Emily Climbs

First published in 1925, 'Emily Climbs' is the second in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908. While the legal battle with Montgomery's publishing company continued, Montgomery's husband Ewan MacDonald continued to suffer clinical depression. Montgomery, tired of writing the Anne series, created a new heroine named Emily. At the same time as writing, Montgomery was also copying her journal from her early years. The biographical elements heavily influenced the Emily trilogy. Emily is desperate to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her conservative aunt refuses and instead offers her the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School with her friends. But there are two conditions. The first condition was that Emily must board with her Aunt Ruth whom she disliked. The second condition was that Emily must not write a word while in high school. Initially, Emily refuses, unable to even contemplate a life without writing. Her cousin, Jimmy, manages to get the terms changed slightly, saying that she cannot write anything that is not true, meaning no stories for the duration of her high school education. Emily doesn't think this is much of an improvement, but it turns out to be an excellent exercise for her budding writing career. Through a series of adventures, Emily is furnished with materials to write stories and poems, and even sees begins to success. And at the same time she begins to realize romantic possibilities as she and Teddy Kent draw closer.