'A Wrinkle in Time' by Madeleine L'Engle

It was a dark and stormy night.

Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.

MY THOUGHTS:

Wow, this book is off this planet in more ways than one! L'Engle has incorporated science, philosophy and theology  in thisYA fantasy novel which was initially rejected by several publishers who thought that complex content and kid characters were too big a clash. But she persevered and it became a Newbery medalist and famous classic. She even borrowed, 'It was a dark and stormy night' as her opening line, which turned out to be an excellent move. Although Madeleine L'Engle didn't make up that line, it wouldn't surprise me if several readers throughout the years assume she did. 

So here's how it all goes down. 

Meg Murry feels like a loser in every way. She's unpopular at school, considers herself plain looking, relies on glasses for her near-sightedness, and struggles in several subjects. She is actually quite a brilliant maths nerd, yet because she's so awkward, the teachers seem to have overlooked this. Her beloved little brother is being picked on, and her father is missing. Mr Murry is a physicist doing top secret government work, but nobody has heard from him for several years. 

A weird trio of ladies squatting in a local derelict house seem to know what's going on with the children's dad. Chatty Mrs Whatsit is a shapeshifter with weird dress sense; bespectacled Mrs Who speaks in famous quotes because she finds it way easier than coming up with her own words to use; and Mrs Which, the most ancient of all, is hazy and ethereal. 

It turns out Mr Murry is stranded on a planet named Camozotz, where he's been helping fight an evil black shadowy force which is also closing in on earth. Meg, along with two boys are enlisted to help rescue him, without getting themselves embroiled in inescapable danger in the process.  

One of the boys is her precocious 5-year-old brother, Charles Wallace. He's rumoured to be slow on the uptake but knows full well he's a genius with an uncanny knack for intuition. Charles Wallace's intellect is probably way too vast for such a young head, which is his biggest weakness. How can a pre-schooler arm himself against a superiority complex when he understands stuff like quantum physics?

 The other boy is 14-year-old Calvin O'Keefe, who knows he's admired at school for the most unimportant reasons, such as athletic prowess and good grades. But Calvin's home life is a train wreck, which keeps him wistful and envious of those with solid, loving families. When Meg and Calvin realise their home and school personas are complete reversals of each other, it gives them a sort of bonding of opposites.

The sci/fi nature of the story begins when they travel via tesseract. If you compress a long piece of paper to look like a folded fan and then leap across the creases, that's similar to what our little gang do through space and time. There's no actual time travel though. I think the book is more of a 'space' story than a 'time' story, despite what the title may suggest.  

Meg begins the adventures very skittish and easily frightened. I stopped counting the number of times she needs to clutch another person's hand for security, but I honestly find this a refreshing blast from the past in our modern era of brave and bold heroines whose authors fear backlash from our reactive feminist culture if they give them a moment of weakness. With female main characters now being typecast as consistently kickass, timid readers have fewer literary counterparts to draw from.  That's truly sad, and I find Meg Murry's cowardice under the circumstances completely understandable. I'm sure if I were in her shoes, I'd be clutching Calvin's hand until it turned to pulp. 

Her faint-heartedness early on makes her later courage more impressive, especially when she reaches for Calvin's hand for about the hundredth time, then decides she needs to stop relying on others to help her through. Her final big challenge will have to be done alone. (I'm sure many girls hope that any future hand holding with Calvin will be for an entirely different reason.)  

Camazotz turns out to have a brainwashed population who are totally conformed by the ruling power (IT) to be completely uniform. Readers of the sixties assumed that was L'Engle's dig at Communism, but her intent is also to help Meg embrace her own differences rather than wishing to be like others. I've been reading a few books about the drawbacks of our western individualistic culture, so coming on the heels of them, this story is a reminder not to swing too far the other way. 

Okay, I can't deny Madeleine L'Engle's themes are unsubtle and her heavy-handedness sometimes becomes almost cartoonish. Take for example the adventurers' quick mishap on the 2D dimensions plus their interactions with the 'Happy Medium' who is just as she's described. Yet I still have a compulsion to keep reading on despite these corny moments. I think it's because the unlikely main trio are all interesting enough to keep their interactions fun. (I'm talking about the three kids, and not the Mrs Ws.)

