Editing Road to Avonlea (section)

==Background and development==
The series was initially loosely inspired from a cross section of several books by [[Lucy Maud Montgomery]], primarily ''[[The Story Girl]]'' and ''[[The Golden Road (Montgomery novel)|The Golden Road]]'', both of which feature Sara Stanley and the King family. Set in [[Prince Edward Island]], the books' stories take place in the village of Blair Water, not Avonlea. Many early episodes' plots are based on stories from Montgomery's ''[[Chronicles of Avonlea]]'' and ''[[Further Chronicles of Avonlea]]''. The characters of Beverly and Felix (cousins of the King family) and Dan King were changed. Beverly is not in the television series and Felix and Daniel are incorporated as brothers of Felicity and Cecily, with Felix as second oldest after Felicity, and Daniel being the youngest King child.

A number of supporting characters were sourced from Montgomery's ''Anne of Green Gables'' series. The show is set within the same continuity as Sullivan's [[Anne of Green Gables (1985 film)|1985 film]] and its [[Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel|1987 sequel]] adapted from the ''Anne'' novels. Rachel Lynde, Marilla Cuthbert, and Muriel Stacy all originally appeared in Montgomery's [[debut novel]] ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'', with Rachel and Marilla being briefly mentioned in passing in ''Chronicles of Avonlea''. [[Patricia Hamilton]], [[Colleen Dewhurst]], and [[Marilyn Lightstone]], who had played the characters in the films, returned for the ''Road to Avonlea'' series. The characters of Davy and Dora Keith were originally from ''[[Anne of Avonlea]]'', the first sequel to the ''Anne Of Green Gables'' book series. The character of [[Anne Shirley]] herself never appears, although she was referred to on rare occasions.

In the United States, the title was shortened to simply ''Avonlea'', and a number of episodes were re-titled and re-ordered. When the series was released on VHS and DVD in the United States, the title changed from ''Road to Avonlea'' to ''Tales from Avonlea''.

The series is set in the fictional small town of [[Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables)|Avonlea]], Prince Edward Island, in the early 20th century (1903–1912). Ten-year-old Montreal heiress Sara Stanley ([[Sarah Polley]]) is sent by her wealthy father to live with her two maiden aunts, Hetty and Olivia King, to be near her late mother's side of the family after an embezzlement scandal results in him being placed under house arrest. The show's focus shifted over the years from Sara's interactions with locals to stories about the King family. Later seasons of the show focused more on residents of Avonlea who were connected to the King family. Sarah Polley left the show in 1994, returning for a guest appearance in the sixth season as well as the series' finale episode.

Following the series proper, a reunion TV movie called ''[[An Avonlea Christmas]]'' was produced in 1998.