‘Fame—and love’ in Emily’s Quest by L.M. Montgomery

by Megan Willome

“Emily, I’ve found the rainbow gold. Fame—and love.”

No one actually speaks these words, but Emily imagines them in Teddy’s voice as she contemplates his photograph. The reference to rainbow gold hearkens back to chapter 1, when Emily and Teddy agree to a quest— “the rainbow quest” — two artists chasing rainbows to their glorious ends. Emily’s is a writing rainbow, and Teddy’s, an artistic one. They want the same thing.

“And there are two things that I want tremendously. One, of course, is to be a good artist,” Teddy says. He never mentions the second thing he wants, and Emily does not ask, but we readers know. They want each other. They are each other’s rainbows.

It takes the whole dang book for them to figure this out. (I wanted to scream at Emily several times.)

Read the rest at Project Redux. The essay includes a nod to the shy fawn-like creature in chapter 17 of C.S. Lewis’ second book in his space trilogy, Perelandra.

“Megan Willome has captured the essence of crow in this delightful children’s collection. Not only do the poems introduce the reader to the unusual habits and nature of this bird, but also different forms of poetry as well.”

—Michelle Ortega, poet and children’s speech pathologist