I want to keep on reading more of L'Engle's time series, but I've heard they're not easy to find, so it will depend on whether or not I can get my hands on them. Now that it comes down to it, I hope I can. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟  

Trixie Belden Series 7 - 9

7) The Mysterious Code

Oh oh, the future of the Bob White appears to be in jeopardy. There has been a spate of minor vandalism and burglaries, and the school board wants to stamp out clubs for fear of gang like behaviour. Principal Stratton says they'll really have to prove their worth if they're allowed to continue out in the open. Trixie has the grand idea of setting up an antique show to raise money for UNICEF, but it soon becomes clear that serious crooks are after their exhibits. And some of the valuables are only on loan from generous townsfolk. Can the Bob Whites protect the precious loot, save their own reputations and put on a breathtaking show?   

* This is the first of the many 'Kathryn Kenny' titles written by ghost authors, so I was alert for changeover glitches. The start feels a bit awkward. This author opts to 'show' story background through conversation rather than 'tell' it in information dumps. That sounds great in theory, but doesn't work brilliantly when we have the teenagers referring among themselves to, 'your chauffeur Tom' or 'our gamekeeper Mr Maypenny.' They all know very well who everyone is by now! Once those hurdles are clear, we're off.  

* I got tired of Trixie consistently calling Bobby, 'Lamb.' She never has before, and I hope she stops in future books. 

* The previous book ends at Christmas time, and this one takes us in to the new year, culminating around mid-February, as Di Lynch decides to throw a casual Valentine's Day party at her house, probably to atone for that dismal, formal Halloween gig the October before with her fake Uncle Monty.

* We find out about the challenging family dynamics of Spider Webster, the young Sleepyside cop. His parents are both dead and he's the sole guardian of his 14-year-old brother Tad, who tends to be a bit of a handful. 

* We also meet a couple of charming elderly Dutch neighbours; Mrs Vanderpoel and her whiskered friend Brom. Recurring character alert.

* The author clearly had great fun describing the wonderful antiques, some dating back to the Civil War era and some exported from overseas. It was enough to make me wish I could step into the pages and visit their antique fair myself. 

* There is some slight inconsistency with the recovery of an old music box that previously belonged to the Frayne family. Apparently Jim's bad stepfather, Jonesy, was falsely accused of stealing it. Yet the scenario is set up in such a manner that the box disappeared several years before Jonesy ever entered the scene. This incident doesn't matter really, since it's not integral to the plot. I guess the author just wanted to highlight Jim's generosity in wishing he could tell Jonesy that he's off the hook.  

* I really applaud Mr and Mrs Belden for being such fun, hands-on parents. Chapter 15, in which they both take part in the fun and games night with all the kids, is excellent. In fact, I should call them Peter and Helen from now on, since they are such well-rounded characters, and not the bland, faceless suits and house dresses often found in juvenile literature from this era. They are a wholesome family too, as Peter gets all the kids and their guests to bow their heads for grace. 

* Helen Belden is a fantastic example of a happy, fulfilled stay-at-home mum. Bobby and the male Lynch twins are unanimous in agreeing that her homemade hamburgers are superior to those at Wimpy's. She even describes her methods for any eager beavers willing to put them to the test. And she adds marshmallows to her Waldorf salad with the apples and celery. I've never heard that idea before, but I like it. There really should be a series cookbook.

* Great news for romance fans, this first Kathryn Kenny author seems super keen to promote the Jim/Trixie attraction angle. She's practically shoving the baton into the hands of writers to come, but from my memory, I don't think they all run with quite the same speed. Perhaps she was warned to slow down and remember this is first and foremost a mystery-adventure series for young teens. 

* There are a few lovely little nuggets for Mart/Diana shippers to jump on too, such as that cute, nervous public kiss. However any Honey/Brian threads are virtually non-existent thus far.

* At one stage, Helen Belden gets exasperated and snaps at Bobby to give her a break. I'd come across one reviewer who remarked that the little imp doesn't get so much as a scolding throughout the entire series. Well, that's not quite true. He might be a trifle spoiled but she is only human herself.

