Last week, I finished my yearly visit to Avonlea in Anne of Green Gables. It is an immersive story every time I return to it; Anne’s antics never stop being amusing. Matthew and Marilla remain a calming presence, not only for Anne but for readers, too. And I always come away from this book inspired to write something cozy of my own.
Author Sarah McCoy wrote one of my favorite novels, Marilla of Green Gables, an imagining of Marilla Cuthbert’s life before Anne arrived at Green Gables. L. M. Montgomery gives us a thorough picture of Marilla as an older woman who unexpectedly finds herself raising a child when she never expected to. I’ve always wondered what her life must have been like before Anne came along, and McCoy offers a story that feels both convincing and faithful to Montgomery’s original.
Marilla of Green Gables is the Tearoom’s Featured Book of the Month for November. More importantly, I’ve discovered Sarah McCoy to be a kindred spirit and a dear friend. I’m grateful that she agreed to answer my questions, and I’m equally grateful for the story she has given us—a chance to glimpse Marilla’s life beyond the pages of the original books.
Here are my questions, along with Sarah’s thoughtful insights.
On Giving Marilla Her Own Story
Why did you feel it was important to tell Marilla Cuthbert’s story, and particularly to give her a voice of her own?
Sarah McCoy: When I was young, I felt Anne was my kindred spirit. However, the older I got (and continue to get), the more I felt myself transforming into Marilla. When reading all eight books in the Anne of Green Gables series, we witness Marilla’s character stretch, change, and grow alongside Anne. I wanted to explore what drew these two spirits together.
To be quite honest, I simply wanted more Green Gables in the world. Montgomery took Anne’s story on PEI as far as it could go—from her arrival on PEI to raising her six children. So I went backwards… to Marilla, Matthew, and the birth of Green Gables. I thought it high time Marilla’s tale be told, and I prayed over each page that I did her (and Montgomery) the honor they deserved.
On Marilla and Matthew
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert have one of the most beloved sibling relationships in literature. As someone with a brother I love very much, I’ve always felt a particular tenderness toward the two of them. What was it like to imagine their relationship when they were younger, before Anne arrived at Green Gables?
Sarah McCoy: I am also a devoted elder sister to two brothers. This similarity was certainly one of the many factors that led me to write Marilla’s story. I understand that abiding sibling connection and wanted to explore it further.
Who doesn’t love Matthew? You don’t have to be his sister to think the world of him. Montgomery penned Matthew with a particular “unconditional protector” quality that we all long to find and cherish in life. Don’t you agree?
On Finding the Magic of Prince Edward Island
Avonlea feels so vivid in Marilla of Green Gables. Did you visit Prince Edward Island while researching or writing the novel? If not, how did you create such a convincing sense of place and capture the feeling of Anne’s world?
Sarah McCoy: Writing this book was my excuse to finally visit Prince Edward Island. It’d been on my bucket list since I was a child. I took the sojourn to write, research, walk the wood paths, sit by the Lake of Shining Waters, and spend quality time with Montgomery’s remaining kin (the Campbells who operate the AOGG Museum at Park Corner) during the month of October 2017.
Part of me worried that my expectations were too high, and I’d be disappointed. They say never meet your heroes. In this case, my hero was an idealized island. But PEI proved to be even more magical than I dreamed. I crammed as much of that visit into the pages of this novel as I could. I hope readers truly feel they are rambling across its lupine meadows and standing on its shores.
On Marilla’s Fiery Heart
Marilla is outwardly reserved, practical, and quite conservative, but we see again and again that she has a fiery temper and a fierce loyalty to the people she loves. How did those qualities shape the woman she became, and how do you think they influenced the way she raised Anne? How do you think women today could emulate Marilla’s attitude toward life and the people she loves?
Sarah McCoy: As I said above, I felt a deep kinship with Marilla. Much of my personality mirrors hers… so interpret that as you will!
I was raised to be conservative, reserved, practical, but I am also a Puerto Rican Irishwoman in modern America. I struggled with processing my emotions when I was younger. I have BIG feelings (some might describe it as “fiery”) but was told that expressing those could be viewed as inappropriate. I was caught between who I was and who I wanted to be for everyone else (parents, teachers, neighbors, church, community, etc.).
I think Marilla experienced that too, and certainly saw that in Anne. She makes choices and the readers are privy to the outcome in a way that enables them to hopefully learn from her—or at least empathize.
On a Life Before Anne
Throughout the novel, Marilla is continually making choices for herself, even within the limitations of the world she lives in. Did you think of Marilla as a woman who was quietly creating her own life all along, rather than someone whose life only truly began when Anne arrived?
Sarah McCoy: Yes! You said it better than I could. This is exactly it and echoes my answer to your earlier question. Montgomery was very forthright in establishing that Anne needed Marilla as much as Marilla needed Anne. They made each other better because at their core, they shared so much.
Children often think of their elder’s lives as beginning with their own history. An erroneous perspective. Marilla lived a whole big life before Anne showed up on her door.
On Matthew in the Modern World
I’m still grieving that we didn’t get enough Matthew in the original books, so I was particularly grateful for the way you wrote him. What do you think Matthew would have made of the world as it exists today? What do you imagine he would be most surprised by?
Sarah McCoy: Matthew is our favorite grandpa, dad, uncle, brother, friend, and companion. He’s the guy you want beside you when you see a storm on the horizon. He’s a comfort and a champion. I hope everyone has a Matthew in their life. I’m greatly blessed to have a handful in mine.
I don’t think Matthew would let the modern world interfere with who he is at his bedrock. In 2026, he’d still be standing at the gates of Green Gables ushering the cows in from the field. He’d welcome us to
Reading Marilla of Green Gables reminds me that even the characters we think we know best have whole lives beyond the stories we first meet them in. Marilla was a young woman long before she became Anne’s guardian, and Sarah McCoy has given us a way to imagine those years with tenderness and understanding.
I’m delighted to make her novel the Tearoom’s Featured Book for November. If you’re curious about the novel, I hope you’ll join me in revisiting Green Gables through Marilla’s eyes.
There is always something new to discover in a beloved literary world, especially when we return to it with a friend.
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