LMM Project - Emily of New Moon

*I had quite a time locating my cover image and even when I found it it was a Spanish language version. But it was very important that this be the image for this post as it's perfectly iconic for me - Emily writing in the garret window with a kitty cat at her feet.

Let's just get this trite statement out there so we can move on to bigger and better things - This is one of my favorite books of all time. This is a rare case in which I had started to doubt my memories and past feelings of this book and therefore rate it lower in my mind than I think it really deserves.

The back story on this book is that I've read it more times than I could count (another trite, but true statement - my battered and beloved paperback tells the tale). I came to the Emily series in my mid teens - well after I'd read the entire Anne series (which was like a dream to me) and I was gobsmacked. I couldn't believe that there was ANOTHER literary heroine who I related to on such an intense and personal level. This was the point at which LMM became a god in my eyes and I put her waaaay up on a pedestal. She's since been knocked down a few pegs (see Kilmeny and Pat), but is still pretty high up there in my estimation. And so while doing this reading project I'd convinced myself that I had an inflated view of Emily, but I'm happy to report that reading this for the umpteenth time has been an indescribably blissful experience. When I read this I feel both transported and completely understood. That an orphan girl from Prince Edward Island can make a thirty-something in Austin, Texas feel this way is no small feat!

This first installment in the three part Emily series tells of how newly orphaned Emily is sent to live with her mother’s people - the Murrays of New Moon. The transition is not an easy one. Her widowed father raised her in a gentle, supportive and mildly eccentric environment. The Murrays, long estranged from her mother, are virtual strangers to Emily. They are proud and highly conventional and Aunt Elizabeth, in particular, is as severe as they come and does not understand or appreciate Emily’s unique spirit. And yet Emily adapts and even grows to love her new home. She makes plenty of friends - spunky Ilse, artistic Teddy, clever Perry, peculiar Cousin Jimmy along with a cast of many other colorful and unforgettable characters. And like all ‘kindred spirits’ Emily has the ability to find beauty and wonder just about anywhere.

Like a lot of Montgomery novels Emily of New Moon is very episodic and highly character driven. As such, comparisons to her more famous creation, Anne Shirley, are inevitable. They’re both sensitive, intelligent and spirited orphans living amongst strangers. But Emily is a less impulsive and more introspective character than Anne. She’s not as immediately lovable as Anne and her relationship with her benefactress, Aunt Elizabeth, is complicated. There is never an Anne and Marilla ‘moment’ – i.e. no declaration of love and acceptance between the two. Elizabeth and Emily come from such different places – emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, etc. – so that the divide between them can never be completely bridged. Also, I would say that much of what drives Anne is her desire to be loved and accepted. Her intellect and creative talents are secondary to this goal. This in itself is powerful stuff and I’ve never believed that Anne ‘sold out’ by marrying and having a family. But writing is Emily’s ruling passion and this unlikely ambition consumes and defines her completely.

It could be said that in a way Anne is a bit of wish fulfillment and that Emily is more of a glimpse into the heart and mind of Montgomery herself. Emily’s story is the evolution of a budding writer in a time when proper ladies simply didn’t harbor such dreams. Much of the novel is written in the form of letters from Emily to her deceased father with childish misspellings and grammar slip-ups left intact. But her talent is unmistakable - she has a keen eye for observation and descriptions. One of Montgomery’s many gifts was that she had an uncanny way of portraying a realistic childlike perspective. She channels this into subtle and satisfying commentary on gender, conventions and religion.

In fact one of my very favorite things about this book is how LMM deals with Emily's little internal struggles with religion. It demonstrates a remarkably open mind not only for the time period, but also for a woman who was married to a very conventional minister. As always LMM treats spirituality as a highly personal issue and not one that can be dictated at all by others. She encourages independent thought and denounces narrow mindedness time and time again.

This is a must read for all Anne and L.M. Montgomery fans!

P.S. This was also a Nerdy Girl pick for the month of March. It's always so nice when my reading projects overlap like that! This was Meghan's first time to read this and I was very anxious as I feared it was a book that only appeals to adolescent girls. However, she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit and even went so far as to say she may even rate it more highly than Anne!