* Trixie's bossiness is as plain as ever, but she gets called up on it from surprise sources a few times. As long as the authors are all aware that she tends to be dominating at times, it's all good. What's more, all the Bob Whites get a wake-up call for being a bit inclusive and giving Tad Webster the cold shoulder treatment. That's interesting, since I was going along with their point of view from the start, and considering him a pain in the neck. But there are always two sides. The fairness factor is what makes these books a great read. I notice they haven't invited Tad to join the Bob Whites though. Perhaps he still thinks they're a bit corny.

* It's lucky that Jim aims to open a school for boys rather than working with Trixie and Honey's detective agency. When it comes to picking up on a desperate clue, he's absolutely terrible! It would take a brick to drop on his head.

* I'll award the quote of the book to Mrs Belden. 'I don't want you to grow up too soon but I would like to be able to tell the difference between you and your brothers without straining my sight.'  

8) The Black Jacket Mystery

The Bob Whites are organising an ice carnival to help raise funds for a Mexican village struck by an earthquake. Meanwhile, Regan is concealing a ponderous secret that appears to make him very anxious and grumpy. And a sulky boy named Dan Mangan who has had brushes with the law is now living with Mr Maypenny. Is Dan Mr Maypenny's grandson? And is he behind some thefts and break-ins that have been happening? 

* Trixie and Honey have acquired Mexican penpals, Dolores and Lupe, whose school library was decimated by an earthquake. Donations of new books is what the Bob Whites' ice carnival is all in aid of. No sooner have they finished the antique fair from the last book when they're pumped again, working on a new project. These guys don't let grass grow under their feet, but to squeeze all the coming adventures within one year, the stories will need to be back to back like this. 

* Mart is apparently a very speedy skater. I wonder if he surpasses Brian and Jim, but get the feeling he never manages to trump the Mr Perfect duo as often as he'd like to.

* I don't remember if the Beldens' elusive Aunt Alicia ever makes an actual appearance, but her gifts to her nephews and niece tend to bite the dust. In this book, a spotted china cat is smashed and a chunky woolly sweater is unravelled. 

* It seems the Beldens are a family of faith after all, for it appears Mart has recently outgrown his Sunday suit and needs a new one. Perhaps Trixie goes to pick up the newspapers from Lytell's General Store (See Book 1) after they get home from church. 

* I wonder if Bobby ends up getting the kitten that many people promise him. I don't remember, but I feel sorry for it if he does, having to live with both Bobby and Reddy.

* Regan somehow manages to come up with a decrepit old horse named Spartan from the Wheelers' stable for the use of Dan Mangan. How come we've never heard of Spartan before? He's a handy plot device horse if ever there was one.

* (Sigh) it had to happen some time, I guess. The awesome Regan goes down a notch or two in my estimation. His attitude toward Dan stinks. Basically, Regan places job security way above his family duties. He's so scared that acknowledging his delinquent nephew will tick off his rich employers that he prefers to keep it hushed up. He'll hide Dan with Mr Maypenny rather than admit that he even has a nephew. What sort of message is that supposed to give poor Dan?  

* The whole secret experiment thread is abysmally handled by the adults. For a start, it encourages others to imagine things are worse than they actually are. Trixie wonders if Regan himself has committed a crime, such as a hit-and-run. Little does she know he's just too churlish to own his own flesh and blood. 

* Trixie's antagonistic reaction to Dan from the moment she sets eyes on him is nothing to be proud of. She sums him up as a troublemaker the second he steps on the bus, and treats him accordingly. Snap judgement might be natural, but that doesn't make it right. Then when Mart points out that Trixie has had it in for Dan since Day One, she flounces off in a huff, although every word is true. 

* This is probably the point where readers with opinions about Trixie's romantic life may begin to diverge. Until now, Jim has monopolised the floor, but from here on he may have competition, if not in Trixie's eyes, in the readers' at least. The canon undoubtedly points toward Jim, but there is something sort of cool in Trixie's progression from haughtily putting Dan in his place to humbly requesting, 'Please don't go, I'm scared.' So is it Team Jim or Team Dan, girls?

