Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown

The Emily of this historical novel is Emily Dickinson and the story is shown through the eyes of the Dickinson's longtime maid, Margaret Maher. The story is rich with family, both the family of Margaret, who depend on the Dickinson's in more ways than one, and the family of the eccentric, creative, reclusive Emily. The novel intersperses the "now" of 1916 with the earlier days, starting with 1869.

Knowing of Margaret's excellent reputation as a hard working, dependable, discrete maid, Emily's father, Edward Dickinson, will not take no for an answer when he tells Margaret that she needs to come work for his family. Margaret agrees only if it's temporary, since she has already bought her train ticket to join her brothers in CA, to begin her dream of owning and operating her very own boarding house. Those plans are dashed thanks to manipulations by Mr. Dickinson. Margaret is obviously a much coveted employee of the Dickinson household but if she tries to leave, it will be a disaster for other members of her family.

Once in the Dickinson household, Margaret can see where rumor and fact meet. While it first seems that the household was ruled by Edward Dickinson, it later becomes clear that most of his rules and admonishments are for the benefit of his daughter Emily. Despite his travels, Mr. Dickinson is very interested in the wellbeing of his family and Emily is given the setting she needs to write what is most dear to her heart.

Margaret gives up much to do Dickinson's bidding although it does seem that she has found her place in life. After watching her older sister grow old quickly, due to birthing and raising children while doing all that needs to be done to run a poor household, Margaret long ago had given up dreams of a marriage and she knew it was best to never have children. She longed for her own boarding house, to be independent of others and despite being a part of the Dickinson domestic staff, Margaret is headstrong and outspoken when the need arises (or when she just can't hold her tongue). Eventually Emily and Margaret develop a bond and it's with the help of Margaret that Emily's legacy is preserved.

We learn much about the struggles of Margaret's family, Irish immigrants that fled the potato famine. We also learn about Emily's extremely close friendship (was it more?) with her sister-in-law, Susan. There were men is Emily's life and there is the intrusion of an imposter in the form of Mabel Loomis Todd, the lover of Susan's philandering husband. Margaret insures that Emily's work sees the light of day.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC.

She was Emily Dickinson's maid, her confidante, her betrayer... and the savior of her legacy.

Amherst, Massachusetts - March 1869

Margaret (Maggie) Maher, an Irish immigrant accepted a temporary position in the Dickinson Household. She had plans to move to California where her brothers had moved. The Dickinson's house if large and she felt uncomfortable there. But she didn't plan to be there long, so she made do. Never did she imagine staying. She needed to make money and when she has earned enough, she planned to move to California.

Best laid plans.

Her move to California never happened. Instead, Maggie and the Dickinson's daughter, Emily formed a life changing and altering friendship. Maggie never imagined that when she accepted the temporary position as a maid that she would stay for thirty years. That her close friendship with the reclusive and eccentric Emily would put her in a position to refuse to do as her employer asked and that her act of insubordination would forever change both history and literature.

Is there anyone who has not heard of Emily Dickinson? Is there anyone who has not read at least one of her poems? Perhaps it was required reading for a high school literature class? It was for me! But did you know that we are able to read and enjoy her work because of Margaret Maher.? Emily Dickinson wanted all her writing burned upon her death. She hid her finished work in her maid's trunk. Maggie refused to burn them. "It was Margaret Maher "whom Emily Dickinson judged capable of the disobedience necessary to bring her work to the world. Maher did not disappoint. Her act of insubordination worked the miracle for which posterity is in debt, turning the private genius of her mistress's poetry into a universal legacy." (quote from Wikipedia)

This book has so many things going for it. Not only does it show us what life was like as an Irish immigrant and how they were treated, we are shown the hierarchy in society, and we are shown how a chance encounter turned into a lifelong friendship which changed history. This book shows how Emily had doubt in her work, how she was eccentric and how she was not always taken seriously being a woman who writes.

Told through alternating timelines this book was a pleasure to read. There was a lot of research that went into the writing of this book. The author uses facts and shows us what life must have been like for both women. This book had me from page one. I only read two chapters and knew that I was going to enjoy this book. I was drawn by the writing, and it didn't hurt that I enjoy many of Emily Dickinson's poems.

More is known about Emily Dickinson, but I enjoyed how Margaret/Maggie was written. "Emily described Margaret as "courageous", "warm and wild and mighty", and "good and noisy, the North Wind of the Family." (quote from Wikipedia)

I really enjoy books that not only entertain but teach me as well. This was one of these books. I wanted to know more about both women - hence my looking on Wikipedia. I also found myself reading some of Emily's poems as well.

