I have to say, I’m thrilled by the response I’ve had to L.M. Montgomery month. Normally my Canadian content doesn’t fare as well, but I am so happy to see everyone enjoying it. (And all of the resulting chats with you!) Part of what I love about Montgomery’s works is that I’m always left feeling inspired to keep reading. Anne and Emily both love reading, and it is terrifically easy to take that feeling on. So, if you like Anne of Green Gables, you should read these adult books next!
I think that all of us have moments in life where we aren’t reading as much. For me, I’m always reading something, but it might mean reading for 10 minutes a day instead of 2 hours. Maybe life is stressful, maybe it is busy, maybe a TV show has stolen your attention. In any case, Montgomery’s books always pull me back to my bookworm ways.
If you fell in love with the Anne of Green Gables series, you will love these adult books! (They should be fine for teens, as well!)
And in case you missed them:
Emily of New Moon (Emily Climbs, Emily’s Quest), L.M. Montgomery
Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely–until her beloved father died. Now Emily’s an orphan, and her snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. Although she’s sure she’ll never be happy there, Emily deals with her stern aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by using her quick wit and holding her head high.
Things slowly begin to change for the better when Emily makes some new friends. There’s Teddy Kent, who does marvelous drawings; Perry Miller, the hired boy, who’s sailed the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, Ilse Burnley, a tomboy with a blazing temper. With these wonderful companions at her side and adventures around every corner, Emily begins to find her new home beautiful and fascinating–so much so that she comes to think of herself as Emily of New Moon.
In this first volume of the celebrated Emily trilogy, Lucy Maud Montgomery draws a more realistic portrait of a young orphan girl’s life on early twentieth-century Prince Edward Island.
Why You Should Read This…
I am always shocked at the number of people who swear up and down that they love the Anne series but haven’t read the Emily series. Montgomery actually based Emily on herself; she is a very different heroine to Anne. However, I find the Emily series to be brilliant. Unlike the Anne books, these were written in order, and I do think that it makes for a better flow when reading.
Like so many of us now, Emily wants to follow her passion – writing – and it isn’t always the easiest path. I find it a relatable story, especially in 2021, and I’m so grateful that we have the Emily trilogy to turn to.
And of course, if you haven’t read any of Montgomery’s other books, obviously you should read those, as well!
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s first novel—published posthumously in 1818—tells the story of Catherine Morland and her dangerously sweet nature, innocence, and sometime self-delusion. Though Austen’s fallible heroine is repeatedly drawn into scrapes while vacationing at Bath and during her subsequent visit to Northanger Abbey, Catherine eventually triumphs, blossoming into a discerning woman who learns truths about love, life, and the heady power of literature. The satirical novel pokes fun at the gothic novel while earnestly emphasizing caution to the female sex.
Why You Should Read This…
Much like the Emily of New Moon trilogy, Northanger Abbey is forever ignored by Austenites everywhere. (I will say to a pointed degree- whenever people write soul searching books about how they spent X amount of time reading Austen’s books and it changed their life, 9/10 times, Northanger Abbey doesn’t exist.) And much like Emily, I think that it shows Austen’s skill is far more than the one novel that she is known for. Satire is not an easy genre to write in, no matter what people claim, and it is a fantastic satire. (I also think it is the perfect weekend read to escape into!)
Maud, Melanie J. Fishbane
Fourteen-year-old Lucy Maud Montgomery—Maud to her friends—has a dream: to go to college and, just like her idol, Louisa May Alcott, become a writer. But living with her grandparents on Prince Edward Island, she worries that this dream will never come true. Her grandfather has strong opinions about a woman’s place in the world, and they do not include spending good money on college. Luckily, she has a teacher to believe in her, and good friends to support her, including Nate, the Baptist minister’s stepson and the smartest boy in the class. If only he weren’t a Baptist; her Presbyterian grandparents would never approve. Then again, Maud isn’t sure she wants to settle down with a boy—her dreams of being a writer are much more important.
Life changes for Maud when she goes out West to live with her father and his new wife and daughter. Her new home offers her another chance at love, as well as attending school, but tensions increase as Maud discovers her stepmother’s plans for her, which threaten Maud’s future—and her happiness—forever.
Why You Should Read This…
This is a YA book, but I knew that I wanted to include it! If you aren’t familiar with Montgomery’s biography, this is a wonderful introduction. (Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings is a great biography, but it is a big time investment.) Obviously, it is historical fiction, but it gives you a feeling for her life, and you can see how/why her characters are the way they are. (And what happens in their storylines!) It is very clear that Fishbane knows her subject, and has brought it to life in a heart-breaking but endearing way.
Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell
A portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid nineteenth century, Cranford relates the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of vignettes, Elizabeth Gaskell portrays a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women. Her wry account of rural life is undercut, however, by tragedy in its depiction of such troubling events as Matty’s bankruptcy, the violent death of Captain Brown or the unwitting cruelty of Peter Jenkyns. Written with acute observation, Cranford is by turns affectionate, moving and darkly satirical.
Why You Should Read This…
Although the mini-series gets recommended frequently if you’ve watched Anne films/tv shows, I choose this one based solely on the book! I think that Gaskell does a wonderful job of slowly building a whole universe where you feel like you have settled into life there and know everyone. (And I’ve not found a ton of authors who can do that well.) Cranford feels very much to me like Avonlea, where you meet more and more of the town’s (sometimes whimsical) inhabitants. It takes quite a different form, as it’s more a series of episodes, but an entirely lovely read!
The Lions of Fifth Avenue, Fiona Davis
It’s 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn’t ask for more out of life–her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she finds herself drawn to Greenwich Village’s new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club–a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women’s rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. But when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she’s forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.
Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she’s wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie’s running begin disappearing from the library’s famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-adverse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage–truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library’s history.
Why You Should Read This…
Something that has always struck me when I read any of Montgomery’s books is how subversive and brave women can be. Be it through writing, speaking up when your elder or superior thinks you shouldn’t, or turning down a proposal, her characters make their own way. Laura, who might have been Anne’s contemporary, had they lived in the same place, certainly forged her own path.
I will say, Laura is more revolutionary than Anne ever was, but their persistent challenging of the status quo strikes me. Davis’ work always pulls me in, but this story of two women, held together by books, is one of my favourites.
Have you read any of these books?
Cheers,
The Historian
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