* Haha, now for the inconsistencies! Sorry to be a spoilsport but being pedantic can be fun. Firstly, let's talk about Tom and Celia wanting to buy the Robin; the red trailer formerly from the Lynches which they're living in on the Wheelers' property. The implication is that Tom dreams of paying Mr Lynch the $5000 for it. But hey, hang on, doesn't that trailer now belong to Trixie and Mart?! Mr Lynch gifted it to the young brother/sister duo for their valiant success at stopping the fake Uncle Monty in his tracks. This new anonymous author needs to go back and read The Mysterious Visitor. Trixie and Mart should be the ones rolling in dough, with $2500 apiece if the sale ever comes off! 

* Secondly, how did the Bob White clubhouse even get broken into at this stage? In the previous book, The Mysterious Code, a burglar alarm was connected to the clubhouse which Regan would instantly hear from the stables and his apartment up at the Manor House. Surely this wouldn't be inactivated so soon. It's only a matter of a few weeks since they needed it for the antique show. 

* Finally, this author contradicts herself within this one book. At one point we're told that Regan has been sending money to his only sister, (Dan's mother) to help her make ends meet. Then a little later the story changes. Mr Maypenny informs Trixie that Regan totally lost track of his sister until he recently heard that she was dead. Come on author, get your facts straight. Proofreader, you should have been onto that one too. 

* If I'm to award a quote of the book, it'll have to go to Dan. 'But you know all the answers, don't you, Freckles.' 

* Hooray, now our seven Bob Whites are complete, so bring on more.   

9) The Happy Valley Mystery  

The Bob Whites are off to spend a week at a sheep farm in Iowa owned by the Beldens' Uncle Andrew. While he's away in Scotland, he asks his managers, Hank and Mary Gorman, to give the teenagers some hands-on experience and a good time. Yet there is some funny business going on in the background. Andrew Belden's sheep are steadily disappearing without a trace. It's surely the work of some elusive sheep thieves, and the cops and sheriff have no leads. Trixie makes up her mind that before they depart she will solve the mystery for Uncle Andrew as her way of thanking him for having them there.   

* This book doesn't divulge whether the bachelor uncle Andrew Belden is older or younger than his brother Peter, but my guess is older. Those two have sure diverged in different directions. Being a sheep farmer is a far cry from working in a bank. 

* On the flight across, Honey remarks that she's not even sure she'd know a sheep if she saw one. Then a bit later, Di asks whether huge jackrabbits are just grown-up cottontails. Yikes, as the Bob Whites themselves might say! We seem to be living in the time period when dumb speeches were consistently put in the mouths of girls. At least some should be given to the boys if we need any at all. But our Bob White boys are consistently portrayed as quite brainy.

* Poor Dan misses out on the trip, which we soon see becomes a recurring pattern. In this case, he wants to study hard to stay in Jim and Brian's class. This suggests that he's closer to their age than Mart's, but I have a feeling this fluctuates. The Black Jacket Mystery seems to suggest somewhere in between, but since Jim has skipped a year, Dan would have to be extra-academic, which we know he's not. Hmmm. 

* The Trixie Belden series is quite educational as well as fun. We learn a lot about sheep farming, meet several different breeds, discover why shearers have soft hands, and see that well known proverbs about dumb sheep were thought of for a very good reason. There are some lovely descriptive passages and a good sense of place. 

* Trixie gets a bit nettled and snaps at Diana, 'I like Jim of course! Just the way you like Mart and Honey likes Brian.' Whoa okay, I thought these were subtleties for readers to pick up over time, but this author has chosen to lay all the cards right out on the table already. 

* The three Sleepyside boys blitz the basketball court! You show 'em, boys! I wish there was a way to spell a wolf whistle! 

* Di reveals that her parents knew they were going to marry each other since they were ten years old. Trixie often gets impatient with Diana and calls her a baby to her face, but has to admit that Di has a social poise and grace around boys that she lacks. 

* But Trixie learns some feminine wiles from observing Diana and Honey in action. The other two make no attempt to buzz off the swarming guys who are trying to help them tie their skates. The helpless act is part of their arsenal. Thanks heavens times have changed. 