Fans of Emily Dickinson, Historical fiction and books which blend facts with fiction will love this one.

Beautifully written, interesting, and inspiring.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Author's Notes open with "Every Novel has a History." Emily's House is the story of the women who salvaged Dickinson's works from the flames. For more than 100 years, these works have served as a source of inspiration to artists, particularly feminist-oriented artists.

Brown has taken liberties in giving the maid a story as little is known of her life other than she is described as "wild and warm and mighty" by Emily Dickinson herself. Brown, also, accurately depicts the hierarchy and plight of Irish Americans in this book, as the maid has immigrated to America after the Irish Potato Famine. Emily's House also provides wonderful insight into the reclusive poet and her eccentric behavior. The pages will give the reader a glimpse into the most important figure in American poetry.

#EmilysHouse #NetGalley

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Emily's House.

Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown is the heart warming yet tragic tale of what goes on behind closed doors. The story is told by Margaret Maher, an Irish immigrant maid, to an infamous American family, The Dickinsons'. Most of us through our high school years have read at least one of Emily Dickinson's poems, she is considered one of America's greatest poets. Being as Emily was a woman in the late 19th century she was never really taken seriously about her poetry during her lifetime. It was only after her death that her poems became widely circulated and she in a sense has become a household name in American literature.

The opening of the novel introduces the reader to Margaret Maher, the story narrator. She is an Irish immigrant that has found employment in America through domestic housekeeping. The story begins in what is present day, 1916. Margaret is currently the proud owner of a boarding house and is being informed that the family estate of the family she was formerly employed by, the Dickinsons', is being sold. Normally individuals would take no notice of a property being sold, but Margaret feels a deep connection to this household because of the relationship she created over a twenty year servitude for the family and the bond she created with Emily Dickinson.

The book is broken down into present and past flash backs that are easy to follow, as each chapter is clearly labeled with the date that is currently being presented. Not only does Emily's House give the reader a glimpse of the daily domestic life of a late 19th century home, it also highlights the way immigrants to our country were treated and what it meant physically and emotionally to be a domestic servant. My heart hurt for some of the situations Margaret found herself in. Amy Belding Brown did an amazing job portraying her emotions clearly throughout the story.

Personally, throughout my school career, most of my literature teachers talked about how reclusive and peculiar Emily Dickinson was. Emily's House gives the reader an idea of what her life could have been like inside the walls of her own home. One would guess at home Emily would have been most comfortable and more free to be herself. Amy Belding Brown paints a picture of Emily being a shy individual that was truly in tune with her emotions and appreciated the beauty in every person and thing she came in contact with. A beautiful individual that truly took time to appreciate every thing that surrounded her. Again the author does a wonderful job of portraying the emotional conflict Emily dealt with inside herself daily.

I greatly enjoyed Emily's House. It's a historical fiction tale about an author that most of us have heard of and are very familiar with. I enjoyed the "inside view" that Amy Brown Belding created through the eyes of Margaret. The story left me with the sentiment to not make judgements about someone until you know their full story and background. Amy Brown Belding has created a classic with Emily's House that I feel gives a respectful glimpse into the life of Emily Dickinson.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I really didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book.. Let's just say that this book exceeded any expectations I may have had. This is a delightful historical fiction read and I savored every bit of it!

Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown is a fictional account of the relationship between Emily Dickenson and the maid that served her family; Margaret Maher. Both of these women are spitfires in their own way but equally as charming and they share a unique bond. This book shed's light on Margaret's personal life and relationships as well. We also see glimpse's of Emily's personal life and relationships as shared by Margaret. During her time with the Dickenson family, Margaret promises Emily that upon Emily's death she will burn her poetry. This is Emily's wish. When Emily does pass away, Margaret is left with quite a dilemma. Should she grant Emily's wish or save her beautiful work?

My review won't do this book justice. It's just an overall delightful read! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. This one has a special place in my heart!

Emily's house releases on August 3, 2021!

Emily Dickinson’s story is told from the perspective of Margaret Maher, Dickinson’s longtime maid.
Margaret joins the Dickinson household in what is supposed to be a temporary capacity. She wants to save money for a trip west to join her brothers in California. The temporary position lasted for the next 30 years.
In this historical fiction volume, Margaret sheds light on the mysterious poet. I’m glad I read this prior to watching the Apple+ series titled “Dickinson,” which is told in a very strange way. It was one of those shows that, even though I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, I kept watching anyway. The book is more informative (and likely closer to the truth).

