Emily Climbs – Lucy Maud Montgomery (1925)

Emily Climbs (1925) by Lucy Maud Montgomery continues the journey of Emily Byrd Starr, first introduced in Emily of New Moon. Set in Prince Edward Island, this novel follows Emily’s teenage years as she strives to become a writer while navigating the complexities of life, friendship, love, and artistic growth. Unlike the whimsical tone of Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, the Emily series presents a more introspective, mature, and at times darker look into a young girl’s creative and emotional development. Emily Climbs captures the tensions between duty and dream, tradition and change, in the life of a budding artist.

Plot Summary

In the gentle light of early summer, Emily Byrd Starr stood at the threshold of her fourteenth year, poised between the realms of childhood’s innocence and womanhood’s quiet beckoning. The wind swept through the fir trees around New Moon Farm, where the ghosts of her proud Murray lineage watched in silence, and the garden paths held the secrets of dreams whispered in moonlight. With eyes sharp as the northern stars and a soul alight with poetry, Emily pressed forward on the steep climb toward the life she yearned for – that of a writer.

To pursue education beyond New Moon meant leaving the safe folds of Blair Water and boarding in Shrewsbury with stern, bitter Aunt Ruth. The move was neither welcomed nor gentle. Aunt Ruth, never one to be softened by sentiment, monitored Emily’s every step, measuring her words and works against an iron rulebook of propriety and suspicion. Yet even in this cold lodging, Emily’s spirit did not wither. Each small rebellion – each secret poem, each suppressed story, each defiant look – was a brick laid on the path to her own mountain.

At school, she won the admiration of teachers and the curiosity of classmates. She held her own amid the humdrum of ordinary ambition, always a little apart, always wrapped in a shimmering aura of difference. Ilse Burnley, her tempestuous, loyal friend, stormed in and out of her days like the wild wind itself, always ready to argue or embrace. Teddy Kent, the boy with the soul of an artist, drew her with more than pencil strokes. Between them lay an unspoken, flickering bond, tender and mysterious. Perry Miller, bold and bright, aspired to greatness through law and grit. Their lives entwined like young vines climbing toward their own light.

In Shrewsbury, the hours stretched long, but Emily filled them with writing. Her journal – the Jimmy-book – became a sanctuary. Her school compositions bore the sting of her mentor Mr. Carpenter’s blue pencil, yet also his fierce, begrudging admiration. He tore down her vanity with ruthless hands only because he saw the shape of something brilliant struggling to emerge beneath. His gruff guidance lit fires within her that even Aunt Ruth’s scorn could not extinguish.

Dean Priest, the learned and gentle older man who once saved Emily from death on the cliffs, returned to Blair Water. His affection deepened, shadowed by an intensity Emily could not fully name. He called her Star, worshipped her intellect, and offered the kind of devotion that both warmed and unsettled her. Dean’s lopsided smile and haunted green eyes hid more than Emily, in her youth, could see. He wished to keep her near, subtly fencing her in with praise and sorrowful warnings. But Emily, though tender in feeling, was not meant to be caged.

Through each season, her talent sharpened. She learned not only to write, but to see. The world became her palette – funerals, gardens, scandals whispered at tea tables, the tilt of sunlight on the fields. Her pen captured the contradictions of life with a voice growing wiser, yet still aching with beauty. She sent poems to magazines, and when rejections arrived, they bruised her pride but never killed the dream.

A single night shaped her future more than many quiet days. Emily, cast in a school play, defied Aunt Ruth’s prohibition and performed anyway, sweeping the audience into applause. But the triumph turned bitter when she returned to find herself locked out of the house. Humiliated and incensed, she walked seven moonlit miles back to New Moon through the fields and shadows, swearing she would never return to Shrewsbury. There she found Cousin Jimmy, ever the quiet guardian of her flame, waiting in the kitchen with doughnuts and wisdom. He listened as she poured out her hurt and outrage, and gently, without sermon or scold, helped her see that pride, too, must sometimes be swallowed for the sake of a larger dream. Before dawn, Emily slipped out again to walk back, her soul scoured clean by the night wind and the truth.

As months turned, the weight of her creative calling grew heavier. The world asked for conformity, for marketable verse and sweet sentiment. But Emily’s heart knew its own path. She refused to write on demand or flatter the dead in verses that lied. Her vision demanded honesty, sometimes sharp, sometimes gentle, always her own. She could cut with satire, but learned instead the courage to heal through words.

Friendships deepened and frayed. Ilse, proud and easily wounded, clashed with Emily in bursts of fire, only to mend again with fierce loyalty. Teddy drifted close, then far, confused by his mother’s jealous hold and his own uncertain feelings. Dean lingered, watching, waiting, hoping for what Emily could not give. A quiet ache grew in her chest – the ache of longing not only to love or be loved, but to be great.

