“Our power to re-imagine our lives”
In a recent essay about his pilgrimage to Green Gables, Antonio Michael Downing writes that Anne of Green Gables is “one of the most endearing literary characters ever because she is a monument to the triumph of human imagination over everything.” He says that just as “Anne was Montgomery’s hope to remake her life, Anne’s ability to reshape the worst misadventures into friendship, joy, and community is a tribute to our power to re-imagine our lives.”
Reading this essay would, I think, be a great way to celebrate Montgomery’s 151st birthday, which is coming up on Sunday, November 30th. I was delighted to meet Antonio Michael at the Cavendish Literary Festival in September, right before his visit to Green Gables, and I enjoyed reading about his exploration of the mysteries of Anne’s ability “to unite age groups, race, nationality and class.” You can read the essay in full on the CBC Books website: “‘What I found in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s pages was thrilling’: Antonio of Green Gables.”
He also interviewed Kate Scarth about Montgomery’s legacy on The Next Chapter, and I recommend that, too. (Available here.) I love that Kate highlighted Montgomery’s creativity and artistry in addition to talking about the ongoing fascination with Anne among readers around the world.
Kate recently invited Montgomery fans to share photos of their original collection of books in the Anne series on social media. Here’s mine:
I’m really looking forward to listening to Kate talk about Montgomery on The Great Courses: The Life and Works of L.M. Montgomery, which is available from Audible.
Some of you will no doubt recall that last November, I hosted a celebration of Montgomery’s 150th birthday, with essays by Mary Beth Cavert, Kerry Clare, Logan Steiner, Naomi MacKinnon, Hughena Matheson, Nili Olay, Marianne Ward, Liz Rosenberg, Audrey Loiselle, Trinna S. Frever, Susannah Fullerton, and Lesley D. Clement, plus one by me.
All the contributions to “‘A world of wonderful beauty’: L.M. Montgomery at 150” are listed here. Kate’s essay, “Anne Shirley and Marianne Dashwood, #KindredSpirits,” provided a link between my “Summer Party for Sense and Sensibility” and the Montgomery celebration.
Are any of you interested in reading a Montgomery novel with me next year? I’m tempted to reread The Blue Castle because 2026 is the 100th anniversary. Let me know if you’d like to join me!
Earlier this year, when the Globe and Mail invited a group of authors to talk about the books that changed them, a couple of them named works by Montgomery.
Carley Fortune, whose most recent novel is One Golden Summer, said of Anne of Green Gables that “The strong sense of place, the friendship between Anne and Diana, the intergenerational relationships between women, the theme of found family, the mistakes, the romance, the humour and, of course, the puffed sleeves – this story is imprinted on me at the cellular level.”
Kenneth Oppel, author of Best of All Worlds, said that when he read Emily of New Moon for the first time, he felt “completely exhilarated” because “It was the first story I’d read about someone who had the same aspirations as me: to become a writer.” He says he “was riveted by her experiences of submitting her early poems and stories and waiting for a response.”
My McClelland and Stewart “Canadian Favourites” edition of Emily of New MoonA few more things I’d like to share with you today:
Some of you in the Halifax area may be interested in Christmas on the Grand Parade, a free concert at St. Paul’s Church (which, as regular readers of my newsletter will know, is where Jane Austen’s niece Cassy was baptized in 1809 and her nephew Charles John Austen, Jr. was married in 1848) on December 15th at 7:00 p.m.
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 29th, I’ll be at Block Shop Books in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, for their Holiday Open House, signing copies of my novel The Austens from 2:30 to 3:30. If you’re in the area, come and see me! I was thrilled to read this wonderful review of The Austens by Jo from Block Shop:
“Emsley’s elegant prose, her careful and vivid representation of the inner lives of these two women, is pitch perfect. She touches on the restrictions faced by women of the period, the hard choices they had to make, the difficulties and dangers of childbirth, and also inspiringly on the strength required to choose one’s own path. This is a quiet sort of book, thoughtful, yet filled with wit and nuance, and empathetic characters who feel very real. A fine addition to the Austen library and a great read for anyone who enjoys relationship-rich, relatable historical fiction.” (You can find the full review on the Block Shop Books website.)
I had fun doing a signing at Indigospirit in Bedford, Nova Scotia, last weekend, and I also enjoyed signing stock again at Coles in the Halifax Shopping Centre. I’m delighted that my novel is now available at Lady Luck Boutique in the Hydrostone Market in Halifax, a beautiful shop with a great collection of jewelry, clothing, accessories, and gifts. Thank you to the owner, Cathy Hope, for featuring The Austens in her store.
Next week is the Toronto launch for The Austens and a celebration of Austen’s 250th: Wednesday, December 3rd, Flying Books, 784 College St., Toronto, ON, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. RSVP to austenslaunch@gmail.com or on the Facebook event page.
“An Evening with The Austens,” the event I’m doing at the Naval Museum of Halifax/Admiralty House on Jane Austen’s birthday, December 16th, is sold out, but there is a waitlist! If you’d like to add your name, please email navalmuseumofhalifax@forces.gc.ca.
It was lovely to see the JASNA 2025 AGM in Baltimore—and some familiar names and faces—featured in this recent article in the New York Times. Great to hear Mary Mintz, President of JASNA, quoted at the end: “We don’t care how people arrive at Jane Austen,” she said. “If they start with the films and TV shows, and never move onto the books, that’s fine. Of course, if they want more, we say: ‘Go for the original.’”
Happy 151st birthday to L.M. Montgomery on Sunday! And please do let me know if you’d like to read The Blue Castle with me sometime next year.
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Here are the links to the last two posts, in case you missed them:
More celebrations for Jane Austen’s 250th!
Photos from the Budge Wilson Bookmark unveiling
My debut novel, The Austens, is now available from Pottersfield Press! Order signed copies (personalized, if you wish) from Bookmark (for shipping within Canada) or Woozles (for shipping within Canada and the United States). Order from Jane Austen Books (they’re based in Ohio and accept international orders as well as orders within the United States). The ebook is also available; additional sources are listed here.
Copyright Sarah Emsley 2025 ~ All rights reserved. No AI training: material on http://www.sarahemsley.com may not be used to “train” generative AI technologies.
