Let's Bust a Recap : The Emily of New Moon Trilogy

Hello again! How's your 2023 going now that we've got almost two months under our belt? Here in Western North Carolina, it's been cold and grey and dreary and this Florida girl has been feeling a bit blue lately. After finishing up Polk and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea at the beginning of January, I decided to snuggle in with one of my favorite authors and picked up the first Emily of New Moon book. I flew through this charming trilogy the last week of January though I have to admit: Emily of New Moon is my least favorite of Lucy Maud's leading ladies to date. My friend Ereina once told me that if Montgomery's Anne books are the sun, then her Emily books are the moon. After having read them, I'd say that's an apt description and as for me and my house, we'll take the sunshine of Anne Shirley over the moonlight of Emily Byrd Starr. 

Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest were published in 1923, 1925, and 1927 respectively. At the beginning of Emily of New Moon, we meet eleven year old Emily Byrd Starr who is unceremoniously informed by her hateful (but well-meaning) housekeeper Ellen that her father is going to die any day. Unfortunately, Ellen is telling the truth, and after two glorious last weeks together, Emily is left an orphan. Her mother's people are the proud Murray clan whom Emily has never met because they disowned her mother for eloping with her father. Their pride won't allow them to leave Emily to the care of others, so shortly after her father's death, they descend upon her to decide who will be responsible for her upbringing, and the duty falls to stern Aunt Elizabeth, sweet Aunt Laura, and simple Cousin Jimmy of New Moon. Emily discovers a world of beauty at New Moon and befriends her wild next door neighbor Ilse Burnley, the artistic Teddy Kent, and Perry Miller the hired boy from Stovepipe Town. Throughout the trilogy, we see these children grow into men and women, determined to turn their dreams into reality. Emily in particular is an aspiring authoress, and we get to see her earn the respect of her family as her writing develops and is eventually published. 

Montgomery, as always, brings her signature wit and poetic prose to Emily's story, and I enjoyed it very much, particularly the middle installment, Emily Climbs. Her ability to create a colorful cast of unique characters leaves nothing to be desired. However, there were times when Emily's letters to her father and diary entries—devices Montgomery employed a lot to fill out this narrative—seemed to drag a bit for me, and by the third book, Emily's Quest, I was ready to shake the Murray pride right out of our moody protagonist. But even so, I had a lovely time in New Moon. 

Nevertheless, I won't be the frequent visitor there that I am at Green Gables.

Any recommendations for my next book by Lucy Maud?