When Pollyanna Whittier’s father dies she is sent to live with her Aunt Polly in Beldingsville in Vermont. A clash of personalities ensues as Pollyanna’s sunny disposition sits ill with her aunt’s need for quiet, her passion for shutting windows and her obsession with quietly shut doors.

The key to Pollyanna’s happiness is The Glad Game - originally invented to deal with disappointing missionary boxes - and is applied to all parts of life. No matter how dark the situation it is always possible to find something to be glad about. Any attempts to discipline the child fail helplessly in the face of The Glad Game.

As Pollyanna becomes acquainted with other inhabitants of the town, her infectious personality continues to spread: one by one, the cantankerous residents fall victim to her charms: Mrs Snow and Mr Pendleton being the hardest cases to crack. However, the arrival of a motor car in town heralds a tragic change in Pollyanna’s life which not even Pollyanna looks likely to be able to overcome.

A timeless classic that has spawned many spin-off novels, films and television serials and truly entered the folklore and consciousness  -  ‘Pollyanna’ is now a byword for, sometimes naive, optimists. With this new edition Hesperus hopes to bring the tale to a new generation.