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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 140 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 140 pagesAbout this book
A violin draws a young teacher into an old orchard—and toward a girl who has never spoken.
Eric Marshall comes to Lindsay on Prince Edward Island expecting little from his teaching post. Then he hears music among the orchard trees and meets Kilmeny Gordon. Beautiful, gentle and sheltered from the world, she expresses herself through her violin. As Eric grows close to her, the plans he brings to the island begin to change.
But the Gordon household guards more than Kilmeny's quiet life. Her aunt Janet and uncle Thomas live with an old family sorrow, while Neil Gordon, raised in their home, has long loved her and sees Eric as a threat. In this short romance, L. M. Montgomery explores love, isolation and the silences that shape a family.
What you’ll discover
- Music among the trees Follow Eric toward the violin music that turns an ordinary teaching post into something unexpected.
- A heroine beyond words Meet Kilmeny, whose violin expresses feelings she cannot share through speech.
- An island closely observed Step into orchards, fields and a small, watchful community on Prince Edward Island.
- Love under watchful eyes Feel the tension as Eric's growing attachment meets Neil's long-held love for Kilmeny.
- The weight of silence Explore a household where old sorrow shapes lives as deeply as unspoken feelings.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love old-fashioned romance, island scenery, and heroines with a gift for music. It suits anyone who enjoys a mystery of silence and a love story told with warmth.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Eric thinks love can wait
- Music leads to a hidden girl
- Friendship grows through chalk and music
- Eric speaks plainly about his love
- The mirror cannot remove every fear
- Silence can express and imprison
- Worth reaches beyond other people's judgments
- The orchard and music carry feeling
- Love meets the cost of silence
Who’s who
- Eric MarshallA clever, confident college graduate who takes a village teaching post and finds himself hopelessly in love with a girl he met by chance.
- Kilmeny GordonA beautiful young violinist who cannot speak, has never seen a mirror, and believes herself ugly.
- Neil GordonAn Italian orphan raised by the Gordons, a gifted fiddler who loves Kilmeny and resents the newcomer.
- Thomas GordonKilmeny's stern, well-read uncle, who guards her from the world and fears for her future.
- Janet GordonKilmeny's aunt, outwardly harsh, who hopes Eric will be her niece's protector and carries a long-kept family secret.
- David BakerA throat specialist and Eric's loyal older friend, who worries about Eric's heart and tries to help Kilmeny.
- Mrs. WilliamsonEric's quiet, kind landlady, who knew Kilmeny's mother and tells Eric the sad family story.
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Kilmeny of the Orchard in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Kilmeny of the Orchard
by L. M. Montgomery · 1910
A schoolmaster follows violin music into an abandoned orchard and finds a girl who flees without a sound.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Kilmeny looked up with a lovely grace”
In short
What would you do if you followed violin music into a ruined orchard and found a girl so beautiful that your breath stopped, only to watch her run from you in terror? That is how Eric Marshall's summer on Prince Edward Island begins.
Kilmeny of the Orchard at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 35 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 37,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1910by L. M. Montgomery
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A young man who thinks love can wait
The story opens at Queenslea College on graduation day. Eric Marshall has finished at the top of his class, and his old friend David Baker has come to watch with fierce pride. David is a doctor who treats disorders of the throat and voice.
Eric means to join his father's firm and make Marshall and Company known from ocean to ocean. He is full of plans and sure that his heart is not on the list. Eric laughs off David's warning that love may yet overturn his plans.
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A schoolmaster follows violin music into an abandoned orchard and finds a girl who flees without a sound.
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Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 140 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 140 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
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For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Montgomery, L. M. Kilmeny of the Orchard. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/kilmeny-of-the-orchard.
Montgomery, L. M. (2026). Kilmeny of the orchard. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kilmeny-of-the-orchard (Original work published 1910)
Montgomery, L. M. Kilmeny of the Orchard. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kilmeny-of-the-orchard.
@book{montgomery2026kilmeny,
author = {Montgomery, L. M.},
title = {Kilmeny of the Orchard},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kilmeny-of-the-orchard},
note = {First published 1910}
}
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What is Kilmeny of the Orchard about?
It tells of Eric Marshall, a young graduate who teaches at a village school on Prince Edward Island and falls in love with Kilmeny Gordon, a beautiful violinist who cannot speak, as he tries to win her and her guardians.
Where does the name Kilmeny come from?
The name comes from a ballad in James Hogg's The Queen's Wake, about a girl who goes to fairyland. Kilmeny's grandmother bore the name, and lines from the poem open the book and recur in Eric's words.
Why can Kilmeny not speak?
Her family believes it comes from her mother's long, stubborn silence before her birth. Eric calls in a doctor, David Baker, who examines her throat and offers his own careful view of the cause.
The author
L. M. Montgomery
1874–1942 · Canadian novelist
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) was a Canadian writer born on Prince Edward Island. She later lived in Ontario, where she died in Toronto. She wrote novels, short stories and poems. Her novels include Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909) and The Blue Castle (1926).
“Kilmeny looked up with a lovely grace”
More by L. M. Montgomery
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