dozens of other outraged readers of the 1908 Canadian classic who have let Amazon.com know that the most recent edition of L.M. Montgomery’s coming-of-age text got it all wrong in the cover art department.

A few hundred answered the call, littering Amazon's site with "customer reviews" that were just as silly and ill-informed as the cover being criticized.

The offending volume has since been removed from sale, the image has been scrubbed from Amazon's site, yet the outrage continues.

There have been other ridiculous print on demand Montgomerys – Rila of Ingelside [sic] is a favourite – but this depiction of our dear Anne seems to have offended so very personally. Where, one wonders, was the outrage over Toddler Anne...

Tough Anne...

Witness Protection Program Anne Edith...

or Goth Anne?

Of course, what really troubles those who've taken offence isn't the depiction of Anne as blonde or buxom, but as a sexual being. Best not acknowledge that the girl introduced in the opening pages of Anne of Green Gables is a college graduate by novel's end. In Anne of the Island, third in the offending three-novel set, Anne becomes engaged to Gilbert Blythe. They'll go on to marry and have seven children together.

Yep, Anne and Gilbert did it seven times.

At least.

Which isn't to say that I don't think the cover sucks.

Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Eight, Day 253

News today that may or may not contradict the hot tip our Prime Minister gave intrepid Jane Taber at his most recent Christmas party.

It would seem that the Stephen Harper hockey book is still without a home. Toronto Star entertainment reporter Greg Quill reports that "major Canadian publishers" are in a bidding war over the untitled work. According to the journalist, neither Douglas & McIntyre nor House of Anansi are involved. So, who does that leave? I dare say there is not one Canadian publisher that could afford the middle six-figure advance that "one non-bidding publishing insider" anticipates.

According to Westwood Creative Agency, which represents our prime minister, a meeting has been set for  the first of March. Might we expect the name of the lucky bride next month? Who knows. As I've written elsewhere, our prime minister does like to tease.

The publication date, we're told, will depend upon the publisher selected. As one who has penned a hockey book himself – under nom de plume – I recommend autumn publication. It's a no-brainer, really.

And I offer this to journalists, including Mr Quill, who make much of the fact that Stephen Harper is a member of the Society for International Hockey Research: Annual memberships can be bought by any old yob for thirty bucks.

Related posts:

Ignatieff's Ink and Harper's Hockey Book

The Harper Hockey Book Watch (Updated!)

Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Nine, Day 39
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Nine, Day 222
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Nine, Day 236
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Nine, Day 237
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Ten, Day 27
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Year Ten, Day 77
Harper Hockey Book Watch: Fin (et raison d'être)