* Trixie gets jealous when Jim's attention is monopolised by a gorgeous blond girl, Dot Murray, and she's not above flirting with Ned Schulz to get back at him. It sort of backfires since Ned is a straightforward sort of guy who likes girls to be natural and unadorned. Yay, at least someone has some sense. I doubt Jim would expect such behavior from Trixie anyhow. 

* Trixie's aptitude for her ambition shines through in this book. She truly has the grit to be a detective. She's a very driven person, considering time wasted unless she's on the case. She's forced to put up with lots of flak and teasing from adults, and loss of face after false leads. But nothing deters her for long. Perhaps my favourite quote of the book comes from Ned. 'Trixie, you knock me dead. You make up your mind to something and nothing can change it. Right?' 

* No, I think my ultimate favourite is this exchange between the almost-twins. Trixie: 'I just can't remember what our lives were like without Jim.' Mart: 'Your life especially.' 

Please catch my last thoughts on Books 4 - 6

And stay in touch for next up will be Books 10 - 12.  

        

Guys with crazy, genetic diseases involving time

Time is perhaps the most fascinating and relentless force of all. It steadily changes each of us and eventually removes us from the picture entirely. Nobody can speed it up or slow it down. The most we can do is create the illusion that we can, with skin products, hair dye, cosmetic surgery and so-called super foods. But it ticks steadily away, eroding us into faded, frail images of our former selves. Maybe that's why speculative stories about fellows like these intrigue us, because they encourage us to ask, 'What if time behaved differently for us? What would be the ramifications of that?' It's interesting and fun that several authors have grappled with the same questions, and the conditions they inflict on their poor heroes could be likened to medical prognoses, enabling us to ponder some possible answers. Here goes. 

Tom Hazard (from How to Stop Time)
He has a condition that causes him to age incredibly slowly, at the rate of one year for every 15. He's seen a lot of history in his life, meeting celebrities such as Shakespeare, Captain Cook and F. Scott Fitzgerald. This gives him plenty of insight for his current job as a High School History teacher, but Tom finds it hard to deal with the downside, which is outliving everyone he grows to care about. (My review is here.)

Benjamin Button (from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
I love the concept of poor Benjamin's tale. His life trajectory is the opposite to other people's. He's born as a haggard, grey-haired man and ages backward until his death from old age, as a new born baby. The image of how he and the love of his life face their final moments together is haunting; an elderly woman holding a helpless infant. I believe the movie starring Brad Pitt surpassed the novella by F. Scott Fitzgerald, on which it was based. 

Henry de Tamble (from The Time Traveler's Wife)
His condition once saved his life as a 5-year-old, but he senses it will also be the death of him. Henry zips back and forth to different stages of his own future and past, with the inability to control when it will happen. His genetic clock randomly resets itself, often at extremely awkward moments. He always vanishes without a trace, leaving a pile of clothes behind on the floor, to appear entirely naked in another time frame. But he has the consolation of some interesting conversations with himself at different ages. To a certain extent, this gives him comforting insight into what lies ahead for him, but how terrifying for Henry when his future self no longer visits. What is that supposed to signify? (My review is here.)


Dorian Gray (from The Picture of Dorian Gray)
You could say that his time condition didn't develop until his late teens or early twenties. This young man longed to trade places with his own portrait, because it would be so wonderful to stay gorgeous and young. Suddenly that's just what happens. The canvas bears the brunt of his hard living and bad choices, so Dorian hides it away in his attic. Meanwhile, everyone wonders how he manages to stay so ravishingly attractive. It's bound to catch up with him some time though, because that's the nature of time, and we know it'll hit hard when it does. (Here is my review.)

Jesse Tuck (from Tuck Everlasting) 
This teenager and his whole family could be said to have caught their condition from contaminated water. There was evidently some sort of supernatural bug in the stream they drank from, which preserved them from the ravages of aging from then on. Furthermore, it fortified each of them so they were impossible to kill. So when Jesse visits the grave of his childhood sweetheart Winnie long after she's grown old and passed away, he's still the same handsome young man he was in the 1920s. Only his fashion sense has changed. His is perhaps the most tragic tale of all. For who would really choose that sort of indestructible immortality?

