In 1921, the term “Pollyanna” entered the Merriam Webster dictionary accompanied by the following definition: “a person characterized by irrepressible optimism and a tendency to find good in everything” (“Pollyanna”). Pollyanna has ascended her status as a fictional character to become a recognizable personality type. One of these was in existence in Denver, Colorado as late as 2008. Some fans were not content to leave Pollyanna’s unfailing optimism to the fictional realm and formed Glad Clubs to practice her outlook on life. More recent renditions of Pollyanna include a Japanese anime series directed by Kōzō Kusuba (1986), which shows how Pollyanna’s appeal has crossed national boundaries. These included a silent movie starring Mary Pickford (1920) and a Disney adaptation (1960), which earned its star Hayley Mills an Oscar.

The book was adapted into a movie several times, as different generations reinterpreted Porter’s sunny heroine for themselves. Eleven more “glad books” featuring the heroine were written after Porter’s death, namely by ghost writers Elizabeth Borton and Harriet Lummis Smith. In the years following its publication, Pollyanna provided hope in the turbulent years of World War I, and it continued to capture the national imagination throughout the 20th century.

Pollyanna book