Emily Climbs

Emily Climbs
Book information
Author	Lucy Maud Montgomery
Publication date	1925
Published by	Frederick A. Stokes
Publication order
Previous	Emily of New Moon
Next	Emily's Quest

Emily Climbs is the second book in the Emily trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Book description

Emily Starr was born with the desire to write. As an orphan living on New Moon Farm, writing helped her face the difficult, lonely times. But now all her friends are going away to high school in nearby Shrewsbury, and her old-fashioned, tyrannical aunt Elizabeth will only let her go if she promises to stop writing! All the same, this is the first step in Emily's climb to success. Once in town, Emily's activities set the Shrewsbury gossips buzzing. But Emily and her friends are confident – Ilse's a born actress, Teddy's set to be a great artist, and roguish Perry has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. When Emily has her poems published and writes for the town newspaper, success seems to be on its way – and with it the first whispers of romance. Then Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, and she must decide if she wants to change her life forever.

13-year-old Emily Byrd Starr is an orphan living on a farm with her Aunt Elizabeth Murray. Emily is obsessed with words, which extends to reading the dictionary and endlessly writing in notebooks she calls Jimmy-books because her cousin Jimmy gives them to her. Cousin Jimmy is mentally challenged, but he is Emily's staunchest supporter and offers her valuable insights and guidance. The story spans about four years as Emily has various experiences and develops friendships with schoolmates, Perry and Teddy. Her best friend is Ilse. Emily champions Teddy's artistic ability so he can attend Shrewsbury, a school. In the end, Ilse, Perry and Emily also go to Shrewsbury, although Emily must live with Aunt Ruth. After graduation, Emily is given a chance to go to New York to develop her writing career. Instead, she chooses to return home.

Plot

Chapters

1. Writing Herself Out
2. Salad Days
3. In the Watches of the Night
4. "As Ithers See Us"
5. Half a Loaf
6. Shrewsbury Beginnings
7. Pot-pourri
8. Not Proven
9. A Supreme Moment
10. The Madness of an Hour
11. Heights and Hollows
12. At the Sign of the Haystack
13. Haven
14. The Woman Who Spanked the King
15. "The Thing That Couldn't"
16. Driftwood
17. "If a Body Kiss a Body"
18. Circumstantial Evidence
19. "Airy Voices"
20. In the Old John House
21. Thicker than Water
22. "Love Me, Love My Dog"
23. An Open Door
24. A Valley of Vision
25. April Love