by Sarah McCoy
Rachel Kahan, I never knew the author-editor relationship could be one that transforms a person’s life . . . until I met you. Thank you for having faith in me before I knew what story seeds lay buried within. A believer in divine intervention, I’m confident that every past road was leading me to you, a kindred and bosom friend. Thank you also to MJ, A, and Taylor for the countless moments of video joy during the creative process of this novel.
Jennifer Hart, Kelly Rudolph, Amelia Wood, Alivia Lopez, and the superlative team at HarperCollins for being champions of this book. Also, Cynthia Buck, my eagle-eyed copyeditor.
Mollie Glick, my agent and literary spouse. Forged by fire, we’ve come through bolder, sharper, and more united than ever. Thank you for fighting for me and never leaving my side. My love to the mini Gs who are growing up to be Blythe-hearted gentlemen.
Emily Westcott for being the unsung hero of every day. Joy Fowlkes for your joy-full enthusiasm. Jamie Stockton for leading the charge around the globe and the rest of my CAA family for your great support.
Suman Seewat and Melissa Brooks, this novel’s Canadian fairy godparents. Thank you for your expert editorial eyes. Your time and approval meant everything.
George Campbell, Pamela Campbell, the Anne Society of Prince Edward Island, and the Anne of Green Gables Museum. Thank you for welcoming me into Maud’s world like family. Your generous love exceeded my every hope and expectation. I’m honored to have your blessing on this novel and your friendship in my life. This is just the beginning. I pray one day we can bring even more Green Gables to the world.
Green Gables Heritage Place docents for answering all my questions and letting me stay past closing when there was no one left but me, my mom, and Maud’s memory on the porch. Thank you to Jacqueline and Emily at The Gables of PEI for going above and beyond as my hostesses while ensconced on the island.
Eternal gratitude to author friends who compassionately listened, encouraged me through the challenges, and shared the joys of this writing life. You are my tribe:
Sue Monk Kidd, for graciously reading the unedited manuscript; Susanna Kearsley, my emergency historian responder of Canadian politics; Paula McLain, Mc-Soul Sister, for spinning love like an everlasting Ferris wheel; Pepper Sister Jenna Blum, for being beautifully you; Melanie Benjamin, my yearlong bestie in Chicago; M.J. Rose and Fuzzle joys; Lisa Wingate, dragonflies forever; and Daren Wang, my Marilla man. I’m also grateful to friends who buoyed me on with laughter, tea, and endless support: Christina Baker Kline, Jane Green, Caroline Leavitt, Sandra Scofield, Therese Walsh, Karen White, and Alli Pataki, to name a few.
I’m nothing without the legions of bookstores, book clubs, and readers to whom I am appreciatively devoted. For going above and beyond during the writing of this novel, I must thank: Carol Schmiedecke, a truest kindred and L. M. Montgomery virtuoso; divine Jennifer O’Regan of Confessions of a Bookaholic; my honorary family at Reading with Robin, Robin Kall, and Emily Homonoff; Bookmarks NC bookstore beauties, Beth Buss, Ginger Hendricks, and Jamie Southern; Susan McBeth and Kenna Jones of Adventures by the Book; my WSNC radio family and Jim Steele, for being the jazzy big brother I never had—our “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy” shows are one of my favorite hours of the month.
My Person Christy Fore, her Person JC Fore, and my honorary nieces Kelsey Grace and Lainey Faith. I have a piece of you locket-ed in my heart always.
My First Best Friend Forever (FBFF) Andrea Hughes and darlings Abigail and Alice Hughes. I made a promise to you girls over teacups one June day. I keep my word. I hope you enjoy finding a little piece of yourselves forever a part of Green Gables.
Dr. Eleane Norat McCoy, to whom this book is dedicated and to whom I owe the most. Marilla’s story would not be if not for you. As a child you introduced me to Maud’s Green Gables world. You walked beside me through the imaginary time and places of the Anne of Green Gables series to the real ones of Prince Edward Island. Our sojourn together in October 2017 exceeded my every hope and dream. Your insightful musings, keen first-reader eye, and shared kindred allegiance to the true spirit of Maud’s creation were invaluable to Marilla’s development. You inspire me in everything you do.
My McCoy men, Curtis, Jason, and Dr. Andrew McCoy, thank you for fiercely loving the women of our family, respecting us with your unyielding support, and honoring our passions as if they were your own. Andrew, you lived with me while I was in the writing trenches (Chicago), so I must thank you specifically for giving me laughter and encouragement, even when the air-conditioning died, the basement flooded, and life seemed so uncertain that I couldn’t hold in the tears. In an age when we desperately need more men of grace and vision, thank you three for being my white knights—or USMA black, as is the case!
To my abuelitos Maria and Wilfredo Norat, your legacy is a bastion of love. Te amo con todo mi corazón y alma. Bendiciones y besitos por siempre.
Titi Ivonne Tennent and Aunt Gloria O’Brien, to write a novel about one of the greatest “aunties” in literature, I had to know the love of women who raised me like their daughter. Thank you both for showing me the miraculous and boundless nature of mothers’ hearts. I am who I am today because of your gracious hands on my life, never doubt it.
My husband Brian Waterman (aka Doc B), you didn’t even know who Marilla Cuthbert or Anne Shirley was when I started writing this book. Yet you enthusiastically waved banners of support, trumpeted “head, not the tail” encouragement, and kept absolute faith during the dark hours when my own faltered. You even sat beside me through all of the 1985/87 Anne of Green Gables television miniseries—and enjoyed it. That’s a real man. I wouldn’t change one iota of the life we’ve created. The struggles and remodeling of dreams over the years have only made me love you more than I ever could’ve foreseen at seventeen.
Also by Sarah McCoy
The Mapmaker’s Children
Grand Central
The Baker’s Daughter
The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico
About the Author
SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of the novels The Mapmaker’s Children; The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award nominee; and The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico. She has taught English and writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She lives with her husband, an orthopedic sports surgeon, and their dog, Gilbert, in North Carolina.
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Copyright
marilla of green gables. Copyright © 2018 by Sarah McCoy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
first edition
Cover design by Elsie Lyons
Cover photographs: © Lee Avison/Arcangel (woman); © Barrett & MacKay/Getty Images (house, landscape); © Victor Lauer/Shutterstock (sky); © Flower design sketch gallery/Shutterstock; © marchello74/Shutterstock and © David M. Schrader/Shutterstock (textures)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-269773-8
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-269771-4
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