What a wild ride it would be to get hold of all these stories and read them back to back. If you're like me, they might help reconcile you with your rapidly aging self. Perhaps ours is the best case scenario after all, because these guys' lives were fraught with too much difficulty and heartache. Would you trade places with any one of them? Perhaps I'll finish off with the legendary figure who represents the condition each of us must bear.

Father Time
He's not actually a mortal, but a personified picture of the passage of time in our lives. He's elderly and bearded because he's been around literally forever. His scythe and hour glass represent the one-way movement we all must cope with. The young will grow old, but the old cannot rejuvenate themselves to start over again. Presenting him in a human form like the rest of us is apt, because it could be argued we all have a genetic condition regarding time, the same as the guys on my list. It starts ticking away the moment we're born. We know it's chronic and will turn out to be terminal, but compared to them, we wouldn't have it any other way.


You might enjoy my related list of Evergreen Children, those storybook kids who never grow up. It turns out there's a lot they can teach us.

There's also this reflection on the passage of time, featuring a wise and happy bunch named The Graveyard School. 

'Emily of New Moon' by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends: with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper. Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is the first book in a trilogy Lucy Maud Montgomery was anxious to start work on, partly so she could move on from the Anne series she felt herself cornered in for so long. Her new heroine is Emily Byrd Starr, whose beloved father dies of consumption early on, leaving her at the mercy of intimidating relatives from her mother's side of the family. The proud and haughty Murray aunts and uncles disowned their younger sister (Emily's mother), when she eloped with a penniless guy they spurned (Emily's father). They all baulk at the thought of taking on Emily now, and decide to settle the matter by drawing lots. Poor Emily herself is the person forced to draw the slip of paper! 

She ends up heading off to New Moon Farm, the ancestral family hub, with spinster aunts Elizabeth and Laura, and disarming cousin Jimmy, who's said to be intellectually compromised after a childhood accident, although we readers are left wondering whether he simply thinks fresher, more original thoughts than the average person. (More about Jimmy here.) Laura is sweet and easy-going but Elizabeth, who rules the roost, is grim and set in her ways, making her one of Emily's biggest trials. 

There are strong similarities to the relationship between Anne and Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, yet it's really quite the opposite. While Anne and Marilla come to terms with each other being so essentially different, Emily and Aunt Elizabeth lock horns because they're so similar! They are both stubborn, single-minded, strong-willed individuals who are perceived by others as sharing the same fierce family pride and carrying themselves with the same haughty carriage. In both cases, their eventual warming to each other is very touching.  

Emily's main tool to help her cope with change is a rich inner life that atones for the loss of many other things. Her 'flash' is a fascinating phenomenon. It's her name for those sensual moments that provide sudden glimpses of a wider, more wonderful spiritual plane far beyond our own. Her history of everyday triggers is one we can all practice taking on board. It includes 'a high, wild note of wind, a grey bird lighting on her window sill, the singing of "Holy, holy, holy" in church' and her first sudden glimpse of a dormer window in the early evening sky at New Moon. That sort of rich and simple pleasure is available for us all.

Montgomery endows Emily, more than any other heroine, with her own passion for writing. For both Maud and Emily, the sheer necessity of getting things on paper puts it beyond the scope of hobby to an outright calling. Emily needs to empty her soul with her pen so all the emotional dross can be cleared. The solace she gets from reading and writing keeps her on an even keel. Aunt Elizabeth has an old-fashioned suspicion of fiction and wants Emily to stop, but Emily knows she can't possibly obey. Writing is as necessary to her as breathing. It's elemental and cathartic to her soul. I tend to think if Aunt Elizabeth managed to prevail, Emily would be far harder to live with. 

Emily's three closest friends provide excellent subplots, because their equally colourful backstories enrich the whole text. (Funnily, they're all only children brought up by single parents, or in Perry's case, it's a great aunt, after his seafaring father passes away.)

First is Emily's BFF, the vibrant and choleric Ilse Burnley whose dad, the local doctor, neglects and resents her for a mysterious reason that's concealed from kids but tacitly understood by all adults. When we finally discover what it's all about, Dr Burnley emerges from the secret looking like a rat in my opinion, although peers from his own era seem to understand where the guy was coming from. I'll say no more and leave you to form your own opinions about him.  