They are selling Emily’s house? That can’t be.

Emily loved The Homestead and so did Margaret.

Emily Dickinson’s maid, Margaret Maher, was her confidant, best friend, and was the one who kept Emily writing her poetry and kept Emily from disposing of her work.

Margaret was with the Dickinson family for over 35 years.

We follow Margaret as she becomes close with the Dickinson women and serves as their maid, and then the book moves back and forth from her time with the Dickinsons to present day where she owns her own boarding house.

EMILY’S HOUSE had me glued to the pages because of the story line and because of Ms. Belding Brown’s writing. Her writing is pull you in and descriptive with interesting insight into the class structure and the plight of Irish Immigrants.

EMILY’S HOUSE is a wonderful account of the lives of both Emily and Margaret.

I didn’t know Emily Dickinson was so eccentric and was mostly reclusive. I also didn't know she didn't want her poetry published and hid her writings from everyone by hiding them throughout the house.

Ms. Belding Brown did excellent research, and this book was a wonderful history lesson for me.

I’m sure this is a book that could be classified as a memoir, but it definitely did not read as such.

This book had me completely absorbed, and I totally enjoyed this book even though I am not a fan of poetry.

Hands down a 5/5.

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect book for readers who enjoy historical fiction that offers an unusual point of view on a well-known person's story. This book was well-researched, and I enjoyed spending time in the Dickinson household with Margaret. It was especially fascinating to think how close the world came to never reading any of Emily Dickinson's poetry.

The author of MRS. EMERSON and FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW again affirms her insights into the lives of historical women. EMILY'S HOUSE builds on known fact about Margaret Maher, the Irish maid whose trunk preserved the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Maher, whose family emigrated to America fourteen years earlier, takes what she believes to be a temporary position in the Edward Dickinson household in 1869. Thirty years later, she is still there, one of those who know Emily Dickinson longest, best and in some sense most intimately given their day-to-day interactions, which few others share. Though Maher is known to history almost entirely because of her connection with the Dickinsons, Brown wisely gives her a rich life of her own rather than reducing her to a mere witness to the lives of those posterity judges more significant. Margaret's romance with the charismatic Patrick Quinn, which falters in the face of his Fenian sympathies; her close if sometimes fractious relationship with her sister, who also lives in Amherst; her long separations from her brothers, who have gone to mine the opportunities of California; and her later life as a boarding-house owner who hates to see the Dickinson home, now empty, sold: Brown's deft evocations of Maher's connections and concerns give her a rich presence on the page. Brown's depiction of Maher's personality, too, shines. As the bond between the two slowly and not always steadily deepens, we see why these two very different women came to value each other, but also how Dickinson's unthinking privilege could sometimes sting a woman largely dependent upon her favor. In the end and to its credit, EMILY'S HOUSE is as much a portrait of a unique female friendship as it is of a famous figure.

I found EMILY’S HOUSE to be a compelling fictional look at the poet Emily Dickinson through the eyes of her Irish maid and confidant, Margaret. It is Margaret who ignores Emily’s wish to have her poetry burned upon her death and saves her writings, which are still impactful today. The author does a remarkable job describing the relationship between the two women, the social hierarchy of the time, and of the lasting trauma of Irish conflict and the devastating potato famine. A wonderful portrait of the poet and the savior of her work.

5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 03 Aug 2021
#EmilysHouse #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

Emily’s House is a well-observed slice of historical fiction that takes a working-class look into the life of Emily Dickinson and her maid, Margaret Maher…with one large fly buzzing in its otherwise soothing ointment.

Emily Dickinson’s relationship with Margaret Maher has been valorized for years by students of Dickinson’s poetry. A personal maid working in the Dickinson household, Maher became a confidant of Emily’s, and was instructed by her to burn her poems upon her death. Margaret  not only refused to do so but actively encouraged Emily’s legacy, keeping the poems in her trunk and preserving them for eventual publication.  Amy Belding Brown’s fictionalization of the subject is interesting in of itself; Dickinson and Maher were friends for seventeen years, until the poet’s death, and Maher ultimately never married, dying on her family’s nearby farm in Amherst, Massachusetts.  What kept Maher single?  Why did Emily trust Maher with her poetic legacy – which she wanted obliterated?

For a fictionalized Margaret in Emily’s House, her employment in the Dickinson house is a practical matter. With no husband on the horizon and her brothers planning on relocating to California and participating in the gold rush there, she plans on making enough money to join them on their journey west and then quit her job post haste. But Emily’s father – known as The Squire – threatens Margaret into staying.  It’s not so bad a fate.  Margaret comes to like working for the Dickinsons, especially wraithlike Emily, who keeps very much to herself and spends most of her time writing poetry.

