<P> In writing the novel, Montgomery was inspired by notes she had made as a young girl about a couple who were mistakenly sent an orphan girl instead of the boy they had requested yet decided to keep her . She drew upon her own childhood experiences in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada . Montgomery used a photograph of Evelyn Nesbit, which she had clipped from New York's Metropolitan Magazine and put on the wall of her bedroom, as the model for the face of Anne Shirley and a reminder of her "youthful idealism and spirituality ." </P> <P> Montgomery was also inspired by the "formula Ann" orphan stories (called such because they followed such a predictable formula) which were popular at the time and distinguished her character by spelling her name with an extra "e". She based other characters, such as Gilbert Blythe, in part on people she knew . She said she wrote the novel in the twilight of the day, while sitting at her window and overlooking the fields of Cavendish . </P> <P> Anne Shirley, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London, Prince Edward Island), is sent to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their fifties and sixties, after a childhood spent in strangers' homes and orphanages . Marilla and Matthew had originally decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm at Green Gables, which is set in the fictional town of Avonlea . Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne instead . </P> <P> Anne is highly imaginative, eager to please and, at times, quite a dramatic individual . However, she is defensive about her appearance, despising her red hair and pale, thin frame . She is often quite talkative, especially when it comes to describing her fantasies and dreams . At first, stern and sharp Marilla says Anne must return to the orphanage, but after much observation and considering, along with Matthew's strong liking to Anne, she decides to let her stay . </P>

Where was the orphanage in anne of green gables