Emily longed to climb the Alpine Path, her own name for the journey toward literary greatness. Rejections tested her resolve, as did whispers of scandal, misunderstandings, and the dizzying pull of emotion. Yet with each trial, she grew. In the solitude of the garden at New Moon, in the hush of twilight along the brook, in the lonely hours after school, she wrote. Not always well, not always successfully, but always truthfully. Her faith in her calling never dimmed, though it flickered and wavered under winds of doubt.

In the final test of her conviction, Emily was offered publication – but at a cost. To see her work in print, she would need to alter it to suit the whims of editors and readers. Emily refused. Her integrity triumphed over vanity. She would not cheapen her voice to be heard. That choice, quiet and unheralded, marked the true summit of her climb.

At the year’s end, Emily had not yet published a book, had not won acclaim or love’s final promise. But she had written something that mattered. She had discovered the strength to endure, the clarity to wait, and the voice to one day be heard. The path before her remained steep and uncertain, but Emily Byrd Starr would climb it, not with ease, but with fire in her heart and stars in her eyes.

Main Characters

• Emily Byrd Starr: The protagonist, Emily is a fiercely intelligent, imaginative, and ambitious teenager determined to become a writer. Her passion for words and keen observation of human nature set her apart, and much of the novel unfolds through her diary entries and inner reflections. Emily’s growth is at the heart of the narrative, marked by increasing maturity, a deeper understanding of her craft, and a fierce commitment to personal integrity.

• Aunt Elizabeth Murray: Emily’s stern guardian, representing the traditional Murray pride and rigidity. Her opposition to Emily’s writing and her control over Emily’s choices create ongoing tension, but beneath her severity lies a complex mix of care and duty.

• Cousin Jimmy: A gentle, poetic soul and Emily’s greatest champion within the Murray household. Though once considered odd due to an accident in his youth, Cousin Jimmy provides emotional support and encouragement to Emily, nurturing her artistic inclinations.

• Aunt Laura: Kind, affectionate, and often the buffer between Emily and Aunt Elizabeth. Laura’s tenderness and quiet support allow Emily a safe emotional haven amidst the stricter Murray expectations.

• Dean Priest: An older, intellectual friend who plays a complex role in Emily’s life. Deeply interested in Emily and at times possessive, Dean mentors her but also reflects darker undertones of control masked as affection.

• Teddy Kent: Emily’s childhood friend and a budding artist. Their relationship is marked by deep affection and romantic tension, though his emotionally dependent mother complicates his closeness to Emily.

• Ilse Burnley: Emily’s vivacious and outspoken best friend. Ilse brings energy and defiance to every scene, and her close friendship with Emily offers a vital contrast to the more emotionally reserved characters.

Theme

• Artistic Integrity vs. Compromise: A recurring conflict for Emily is whether to adapt her writing to fit others’ expectations or remain true to her artistic voice. The tension between commercial success and creative authenticity is central to her journey.

• Coming of Age: As Emily matures, she faces moral dilemmas, romantic confusion, and social expectations. Her diary reveals her inner battles as she carves a path from adolescence to adulthood, marked by introspection and defiance.

• Freedom vs. Constraint: Emily’s struggle for autonomy, especially under Aunt Elizabeth’s rigid supervision and Dean’s possessive mentorship, illustrates the broader theme of personal freedom in a conservative environment.

• Power of Imagination: Emily’s inner world and imaginative flights sustain her through adversity. The “flash,” a mystical moment of inspiration, becomes a symbol of her spiritual and creative vitality.

• Gender and Expectations: Emily confronts societal limitations placed on women, particularly those who aspire beyond traditional domestic roles. Her insistence on being a writer despite ridicule and suppression becomes an act of resistance.

• The Natural World: As in much of Montgomery’s work, nature is both setting and symbol. Emily’s interactions with her surroundings reflect her emotional state, with recurring motifs of moonlight, gardens, storms, and shadows enhancing the lyrical quality of the text.

Writing Style and Tone

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s prose in Emily Climbs is richly descriptive, introspective, and often poetic. Through diary entries, letters, and third-person narration, Montgomery allows readers deep access into Emily’s psyche. The author’s vocabulary is elegant and layered, often echoing Victorian sensibilities but with a modern insight into feminine experience and ambition. The diary segments are particularly effective, revealing Emily’s raw emotions, self-doubt, and epiphanies, often with startling maturity and literary charm.

The tone of Emily Climbs is more solemn and reflective than that of Anne of Green Gables. There is less external whimsy and more internal complexity. Humor arises, but it is often ironic or sardonic, particularly in Emily’s observations of her neighbors and critics. The emotional atmosphere shifts between melancholy, exhilaration, and quiet rebellion. Montgomery balances light and shadow, often letting Emily’s “flashes” of inspiration illuminate the story’s more somber themes. The overall tone speaks to the trials of growing up as a gifted and sensitive individual in a world that often fails to understand or value such a spirit.