Emily of New Moon

A brand-new annotated edition of L.M. Montgomery's timeless classic ...

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.

When Emily’s father dies and she is left orphaned, she must go live with relatives at the New Moon Farm on Prince Edward Island. Emily is a deeply sensitive child; few of her proud Presbyterian relatives approve of her “artistic temperament.”

New Moon is a fascinating old farmstead that Emily grows to love, full of tradition and story and beauty. But unlike Green Gables, there are dark shadows: tales of insanity, anger, bitterness, and betrayal are woven in the narrative quilt that Emily inherits. Drawn in particular to one of the dark stories that has left an undercurrent of anger and sadness into the lives of those around her, Emily finds ways of exploring the depth of human experience on her journey to artistic knowledge.

Written in 1923, during Montgomery's years in Leaskdale, Ontario, this novel about childhood glimpses into the often dark and mysterious world of adult life explores artistic perception in a way unlike any of Montgomery's other novels. Echoes of Emily can be found in other major works of female bildungsromaner, like Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women and Margaret Laurence's The Diviners.

This Rock's Mills Press edition includes new notes that provide important historical and literary background as well as a new preface by Jen Rubio setting the novel in context. As well, vintage photographs provide a window into Emily's (and Montgomery's) world.