Emily's House

Emily Dickinson is an eccentric young lady. Her father hires a new maid, Maggie, to help around the house. Maggie is determined to move to California to be with her brothers. She is saving money but it will take her quite a while to accrue what she needs. So, when Mr. Dickinson comes in with his lucrative offer, Maggie is still hesitant. However, he is very insistent. Maggie ends up staying her whole life with Emily. Maggie and Emily develop a strange relationship. And it is a relationship which no one can sever.

Maggie is a character I enjoy. She is just a plain, hardworking woman. But she has dreams and the intelligence to achieve them. Then there is Emily. Emily is completely fascinating. She is creative and emotional but she is also show more sometimes cruel.

This story has a lot of mundane details in it. I enjoyed the history and the story around Emily. Just did not have enough “meat” in the content. Now, this is just my opinion.

If you love real historical people that are eccentric…you will enjoy this one! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. show less

I received a copy of Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown for my birthday in March 2024 and decided I'd read it in my birthday month this year.

A dual narrative novel set in Massachusetts in 1869 & 1916, Emily’s House by Amy Belding Brown is the story of Margaret Maher, Irish maid to Emily Dickinson’s family.

In 1869, Margaret begins working as a live in maid for the Dickinson family, intending to stay a short while before joining her brothers in California. In the brief story arc set in 1916, Margaret reflects on the fate of the Dickinson home long after the death of Emily Dickinson in 1886.

Emily's House is a slow moving character study of Margaret and her relationship with Emily Dickinson in particular. The reader doesn't need to know show more anything about Emily's life or her poetry but those who do will enjoy an additional layer of understanding in this portrait of her life from Margaret's downstairs perspective.

I haven't read many works set in this time and place, however the author was able to draw me in with descriptions like this one:

"Patrick said he'd found a job with a carpentry crew building a mansion in Northampton... I was just telling him how Henry Paige had had to move his fish market out of Gunn's Hotel because of the stink when the hat factory lunch whistle blew." Page 134

I just love thinking about that hat factory lunch whistle. I wonder if factories and manufacturing plants still use a lunch whistle and if not, when was the last one sounded? Whilst that was a clear highlight, overuse of the word 'quare' started grating on my nerves early on - likely part of establishing Margaret as Irish - but thankfully it featured less as the story developed. Emily often mimics Margaret's accent in a condescending fashion and Margaret's struggle with nationality and identity was a continual theme throughout the novel.

"I couldn't think of what to say, so I just stood there like a dolt. I knew she was teasing. But teasing can be a clever mask for cruelty." Page 87

Margaret wants to consider herself American but wonders if she's Irish American or whether she'll always be Irish. I'm not sure if Emily Dickinson was known to make fun of the Irish, but as with any fictional imagining of a person's life, I took it with a grain of salt.

In the TV drama series Dickinson, Emily shares a physical relationship with Sue, however here their relationship seems to be that of very close and loving sisters-in-law, but never explicit.

Emily's House by Amy Belding Brown is recommended for readers with an interest in the Dickinson family or those who'd like to read about the life of an Irish lady's maid in America and the plight of the Fenian Brotherhood who fought to achieve Irish independence. show less

I have picked up this book time and time again and no matter how many times I try to get into it I end up putting it down in frustration. I found it to be incredibly slow and unreadable, which is unfortunate since I really admire Emily Dickinson. I’m not one that DNF’s easily but I feel like with this novel I have no choice. There are those novels that just not click with a person and sadly that is Emily’s House for me. It’s excruciatingly slow and the story is hard to follow. The writing is not terrible, but it is also not engaging, at least for me, and though I didn’t want to give up on this novel I feel like at this point I have no choice.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher show more through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own. show less

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 show more 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. show less