Young Anne Shirley is an orphan from the fictional Nova Scotian town of Bolingbroke (based upon the real community of New London, Prince Edward Island).

After spending her early years in orphanages and the homes of strangers, she is assigned to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, two unmarried siblings in their fifties and sixties.

She also insists that her name should always be spelled with an e.

She dislikes her red hair, freckles, and pale, slender frame but likes her nose and is defensive about her looks.

She likes to chat, particularly when explaining her desires and dreams. The story follows Anne as she adjusts to Green Gables, the first real home she has ever known.

It details her experiences at the country school where she excels academically, her friendship with Diana Barry, the girl who lives next door, her developing literary ambitions, and her rivalry with Gilbert Blythe, a classmate who teases her about having red hair. To Anne's dismay, Gilbert, Ruby, Josie, Jane, and many other students-but not Diana-go to Queen's Academy at age sixteen to get a teaching license.

Anne forfeits the scholarship out of love for Marilla and Green Gables so that she can aid Marilla, whose eyesight is deteriorating, at home.