(GUARDIAN) — Anne of Green Gables, the orphan with the "very thick, decidedly red hair" and the "much freckled" face, has become a blonde, buxom farm girl with come-hither eyes on a new edition of LM Montgomery's classic novel, prompting a fierce reaction from fans of the story.
The ire over Anne's transformation has reached such heights online that the edition now appears to have been withdrawn. Containing the first three "Anne" stories, Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Anne of The Island, it was self-published through Amazon's CreateSpace platform at the end of November, and its one-star reviews now number over 300.
"This book is supposed to be Anne Of Green Gables NOT Anne Does Green Gables! " wrote one reader. Another pointed out that "Anne has red hair. RED HAIR. It's a key part of her character and is a strong influence on her words and actions. Secondly, Anne is 10 at the start of the series. What is up with the bedroom eyes? Did they just do a Google image search for Sexy Farmgirl? Does anyone publishing this book have any idea of what the stories are actually about?" setting up a plea to "keep Anne ginger".