Amherst
William Nicholson
Simon & Schuster, Feb 10 2015, $26.00
ISBN: 9781476740409
Wannabe screenwriter Alice Dickinson finds information on the
nineteenth century married brother of Emily Dickinson. She leaves her English flat traveling to
Amherst, Massachusetts to learn more about then fiftyish Austin’s affair with
his married neighbor; twenty-something Mabel Loomis Todd. Alice plans to write a script on the illicit
duo abetted by Emily the enabler whose home served as the rendezvous haven
between her sibling and a professor’s spouse.
As Emily and Mabel get to know each other, they also connect in a way
that survives the death of the poetess.
Friends arrange for Alice to reside at the home of Professor Nick
Crocker. They soon begin a tryst that
mirrors the older man younger woman entanglement of whom the visiting
Englishwoman is researching.
The absorbing historical subplot provides captivating glimpses
into a little known part of the late poetess’ life with the addition of written
documents augmenting this segue but also slowing down the pacing. The present day tryst comes across as
intrusive since readers want more Emily, Austin and Mabel, and much less Alice
and Nick.
Harriet Klausner
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