海角大神

鈥淢ore than once I鈥檝e had the thought a life can be measured in doorways,鈥� muses Margaret Maher at the start of 鈥淓mily鈥檚 House.鈥� 鈥淚鈥檝e learned to be a bit curious when a threshold鈥檚 being crossed.鈥�

An Irish immigrant living in late 19th century Massachusetts, Margaret crosses thresholds major and minor throughout Amy Belding Brown鈥檚 bold and terrifically appealing novel.聽

Margaret works as a maid 鈥� and not just in any old house, mind you. She鈥檚 the lone servant in poet Emily Dickinson鈥檚 Amherst home, where she cleans, cooks, 鈥渨ets the tea,鈥� and tends to the needs of its affluent inhabitants: Father Dickinson, a local lawyer and landlord known as the Squire; Mother Dickinson, frail and fraught; grown daughter Vinnie with her cats and quirks; and reclusive, mysterious Emily.

Belding Brown, long a fan of Dickinson鈥檚 work, is a New England history buff (she also happens to be related to the poet). This love of place and ear for her characters鈥� turns of phrase makes for a rich reading experience. Her smartest choice: handing the narrative reins to Margaret herself, whose Tipperary-tinged voice guides 鈥� and warms 鈥� the story. It鈥檚 a perspective rife with honesty, humor, and sharp observations about class, immigration, and relationships.聽

In her first few years at the Dickinson house, called the Homestead, Margaret finds the residence too quiet and the family too remote. Worse, Emily insists on calling her Maggie 鈥� a nickname Margaret adjusts to, but never accepts. 鈥淢am once told me the name Margaret means pearl. She said a pearl鈥檚 the only jewel that needs no cutting or polishing. Comes perfect from the hand of God Himself. And I ought to be treasuring myself like one.鈥�

It isn鈥檛 until Emily suffers an accident in the garden, sending her upstairs to convalesce, that the relationship between mistress and maid begins to change. Following a night of storytelling and quiet companionship, both witness a dream-like scene in the street below. 鈥淭hat long, strange night, a bond formed between us,鈥� reflects Margaret. 鈥淥ver time it grew sturdy and limber and strong.鈥�

As the relationship deepens, Margaret begins to play a more critical role in preserving Emily鈥檚 poetry (a fact Belding Brown uncovered in her research). While the family is vague about Emily鈥檚 pursuit and the poet herself surprisingly coy, the evidence of an artist at work starts to catch Margaret鈥檚 eye: quiet stretches behind closed doors, fragments of verse found in pockets, thick letters mailed to editors. When Emily finally divulges to Margaret the seriousness and scope of her writing, Margaret is moved to help organize and assemble the scattered verses into chapbooks. 鈥淚鈥檝e always admired a poet,鈥� she realizes, harkening to the Irish wordsmithing tradition back home.聽

And it鈥檚 a rich tradition, as evidenced by Margaret. While she doesn鈥檛 jot down inspirations, her own lyrical musings often rival Emily鈥檚. At one point, Margaret observes that her mistress disappears into the house 鈥渓ike she鈥檚 made of the air itself鈥�; at another, she sizes up a character 鈥渨ith his loud voice and great pillow of red hair atop his head.鈥� Upon discovering Emily鈥檚 hidden stash of verses, Margaret breathes: 鈥淟ike sparks they were 鈥� tiny scraps of light.鈥�

Margaret鈥檚 awe runs counter to Emily鈥檚 misgivings about her writing 鈥� doubts that amplify as publisher rejections pile up and her health fades. In her anxious final weeks, Emily extracts a promise: Margaret will burn Emily鈥檚 work after she dies. It鈥檚 a vow that sits uneasily with the maid and results in an agonizing, and ultimately haunting, decision.

Belding Brown organizes the novel into sections named for parts of a house 鈥� thresholds, shutters, windows, doorways, chambers, corridors, porches. It鈥檚 a thoughtful way to underscore the importance of the Homestead to both women. For Emily, it serves as refuge, inspiration, and foundation. Margaret鈥檚 feelings about the house are more complicated; for her it鈥檚 a source of provision, a place of entrapment, an enabler of belonging, a bastion of secrets.聽

In a fascinating author鈥檚 note, Belding Brown explains the extensive research that went into her novel, and the truths that came to light after reading both an account of Margaret鈥檚 life and the letters of Emily鈥檚 niece Martha. The novel blends these facts and real-life characters with plausible but fictionalized subplots and settings pulled from the headlines of the era.

By the end of this gratifying, intelligent tale, a variety of readers 鈥� from Emily Dickinson neophytes to students of her work 鈥� will leave with a more nuanced understanding of 鈥渢he myth of Amherst,鈥� as well as a deep appreciation for the 鈥渨ild and warm and mighty鈥� woman who stood by her side in life, enabling a legacy.聽