A 1926 clipping quotes a letter in which L.M. Montgomery mentioned the difficulties she faced while writing her third book about Emily.
Contents
Preamble
L.M. Montgomery Is Undecided
Discussion
Bibliography
Image Credit
Preamble
Several years ago, I came across an unidentified clipping in Montgomery’s scrapbook of reviews entitled “L.M. Montgomery Is Undecided.” The letter quotes Montgomery’s stated difficulties in writing the third volume about Emily, which appeared as Emily’s Quest in 1927. But it contains no indication of the letter’s recipient or whether or not Montgomery intended its contents for publication.
Thanks to Simon Lloyd, university archivist and special collections librarian at the University of Prince Edward Island, this “unidentified” clipping is unidentified no more! After I mentioned this item on social media, he responded with a scan of a newspaper page that matches the clipping in Montgomery’s scrapbook. It appeared in the Salt Lake Telegram of Salt Lake City, Utah, on 10 October 1926. (I’ve since come across the contents of this letter in the Cincinatti Enquirer’s “Short Turns for Book Worms” column. Quite possibly it appeared in several more newspapers as well.) Thanks so much, Simon!
L.M. Montgomery Is Undecided
Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, UT), 10 October 1926, 4.
L.M. Montgomery, whose charming story of love in an elysian Canadian summer, “Blue Castle,” has just been published by Stokes, writes that she is busy now on the third Emily book and a “dreadful time I am having, too, with all her beaux. Her love affairs won’t run straight. Then, too, I’m bombarded with letters from girls who implore me to let her marry Dean, not Teddy. But she is set on Teddy herself so what am I to do? One letter recently was quite unique. All previous letters have implored me to write ‘more about Emily, no matter whom she marries,’ but the writer of this begged me not to write another Emily book because she felt sure if I did she would marry Teddy and she (the writer) just couldn’t bear it. . . . So between these contradictory pleas, I’m in a regular mess!”
Discussion
The text of this clipping raises three topics of conversation.
First, the clipping consists of a rare instance of Montgomery revealing that sometimes she feels as though the character truth of her characters and the input she receives from readers sometimes make her lose control of her own material. What does this reveal about Montgomery as a writer, especially as a writer of fiction released in instalments?
Second, it indicates that her readers felt differently (and yet adamantly) about Emily’s choice of husband, although of course there’s no way to indicate how evenly they were divided between Team Teddy and Team Dean. Even so, there’s no indication here of any of the creepy subtext about Dean that many Readathon participants commented on as we read through this book. If our growing awareness of this subtext now is in part a byproduct of the #MeToo movement and of an increased societal awareness of toxic masculinity, what does this suggest about the way people read (or reread) and interpret (or reinterpret) a work of fiction?
Third, the only plot element mentioned in this clipping is Emily’s “beaux,” as though Emily’s sole quest in this novel-in-progress is to find a husband. What do you make of the fact that, at least as far as this article reports, Montgomery’s readers seem to be more interested in reading more about Emily’s love life than about her writing life? (Note that it refers to The Blue Castle as a “charming story of love in an elysian Canadian summer,” which really simplifies this complex novel.) Or is the emphasis here on Emily’s love life simply because her writing career is comparatively much more straightforward to write about?
Bibliography
Cincinnati Enquirer. “Short Turns for Book Worms.” 2 October 1926, 5.
Montgomery, L.M. The Blue Castle. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company; Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1926.
—. Emily Climbs. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company; Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1925.
—. Emily’s Quest. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company; Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1927.
Image Credit
“L.M. Montgomery Is Undecided,” a clipping appearing in the Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, UT), 10 October 1926, 4. Courtesy of Newspapers.com.
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