Miss Emily

by Nuala O'Connor

Longlisted for the International DUBLIN Literary Award

Emily Dickinson’s life is reimagined in her own voice and through eyes of a young Irish maid—an enchanting novel in the spirit of Longbourn and Mrs. Poe

Ada Concannon’s first day in America is a success. She’s the new maid for the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite the differences in age and class, eighteen-year-old Ada, “a neat little Irish person, fresh off the boat,” strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster’s life at home. Emily is a bastion of support as Ada struggles to find her place in this new world, while Ada’s toil gives Emily the freedom she needs to write.

But Emily’s passion for words begins to dominate her life. She decides to wear nothing but white and increasingly avoids the outside world. When Ada’s safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily faces down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

• ISBN10: 0143192450
• ISBN13: 9780143192459
• Publish Date: 14 July 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Penguin Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780143192459

Reviews

[Kait ✨]

i read so many great reviews of this book and the concept sounded so intriguing that i’m surprised i found it so horrible. emily dickinson sounded completely fake and not at all how i’ve always imagined the great ED. (that is the risk, though, of writing a fictionalized account of a writer.) ada, her maid, reads as trite and unrealistic, probably not helped by o’connor’s disjointed writing. all of it just was so unrealistic and irritating that i’m surprised i got through it at all, though i did skim from 30% onwards. so many people loved this, which is great, but this is one “reimagination” that i cannot in good conscience recommend.

[Lianne]

I won a complimentary copy of this book courtesy of the publishers. My full review of the novel can be found on my blog, eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/12/21/review-miss-emily/

Miss Emily was an interesting novel about Emily Dickenson’s friendship with her family’s new maid, Ada Concannon, recently arrived to the United States from Ireland. It’s an interesting friendship as Ada is young, outspoken, and vivacious for life whereas Emily is older and much more introverted, contented with her thoughts and her writings and the few choice friends she had. But it’s a wonderful friendship in that Emily is very supportive of her young friend, regardless of age and class, which became especially important after Ada’s attack.

The author does a wonderful job in bringing the characters to life. I thoroughly cared for both main characters and their respective plights. Ada is so young and kind and so welcoming that it was sad to read what happened to her. I loved Emily’s chapters partly because I could relate to her quite a bit and understood some of what she was going through. I also love the reflections on her writing and how important it is to her. I did feel as though this contrast between Ada and Emily sort of fell the weyside once the conflict regarding Ada’s safety and person comes to the fore, but it does show how far Emily is willing to go to help a friend despite of her own qualms about putting herself out there for people notice.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Miss Emily. I don’t know what else to say about this novel, the setting and the characters were wonderful and brought to life by the author’s writing. Readers of historical fiction will want to check this title out :)

Rating: 3.5/5