Comments

1
or Plathed up.
2
Did Canadian lasses in the early 20th century wear plaid cowboy shirts, too?
3
Okay, so someone couldn't find a stock photo of a redhead ANYWHERE? And Anne never even wanted blonde hair, she always wanted hair that was "a beautiful raven black" which is why she bought the potion from the peddler that turned her hair green and I JUST HAVE A LOT OF ANNE SHIRLEY FEELINGS.
4
@3
Here's a radio report I heard last night from a Canadian broadcast.
http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/2…
6
Just remember, sexy sexy Canadians don't have half the hangups the Brits or Yanks do.

Look at that ankle!
7
Photos of sexy beautiful women, oh the horror.

Paul, the really sad thing is you work with Dan Savage and you still can't man up enough to come out of the closet.

Keep hanging in there pal, it gets better.
8
Never judge a cover by its book
9
They should have gone all the way and put her in a bra and panties. Or on a pole.
10
@9 I think you mean Polish Canadians.
11
OK @5, @6, and @7, this is not about being prudish, it's that the stock photo is COMPLETELY WRONG for the story! Anne Shirley is a gawky pre-adolescent with red hair. Period. @3 is TOTALLY RIGHT AND I SHARE YOUR FEELINGS!
12
@11
No, the issue is Paul Constant attempting to conceal his sexual identity and not coming to terms with who he is. It is pretty sad, but I wish him strength in completing his journey through life.
13
Not defending the ridiculousness of putting a sexy blonde in contemporary clothes on the cover, but it is a three-book box set, including Anne of the Island wherein Anne is old enough to go to college.
14
She was NOT blonde. She never dyes her hair in the book. This is ALL BS. And here's what else:

“If Sylvia Plath hadn’t already killed herself, she probably would’ve if she saw the new cover of her only novel The Bell Jar,” wrote Jezebel’s Morrissey, who then added her aesthetic judgment of the artwork: “Also, it’s ugly and the colors suck.”
15
3 & 11 have got it. The issue of sexuality is sold to get the prudies on their side. The important part is the hair. Anne Shirley's red hair is a major part of her character, a constant throughout the books. It would be like casting LeBron James as Frodo or Jackie Chan as Pope Pius XII. The publisher's have a profound misunderstanding of what it is they're printing.
16
@13: the raciest Anne ever got was dating Royal Gardner and turning down his proposal, not banging in the hayfields of PEI.
17
Then don't buy it, people. Don't buy it. I wouldn't.
18
Megan Follows was soooooo fine!
19
@18
She was the only reason I watched the PBS broadcasts.

I saw her on an episode of Law and Order once playing the accused mother of a dead child. I thought that she was going to make it big in Hollywood, but I guess she decided she'd rather go for steady work in Canada.
20
I won't even buy a book that has the movie-version of the characters pictured on the cover. This is an abomination.
22
@21. It's actually not at all an inane and obsessive thing to do when it is a major plot point in the books that she's a redhead. It's not just a one-line throwaway description -- whole story lines revolve around her having red hair (e.g., the hair dying incident @3 mentions).
23
Frankly, I'm surprised this is getting any traction with anyone, but of course! The original article forgot to mention that this isn't even a real publisher-- there's an industry out there of people who just get every public domain title they can get their hands on, slap some half-assed (probably not licensed) image and text together to make a cover and churn it out in ebook format or even upload as POD title.
So this is one tiny step removed from self-publishing. And we know the kind of covers that show up in that field...
24
"50 Shades of Green (Gables)"
25
@24
lol
Touche my friend, touche.
26
The cover is terrible. Not because it is "sexed up" or whatever, but because it is TERRIBLE.
27
@22 - Exactly.

@21 - I guess we're nerds who are passionate about Anne of Green Gables and have "nothing better to do". You're a person who's taking the time to fight with a bunch of people who love Anne of Green Gables. So ... that's where you're at.
28
What's Anne of Green Gables?
29
This reminds me of my favorite cover for Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. http://bit.ly/XnKpHD
30
@12 Paul Constant is actually a woman. Duh!
31
I haven't been as active on SLOG lately... Are GermanSausage and Canadian Bacon one meat-headed troll or two?
32
People are missing the important thing. These editions will probably go out of print soon, and they will be highly prized sources of comedy for future generations. Especially the Bell Jar cover.

I've got some used copies of Swann's Way and Jane Eyre whose covers make them both look like trashy 80's romance novels, and I totally do not regret those purchases.
33
Some may bewail the new art for Anne, but the Toronto Sun can't even afford even one lousy proofreader?

"...propped up against a bail of hay" indeed.
34
@33: It's the Toronto Sun. They issued a correction earlier this year that mispelled "correction." YEP.
35
@33: It's the Toronto Sun. They issued a correction earlier last year that mispelled "correction." YEP.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.