Emily

Let me say right off that this has nothing--and yet everything--to do with the television show. I've seen it and I don't like it. It invents things that never could have happened and twists the characters and events. I have put together this page in order to help keep the spirit of these books alive even though pages are undoubtedly springing up about the TV show. I hope that this page will inspire some to read the books who would not have otherwise. In spite of the fact that the Emily books did not sell as well as the Anne books and are not as well known, I think that Lucy Maude Montgomery has told a more interesting story as she protrays Emily and her ethereal, sometimes supernaturally mysterious way of seeing things than ever was written about headstrong Anne.

The books by L.M. Montgomery are:

• Emily of New Moon, which tells of the death of Emily's father and of her new life at New Moon Farm. The book extends from her eleventh year to about her fourteenth.
• Emily Climbs, which tells of the three years Emily spends in Shrewsbury living with dumpy Aunt Ruth and going to high school.
• Emily's Quest, which tells of Emily's life after high school and how she opens her eyes to the love that has been in her heart from the first.

Warning!

Below are links to information about characters, places, key events, and of course the books themselves. Spoilers will most likely be contained therein. Do not read any of the following documents if you don't want spoilers! On the other hand, if you've seen the TV show and are curious to see how it compares, I would suggest that it's worth the spoilers. I will endeavour, however, not to make too much reference to the show. I haven't seen too much of it anyway, so this should not be difficult.

If you see anyone or anything I've left out that you'd like a small blurb about, let me know and I'll see what I can do about it.

• Characters (in alphabetical order):
  
  • Miss Brownell The arechtypical tyrranical schoolteacher.
  • Dr. Allan Burnley Ilse's daddy.
  • Ilse Burnley Emily's best friend and partner in crime.
  • Mr. Carpenter The "good" schoolteacher.
  • Ruth Dutton Aunt Elizabeth could be worse; she could be Aunt Ruth.
  • "Jock" Kelly The peddler.
  • Aileen Kent Teddy's overzealous (overjealous?) mother.
  • Frederick "Teddy" Kent The artist in Emily's circle of friends.
  • Perry Miller The hired hand with great aspirations. Ruth Dutton holds that befriending a Murray (Emily) is far too high for him.
  • Mad Mr. Morrison Looking for his lost Annie...
  • Andrew Murray Emily's cousin, who deserves mention for one reason only.
  • Elizabeth Murray She runs New Moon Farm--and Emily's life.
  • Jimmy Murray A half-wit who is somehow wiser than Laura and Elizabeth put together--sometimes.
  • Laura Murray Kind, sympathetic Aunt Laura...
  • Dean Priest Among other things, one of Emily's dearest friends.
  • Nancy Priest Ecclectic, eccentric, and a hoot to read about.
  • Emily Byrd Starr The heroine of these adventures, an aspiring writer and one who lives poetry.
• Places (in alphabetical order):
  
  • Blair Water The town just outside of New Moon. Or which New Moon is just outside of, depending on your point of view.
  • The Disappointed House Just beyond New Moon...
  • Hardscrabble Road Somewhere on PEI.
  • Lofty John's Bush Also just beyond New Moon, a place of magic and faeries. One of Emily's favourite haunts.
  • Maywood Where Emily and her father, Douglas, live--until he dies.
  • New Moon Farm The Murray Family home.
  • Shrewsbury Home of Aunt Ruth, and where Emily goes to high school.
  • Stovepipe Town Perry's home.
  • The Tansy Patch Where Teddy and his mother live.
  • Wyther Grange/Priest Pond Aunt Nancy's abode and the surrounding country.
• Events (in approximately chronological order):
  
  • Notice: These are not quotes from the book. These are events told as I saw them and sometimes with my own interpretation, which is not necessarily the right one. Also, I may add or remove scenes as the whim takes me, so if you don't see something you want to see, e-mail me and you may just see it.
  • The death of Emily's father and her arrival at New Moon.
  • Emily's first day of school.
  • "The Murray Look" AKA "The Haircutting".
  • Emily's visit to Wyther Grange and the rescue on the cliffs.
  • Ilse's Mother.
  • One evening in the New Moon garden...
  • Emily gets trapped in the church.
  • Emily and Ilse canvass the province for newspaper subscriptions.
  • The Play at Shrewsbury High School.
  • Miss Royal and her interview with Emily.
  • A winter's night in the old John house.
  • A Seller of Dreams, Emily's first but most mistreated book.
  • The Flavian.
  • The wedding that wasn't.
  • Mrs. Kent and the letter.
  • Teddy's homecoming.
• The Books (summaries to come):
  
  • Emily of New Moon
  • Emily Climbs
  • Emily's Quest

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