''Emily of New Moon'' is the first in a series of novels by
Lucy Maud Montgomery about an orphan girl growing up on
Prince Edward Island. Montgomery is also the author of ''
Anne of Green Gables
''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...
'' series.
It was first published in 1923.
Plot summary
Similar to her earlier and more famous ''
Anne of Green Gables
''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...
'' series, the ''Emily'' novels depicted life through the eyes of a young
orphan girl,
Emily Byrd Starr
Emily Byrd Starr is a fictional character created by Lucy Maud Montgomery and featured in the series of novels including '' Emily of New Moon'', ''Emily Climbs'', and ''Emily's Quest''.Beran, Carol L. (2015). ''American Review of Canadian Studie ...
, who is raised by her relatives after her father dies of
tuberculosis. Montgomery considered Emily to be a character much closer to her own personality than Anne, and some of the events which occur in the ''Emily'' series happened to Montgomery herself. Emily is described as having black hair, purply violet eyes, elfin ears, pale skin, and a unique and enchanting "slow" smile.
Emily Starr is sent to live at New Moon Farm on
Prince Edward Island with her aunts Elizabeth and Laura Murray and her Cousin Jimmy. She makes friends with Ilse Burnley, Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller, the hired boy, whom Aunt Elizabeth looks down upon because he was born in 'Stovepipe Town', a poorer district.
Each of the children has a special gift. Emily was born to be a writer, Teddy is a gifted artist, Ilse is a talented
elocutionist
Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compelli ...
, and Perry has the makings of a great politician. They also each have a few problems with their families. Emily has a hard time getting along with Aunt Elizabeth, who does not understand her need to write. Ilse's father, Dr. Burnley, ignores Ilse most of the time because of a dreadful secret concerning Ilse's mother. Teddy's mother is jealous of her son's talents and friends, fearing that his love for them will eclipse his love for her; as a result, she hates Emily, Teddy's drawings, and even his pets. Perry is not as well off as the other three, so his Aunt Tom once tries to make Emily promise to marry Perry when they grow up, threatening that unless Emily does so, she will not pay for Perry's schooling.
Other characters include Dean "Jarback" Priest, a quiet, mysterious cynic who wants something he fears is ever unattainable; fiery Mr Carpenter, the crusty old schoolteacher who is Emily's mentor and honest critic when it comes to evaluating her stories and poems; "simple" Cousin Jimmy, who recites his poetry when the spirit moves him; Aunt Laura, who is the kind aunt; and strict, suspicious Aunt Elizabeth who yet proves to be an unexpected ally in times of trouble.
Series
The three ''Emily'' novels are ''Emily of New Moon'' (1923), ''Emily Climbs'' (1925) and ''Emily's Quest'' (1927). The series follows Emily through her school years and her climb up the symbolic "Alpine Path" to becoming a successful author (the Alpine Path is a phrase from a poem which was inspirational to her from a young age). The later books also follow Emily through several romances (which are not intimacy romances) and adventures. Emily is a heroine with a love for the beauty in nature and art, loyalty to her friends, a thirst for knowledge, and a passionate dedication to her writing.
Publication
Since its original publication in 1923, the book has never gone out of print. The most popular editions of the book include the following.
Short stories
To promote the book in the United States, Montgomery published edited chapters from it as short stories in ''
The Delineator''. These included "Enter Emily" and "Too Few Cooks", which was later adapted into a chapter of ''
Magic for Marigold''. These ran the early months of 1925.
Translations
The book has been translated into numerous languages, including the following.
* "Emily fra Månegården" (Danish)
* ''Kumkunen Emily (Emily a dreamer)' and 'Emily, Chowon ew Bit (Emily, the Light on the Plain)'' (Korean)
* ''Emīlija no Jaunā mēness'' (Latvian)
* ''Pieni runotyttö'' (Finnish)
* ''Emilka ze Srebrnego Nowiu'' (Polish)
* ''Emily'' (Swedish)
* ''Emily, de la Luna Nueva'' (Spanish)
* ''Emily della Luna Nuova'' (Italian)
* ''Kawaii Emily'' (Japanese)
* ''Emilie de la Nouvelle Lune'' (French)
* ''Emily auf der Moon-Farm'' (German)
* ''Emily-Dokhtare Darrehaye Sabz'' (Persian)
* ''Emily z Nového Mesiaca'' (Slovak)
* ''Emily ở trang trại trăng non'' (Tiếng Việt)
* ''Emily'' (Sinhala)
* ''Emily de Lua Nova'' (Brasilian Portuguese)
* ''Emily - A tűzpróba" and ''Emily - Barátságok'' (=Emily: Friendships)" (Hungarian)
* ''אמילי ממולד הירח'' (Hebrew)
Television
The novels were adapted into a
TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
by
Cinar,
Salter Street Films and
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
in 1998. It was filmed on Prince Edward Island and starred local children. The series currently airs on Canada's
Vision TV
VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.
VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...
in English and
TLN in Spanish, and in the US on
This TV.
The series is also currently available on Roku's Hallmark Movie Channel, and for free on Encore+.
In April 2007, the novels were adapted into a 26-episode animated television series in Japan called ''Kaze no Shōjo Emily'' (Emily, The Wind Girl). The series was produced by
NHK and
Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
Popular culture
The book is featured in the TV series
Russian Doll
Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
, Season 1, Episode 5.
On November 5, 2019, the ''
BBC News'' listed ''Emily of New Moon'' on its list of the
100 most influential novels.
[
]
References
External links
Online text of ''Emily of New Moon''
*
*
An L.M. Montgomery Resource Page
Excellent resource on L.M. Montgomery and her novels
L.M. Montgomery Online
Formerly the L.M. Montgomery Research Group, this site includes a blog, extensive lists of primary and secondary materials, detailed information about Montgomery's publishing history, and a filmography of screen adaptations of Montgomery texts. See, in particular, the page abou
''Emily of New Moon''
The L.M. Montgomery Literary Society
—This site includes information about Montgomery's works and life and research from the newsletter, ''The Shining Scroll''
Anime World: Kaze no Shōjo Emily
NHK's Official ''Kaze no Shōjo Emily'' site
*
*(anime)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emily Of New Moon
1923 Canadian novels
New Canadian Library
Novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Canadian children's novels
Novels about orphans
Novels set in Prince Edward Island
Canadian novels adapted into television shows
1923 children's books
Frederick A. Stokes Company books