Margaret is caught between a yearning for companionship and the surety that life as a housewife is crushing, unpaid labor with no thanks in return; in short, it’s no different from scrubbing Emily’s dresses and cooking her meals.  Yet she takes a shine to the roguish Patrick Quinn, and soon finds herself being courted by him.  Meanwhile, the all at once cheeky, delicate and mournful Emily begins to see the recently widowed Judge Otis Phillips Lord, and strikes up a romance with him. As history (and the book’s flash-forwards) inform us, both romances are doomed from the start.  But what secrets and regrets does Margaret truly hold?

The best thing about Emily’s House is how well it works as a duel character study. Fiery Margaret springs to life under Belding Brown’s pen, filled with longing for her home country, her strong religious faith, and her very human failings and desire for love.  Emily, too, is a complex creature – withdrawn, teasing, manipulative, artistic, self-mocking and loving.  Their friendship is gentle but intense, and sometimes too close and smothering to be borne.

The narrative never once forgets that Margaret is Irish and thus experienced the hell of the potato famine years and, when she was a young woman, knew men who gave in to those first stirring cries demanding Irish independence (the Brooklyn Dynamite School and the Feanian uprising, two things I didn’t know much about, came up here and captivated me). Emily’s sister, Lavinia – called Vinnie here – is also wonderfully realistic and lovingly portrayed, and Patrick is beery, warm-hearted and charming.

Also charming is the way the author captures western Massachusetts, its landscapes and its social mores, all of which feel true to the time period.

But here’s the aforementioned fly in the ointment. The Emily in this story reads as mainly heterosexual, which flies in the face of the findings of most of Dickinson’s recent biographers.  An author’s note from Belding Brown explains that she believes that biographers - both modern and old - have relied upon the papers of Mabel Loomis Todd too heavily.  Mabel was the mistress of Emily’s older brother, Austin, and she later sued Sue Gilbert Dickinson for a slab of Dickinson land in the wake of Austin’s death, and between those two dates she translated Emily’s poems for publication.  Belding Brown claims that Mabel, in the process of disparaging the hated Sue, inflated her own worth to Dickinson, leading to insinuations that Sue and Emily were lovers, and went about erasing Margaret’s worth out of a grudge due to legal matters. Yet the Sue in her story shows up frequently to sit in intimacy with Emily, and it’s hard to deny such intimate letters written between two women.  It’s absolutely possible to contend with a bisexual Dickinson in fiction without making excuses for what you want to write. This reading ignores Sue and Emily’s passionate correspondence.  Sue was the one who washed Emily’s body after her death, for heaven’s sake, not Margaret - who does the task in the book.

This complicates the fiction in an unnecessary way, perhaps making Margaret too much of an impassioned confidant to Dickinson.  Which again, is fine in fiction, but one shouldn’t make excuses for one’s fiction if you want to push the envelope of reality.  Mabel – unsurprisingly - turns up as an Irish-hating snob towards the end of the novel.  While most biographers agree that Mabel didn’t like Sue and wasn’t the nicest person, in a novel she could be anything, so scapegoating her with so many bad turns feels a bit much.  And who’s to say how close Emily and Margaret were in the end? Maybe Margaret held on to the poems out of her own loyalty to a love of poetry. Maybe she did so to spite Emily’s wish she be wholly forgotten.

Overall, Emily’s House is an engaging read that held my interest, and I’d recommend it for its good storytelling.  But potential readers should bear in mind that some of the elements fictionalized by the author don’t quite mesh with some of the commonly accepted and known facts about Dickenson’s life in a way that perhaps goes just a little too far beyond dramatic license.

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I personally had trouble getting into this book. I found the beginning did not have anything that really grabbed me in, but I hope other people love it!

For those readers who are not familiar with Emily Dickerson and her poetry, this is a must read. A fictional account of Emily and the family maid, Margaret, The author has done a great deal of historic research on this family and what she could find about Margaret. I loved it! Makes me want to go to Amherst. I can't wait to tell people about this must read!

