Emily Climbs is the second in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...

. It was first published in 1925.

"People were never right in saying I was Anne. But in some respects, they will be right if they write me down as Emily."

While the legal battle with Montgomery's publishing company (L.C. Page) continued, Montgomery's husband Ewan MacDonald continued to suffer clinical depression. Montgomery, tired of writing the Anne series, created a new heroine named Emily. At the same time as writing, Montgomery was also copying her journal from her early years. The biographical elements heavily influenced the Emily trilogy.

Introduction

The poem To the Fringed Gentian

Gentiana crinita

Gentiana crinita is a biennial herbaceous species. Fringed gentian flowers open on sunny days, but generally remain closed on cloudy days. Individual plants live for only one or two years....

was the keynote of Montgomery's every aim and ambition.Like Montgomery, Emily climbs the symbolic "Alpine path" to be a female writer.

"The Flash" is extraordinary experience common to both Montgomery and Emily, but not shared with Anne Shirley

Anne Shirley

Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Montgomery wrote in her journal that the idea for Anne's story came from relatives who, planning to adopt an orphaned boy, received a girl instead...

.

The Alpine Path (1917)	Emily of New Moon (1923) Chapter 1
It has always seemed to me, ever since early childhood, that, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil. I could never draw it quite aside, but sometimes a wind fluttered it and I caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond -- only a glimpse -- but those glimpses have always made life worth while.	It had always seemed to Emily, ever since she could remember, that she was very, very near to a world of wonderful beauty. Between it and herself hung only a thin curtain; she could never draw the curtain aside--but sometimes, just for a moment, a wind fluttered it and then it was as if she caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond--only a glimpse--and heard a note of unearthly music.

Plot summary

Emily Byrd Starr longs to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her tradition-bound relatives at New Moon refuse. She is instead offered the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School with her friends, on two conditions. The first is that she board with her disliked Aunt Ruth, but it is the second that causes Emily difficulties. Emily must not write a word during her high-school education. At first, Emily refuses the offer, unable to contemplate a life without any writing. Cousin Jimmy changes the condition slightly, saying that she cannot write a word of "fiction". Emily does not think this much of an improvement but it turns out to be an excellent exercise for her budding writing career. Although Emily clashes with Aunt Ruth and Evelyn Blake, the school's would-be writer, she starts to develop her powers of storytelling. Through a series of adventures, Emily is furnished with materials to write stories and poems, and even sees success with the short story "The Woman Who Spanked the King." In the meantime, Emily also begins to see romantic possibilities for her life. She and Teddy Kent draw closer, but due to misunderstandings and interference from Teddy's mother, the romance stalls. Emily also refuses a proposal from Perry Miller, and continues her long-lasting friendship with Dean Priest. At the end of the novel, Emily, now a budding young writer, chooses to remain at her beloved New Moon rather than leaving for New York with famous writer Janet Royal.

Series

#	Book	Published	Emily's age
1	Emily of New Moon Emily of New Moon Emily of New Moon is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about the development of a writer. It was first published in 1923.-Plot summary:...	1923	10 - 13	child
2	Emily Climbs	1925	13 - 17	early teen
3	Emily's Quest Emily's Quest Emily's Quest is a novel and the last of the Emily trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery. After finishing Emily Climbs, Montgomery suspended writing Emily's Quest and published The Blue Castle; she resumed writing and published in 1927....	1927	17 - 24	young adult

Television series

The novels were adapted into a TV series by Salter Street Films

Salter Street Films

Salter Street Films was a Canadian television and film production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.- History :The company was founded by brothers Paul and Michael Donovan in 1983. Paul Donovan was trained as a director at the London Film School; Michael graduated from Dalhousie University’s...

 and CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 in 1998.

Animation

In 2007, Japanese educational TV broadcasted "Kaze no Shoujo Emily" which was inspired by the novels.

External links

• Online text of Emily Climbs (Project Gutenberg)
• Emily Starr An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page
• Official Website of the Government of Prince Edward Island, Canada
• Emily of New Moon Debuts on Canadian Television
• Emily of New Moon Official Website of NHK
  NHK
  NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
  
  
• Playbill News: Canada's Emily, of New Moon, Sings Again in Revised Musical Revival
• The L.M. Montgomery Literary Society This site includes information about Montgomery's works and life and research from the newsletter, The Shining Scroll.