Maybe they were out of boys of the brand you wanted.
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are expecting a young orphan boy to help them with farm work at Green Gables, their home on Prince Edward Island. But when a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead, they get much more than they bargained for. Spirited, adventurous and imaginative, Anne Shirley quickly charms her way into the hearts of the Cuthberts, the entire town of Avonlea and, for more than 100 years, the hearts of generations of readers.
Mark Twain credited Anne as 'the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice', and Montgomery's novel has become a literary classic for both children and adults, selling more than 50 million copies and translated into 20 languages.