This is a fictionalized novel of the life of American poet Emily Dickinson as told through the eyes of the Dickinson family’s long serving maid.
Irish immigrant Margaret puts her dream of heading west to join her brothers in California on hold indefinitely after being manipulated by Squire Dickerson to stay on as the family’s maid.
For 30 years Margaret serves the Dickenson’s; seeing them through life’s joys and sorrows. She particularly forges a bond with Emily, the often reclusive eldest daughter who’s whims and moods are catered to by the household. Although Margaret has been collecting scraps of verse from the laundry for years she is surprised when she discovers volumes and volumes of Emily’s poetry. Emily makes Margaret promise to burn all her notebooks upon her death ultimately forcing Margaret to make a painful decision.
The novel shows the dynamic relationships family members have with ‘the help’. It combines the story of Emily Dickinson with the plight of the Irish immigrant during a time of civil unrest in Ireland. Although somewhat slow at times the story is interesting and the cast of characters relatable.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Irish Immigrant Margaret Maher was Emily Dickinson’s maid and confidante. Did Margaret honor Emily’s only wish?

Amherst, Massachusetts, 1869. Edward Dickinson is a lawyer, treasurer and founder among other titles, who has a reputation of being disagreeable and haughty. Margaret is about to “take the measure of the man for herself since she is to be working in his house.” It was supposed to be just a temporary position, but she is forced to postpone her dream of moving to California. Soon enough, she warms up toward the Dickinson women, including strangest one – Emily. Margaret never heard of a woman writing poems, which doesn’t sound proper at all, but that’s not what makes Emily strange. It’s her hiding behind the closed doors in her room most of the time, and hiding from people in general. “She had her ways of disappearing, she was like a ghost.” Nevertheless, Emily warms up to Margaret like to no other maid before. The layers of mystery surrounding Emily start to peel off with Margaret even noticing Emily’s eyes sparking with mischief at times.

When Emily loses faith in her talent, Margaret is there rescuing Emily’s poems from the laundry or from fire. When Emily loses faith in printing her poems, Margaret is there to sort them and to keep them together. When Emily jests she’d rather have her poems as ashes rather than being exposed to others, Margaret makes sure the jest doesn’t become reality.

Margaret being an Irish immigrant, her story is woven with brief actions of Irish fight for independence, including the radical approach of the Fenians and their dynamite bombings. Margaret is of restless nature, not one meant for doing man’s bidding and birthing his children, though one man makes her heart skip a beat. Once planning on staying single and free, now she struggles with her decision.

From the reader’s perspective, it’s a pure joy to follow her thoughts and what rattles her at times, and her finding fulfillment in a different kind of adventure, adventures of the spirit, “and the hours with Emily on late-winter afternoons were mighty adventures, to be sure.”

Written with awe-inspiring prose, peppered with humor and flashed-out heroines. Wonderful depiction of two strong women, one a solitary following her talent, the other restless cherishing her independence, both ahead of their time. Beautiful storytelling transports readers to a different time, well-depicted with properness between social classes, with convictions of two women reaching for something that seemed to be out of reach at the time; and struggles of immigrants which seems to be timeless. Authentic voice of Margaret connects readers directly to Emily, you get to know Emily personally and when the death claims her life it pierces you as it does Margaret.

Review originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. If you enjoy history than you will probably be a big fan of this book. As it is I went into this book not knowing the history, so it took about half of the book to draw me in. It reads like a story of someone life. Not a problem, but if you are looking for a book that has an adventure or a mystery, you will not find it here. As it is this is a sad tale that I would recommend to others who enjoy history.

In 1869, Margaret Maher, 27, begins temporary maid service for the wealthy Dickinson family at stately yellow Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, with hopes to join her brothers in California. Mr. Edward Dickinson, the Squire, both a lawyer and college treasurer, deems Margaret essential, offering higher pay but also a veiled threat to her brother-in-law Tom's job should she leave his employ. The eldest Dickinson, Emily, always clad in white garb, only leaves her room to occasionally tend to the gardens or bake gingerbread in the kitchen. At first Emily teases her for being Irish, dubbing her Maggie, but they form an integral bond, each falling in love, losing love, and grieving loss. The reclusive, eccentric Emily writes letters and exercises her brilliant mind writing poetry in secret, asking Maggie to hide it and promise to burn it upon Emily's death. Maggie spends 30 years with the Dickinsons, comforting Emily through the loss of her father, mother, and young nephew. When Emily passes at age 55, Margaret makes the tough choice to go against Emily's wishes, choosing to preserve her poetry as a legacy to be shared with the world. Brown's prose is captivating, sprinkled with historical accuracy regarding what is known of Emily Dickinson's peculiar life. The characters truly come to life with Brown's fictional spin and dramatic flair. VERDICT: Fans of Marie Benedict and Kate Quinn will delight in this moving story which sheds light on the life of one of literature's most influential, yet most mysterious poets in history.