Lucy Maud Montgomery

A new annotated edition recounting the experiences of Anne's daughter Rilla Blythe during the First World War ..." There is absolutely no one around here who seems to realize the war. I believe it is well they do not. If all felt as I do over it the work of the country would certainly suffer." In her journal entry for January 1, 1915, L. M. Montgomery lamented the absence of close companions with whom to discuss the war in her new life as a minister's wife in the rural community of Leaskdale, Ontario. Montgomery would work hard throughout the war years, contributing to the war effort as well as helping her husband in his role as minister. But there were few people with whom she could discuss the terrible events of the time. Instead, she carefully and quietly recorded war news in her journals. Two years after the war ended, she used this material to write Rilla of Ingleside, a novel about endurance and sacrifice on the Canadian home front. Here, characters follow the international conflict closely and share the experience of fear, dread, and loss. Rilla matures during the war years, learning to endure hard work and loneliness, and the death of her beloved brother Walter (Walter is widely accepted to be a fictional version of John McCrae, the Canadian soldier who composed "In Flanders Fields"). New notes based on the latest research about Canada in World War I show that Montgomery's analysis of war was surprisingly accurate. Written as a companion to the new previously unpublished full edition of Montgomery's wartime journals, this new edition will add to our knowledge of Montgomery as well as Canada's role in the war. Special features include the photographs which may have served as the inspiration both for Rilla and her fiance.

Emily Byrd Starr longs to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her tradition-bound relatives at New Moon refuse. She is instead offered the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School with her friends, on two conditions. The first is that she board with her disliked Aunt Ruth, but it is the second that causes Emily difficulties. Emily must not write a word during her high-school education. At first, Emily refuses the offer, unable to contemplate a life without any writing. Cousin Jimmy changes the condition slightly, saying that she cannot write a word of "fiction". Emily does not think this much of an improvement but it turns out to be an excellent exercise for her budding writing career. Although Emily clashes with Aunt Ruth and Evelyn Blake, the school's would-be writer, she starts to develop her powers of storytelling. Through a series of adventures, Emily is furnished with materials to write stories and poems, and even sees success with the short story "The Woman Who Spanked the King." In the meantime, Emily also begins to see romantic possibilities for her life. She and Teddy Kent draw closer, but due to misunderstandings and interference from Teddy's mother, the romance stalls. Emily also refuses a proposal from Perry Miller, and continues her long-lasting friendship with Dean Priest. At the end of the novel, Emily, now a budding young writer, chooses to remain at her beloved New Moon rather than leaving for New York with famous writer Janet Royal.

In book 2 of the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne takes a position as the only teacher in Avonlea. During her time there, she meets many new people and gets into situations only Anne Shirley could. At the end of this installment, circumstances allow her to pursue a lifelong dream with a close friend.