Both Burnleys are renowned for their tantrum throwing! It's great fun to read, especially Ilse's colourful insults, but could anyone really get away with such full-on hissy fits without alienating their friends? In the case of Allan and Ilse, people just seem to accept that they're born that way. It seems to me at the very least, both father and daughter are headed for blood pressure and cardio problems if they don't tone it down. Lots of good property is broken or otherwise damaged by being kicked, smashed or pitched out of windows. I do love Ilse though, for her honesty and energy.  

Next is the budding artist Teddy Kent, whose intensely brooding and neurotic mother has her apron strings tied so tightly around him, the poor boy can barely breathe. Even though Teddy is loyal enough to say that she's awesome when they're alone, she's a menacing force capable of doing his psyche great harm. Everything she thinks he's too fond of gets destroyed, whether it's pets being drowned or artwork being burned. Because she must have all his love for herself! Seriously, this lady needs help. 

And finally, Perry Miller, the hired boy who helps Cousin Jimmy around New Moon! What a lad! He's quick-witted and penetrating with abundant confidence to make up for being born on the wrong side of the tracks. This boy hails from Stovepipe Town, the nearby slum, but has no doubt he could become premier of Canada if he tries hard enough. He's a fabulous example of rising from putdowns. I remember as a kid thinking Perry would be a great match for Emily, but can now see he's far too pragmatic. Emily needs a much artier, head-in-the-clouds type of guy, if you get my drift. (I once wrote a blog post explaining why this boy is one of my favourite LMM heroes. You can find it here.)

I read a suggestion somewhere that Montgomery might have based Emily and her three best friends on the four basic temperaments. Emily is Melancholic, Ilse is Choleric, Teddy is Phlegmatic and Perry is Sanguine. Even though each of them, like most of us, is really more of a mixture, I like this generalisation, although I'm not sure it was intentional on Montgomery's part. 

Montgomery's knack for writing elderly ladies shines in this book. Aunt Nancy Priest, her companion Caroline, and Perry's Aunt Tom are all other-worldly wrinklies beyond caring about making good impressions at their stage of life. Old ladies get plenty of awesome lines reflecting the wisdom of having seen the gamut of human nature in their time. 

But practically every character is well drawn. Miss Brownell gets my prize for nastiest teacher, Lofty John for meanest practical joke and Dean Priest for creepiest romantic intentions. One of the final impressions we're left with is this thirty-something guy who's biding his time, waiting for a twelve-year-old girl to grow up so he can woo her properly. Yep, Montgomery's setting him up to become one of Emily's serious suitors, and Dean's occasional passion charged comments suggest that he can hardly wait.    

But I started with Emily and will finish with her too. Believe me, we have no sunny-hearted, carroty haired Anne here. Emily is a little Gothic chick from her black hair and pallid skin right through to the bone! She has a prickly, cheeky streak a mile wide, and backchat flows so naturally to her tongue that half the time she doesn't even realise. Simply stating that Emily lacks Anne's essential sweetness is an understatement. Sure, Anne blows up at Mrs Lynde and Gilbert for outright insults, but can you imagine her delivering a line such as this one from Emily to Great Aunt Nancy? 'If I was Salome I'd ask for your head on a charger.' In all honesty, I can see why some people, (both inside the story and out), consider Emily a piece of work.

She even lives in a darker, grimmer version of Prince Edward Island than Anne's, to match her Gothic persona. Emily's world is peopled by control freaks like Mrs Kent, perpetual sulkers like Dr Burnley and cynical brooders like Dean Priest. It contains eerie guestrooms with spine-chilling portraits and terrifying four-poster beds. Gruesome things happen to innocent people, like Ilse's mother.

 But Emily's flash, devotion to writing, love of cats and openness to being wowed humanises her, and makes me keen to keep re-reading her adventures. Most of all, I admire her self-containment. When her blunt old former housekeeper, Ellen Green, warns her not to cause ripples because she's of no importance, Emily responds, 'I'm important to myself!' Yay, a girl like this will survive the dark, Halloween-y twists her life sometimes takes. 

Bring on Emily Climbs!

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