Book of the Week #17- Emily of New Moon

Emily of New Moon

by L.M. Montgomery

  Emily of New Moon is a series consisting of three books written by L.M. Montgomery. The series tells the story of recently orphaned Emily Byrd Starr. After her beloved father has passed away, she is sent to live with the estranged family of her mother, consisting of her aunts Elizabeth and Laura and Cousin Jimmy at their sea-side estate, New Moon. Aunt Elizabeth is the matriarch of the family, dolling out strict rules to free spirited Emily. She never approved of the marriage between Emily's parents and speaks lowly of Emily's father, creating even more friction between the two. Emily's saving graces are nervous, yet sweet Aunt Laura, and lovable Cousin Jimmy. Going to school proves even more of a challenge for Emily as most of her peers expect her to be snobbish like Aunt Elizabeth. Yet through it all she thrives and makes friends with spitfire Ilse Burnley and artist Teddy.

Emily of New Moon

Emily Climbs

Emily's Quest

  I found the TV series Emily of New Moon before the books. Shot in Canada, the four season series aired from 1998 to 2000. The show greatly differs from the books, though I love both. After watching the first season, I decided to read the books. It has a lot of similarities to Anne of Green Gables, though they are by no means the same. Like Anne, Emily is an orphan, strong-willed and taken to dramatics, though all in different respects. Before his death, Emily's father shared with her his love for books, which Emily takes to deeply and she dreams of nothing more than being a famous authoress. This proves to be no easy feat under the scornful eyes of Aunt Elizabeth who discourages writing and reading books of any kind other than the Bible and history text books. And yet Emily finds ways to win Aunt Elizabeth's heart over to allow her to write her stories.

  Throughout the three books we read along as Emily goes from being a heartbroken orphan to a strong young woman on the road to success as an authoress.

  All in all, Emily of New Moon is nice series that fans of Anne of Green Gables will surely love.

I give this series a 4 out of 5.

-Miranda Atchley