0:06

Dear friends, you are cordially invited to join the Blair Water Literary Society, hosted by me, Erin Keane. On this show, we'll be reading and discussing Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery, Maud to her friends. If you're new to Emily, you may be familiar with Maud's more famous heroine, one Anne of Green Gables. Come with me back to 1899, to the old North Shore of Prince Edward Island, the smallest of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. A motherless girl with a big imagination who loves to read and write has just learned that her beloved father is dying. In a matter of weeks, Emily Byrd Starr will be sent to live with her maiden aunts on the family farm. A cozy, old fashioned place still lit with candles. No newfangled lamps for the Murrays of New Moon. Here, she will become one corner of an iconic friendship square, let her big mouth and daydreams get her into a lot of trouble, and solve a painful mystery, while learning to become part of the very proud family her mother ran away from for love. New Moon Farm runs on traditions, and we're going to talk about them. We'll also dig into the clothes and food of New Moon and Blair Water. We'll talk about Emily's ambition, which defines her in my eyes, and we'll also dive into Maud's writing and how much of her own life is infused into Emily's story. And for you, Emily fans, yes, we will get into the Dean Priest of it all. I'm your host, Erin Keane. I'm a journalist, a creative writing professor, and the author of Runaway, one of NPR's favorite books of 2022. Emily of New Moon was my favorite book when I was 12. Emily is kind of weird, a little psychic, a little melancholy, she has a temper, and a wicked tongue. She decides one day to become a poet, and then just does it. I feel an instant connection to fellow Emily girls, and a deep desire to make more of us. So whether you know all of Aunt Nancy's best gossip or you've never even set foot in Lofty John's Bush, grab a copy of the book and a candle. We have an alpine path to climb.