It was some time in the early 1990s that I first came across L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and its sequels. I immediately became 'smitten' - to the extent of reading all the books I could find several times within the next couple of years.

As I became more and more familar with the stories and the settings, I began to wonder whether it was possible to work out the layout of Avonlea, Four Winds and Ingleside from the indications given in the text. As I continued reading, I got into the habit of jotting down any text which made a reference to the geography of the stories (how far it was from one place to another, and so on). I also noted any reference to dates and people's ages, to see if I could work out the chronology.

What you'll find on these pages is a summary of these notes, plus the maps I drew on the basis of a certain amount of logic and quite a lot of guesswork!

I know, through the Kindred Spirits mailing list, that there are many who share my addiction to the writing of L.M.M. - if not necessarily my taste for geographical trivia! Still, if any of the Kindreds do find their way onto these pages (Hi there!), the maps at least may be of some interest.

In the end I was surprised how consistent the geography of the stories seemed to be, bearing in mind that (for example) Avonlea must have been an amalgam of at least two 'real life' places. (The originals for Green Gables and the Lake of Shining Waters are, I understand, in two completely different places).

I have no way of confirming whether my maps are anything like correct, or wildly off the mark. All I can say is that they are reasonably consistent with the stories as far as I can see - and that's really all that matters as far as I'm concerned.

Last updated 10th May 1999

Back to Anne index page

Back to introductory Kindreds page

Back to home page