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Amherst
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From an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and the author of Motherland, a novel about two love affairs set in Amherst—one in the present, one in the past, and both presided over by Emily Dickinson.
Alice Dickinson, a young advertising executive in London, decides to take time off work to research her idea for a screenplay: the true story of the scandalous, adulterous love affair ...more
Alice Dickinson, a young advertising executive in London, decides to take time off work to research her idea for a screenplay: the true story of the scandalous, adulterous love affair ...more
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One of the things that appealed to me about this book was the chance to get reacquainted with some of the poetry of Emily Dickinson, which I hadn’t read since college. Some of her poems are strategically placed within the story and I certainly was in awe again as the historical parts unfolded, and we eventually see just how prolific Dickinson was, leaving thousands of verses behind. One of the things that I loved was how Emily appeared; well not really, she was mostly behind closed doors, but th
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Feb 05, 2015
Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede
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In this book we get to meet Alice Dickinson (no relation to Emily Dickinson) as she travels to Amherst to do some research for a screenplay about Austin Dickinson (Emily Dickinson brother) and Maud Todd's illicit love affair. Paralleled to this story, we also get to follow Austin and Maud falling in love back in the 1900-century.
This is a book I have wanted to read for some time now and I can say that in the beginning of the book I had hoped that this would be a really wonderful passionate roman ...more
This is a book I have wanted to read for some time now and I can say that in the beginning of the book I had hoped that this would be a really wonderful passionate roman ...more
I so badly wanted to like this but I just couldn't stay with it. I liked the history of David and Mabel Todd and Austin Dickinson but the parallel love story of Alice and Nick just wasn't grabbing me. Maybe it was because Mr. Womanizer Nick decided he could fall in love after all and Maybe I just didn't like his character, but this just wasn't for me.
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"Amherst" is a new take on exploring the story of Emily Dickinson, the genius, recluse, and "the myth." This book merges two story lines -- a historical fiction tale of Emily's brother, Austin Dickinson and his lover Mabel Todd; as well as a modern day plot of advertising executive Alice Dickinson who visits Amherst from the UK to research for her screenplay about Emily. There she meets British ex-pat Nick.
The historical tale of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Todd is fascinating and well done. Alth ...more
The historical tale of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Todd is fascinating and well done. Alth ...more
Dec 16, 2015
Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}
marked it as did-not-finish
DNF on page 21. Nope. This book is not for me. I hate the writing, I hate the characters. And for those reasons I hate the plot. Bye.
No offense to William Nicholson but reading this book was painful...
Really, really painful.
Let's start with Alice:
What a spinless, churlish, twot. First off, she's a normal British twenty-something with a nodding passion for Emily Dickinson (Alice's last name is Dickinson, but she's no relation). And after convincing her step-daddy's friend that she has a great idea for a screenplay she funds her own trip to Amherst, Massachusetts to do research. Apart from this, she's casually dangling her pre ...more
Disappointed. As a lifelong Emily scholar and fan who knows all of this material very well, I was fervently eager to read this novel. In my opinion, the dual storylines are not successful or satisfying. I found some elements of the Mabel & Austin storyline interesting and entertaining, but the modern-day Alice & Nick relationship was predictable and tedious and unnecessary. It adds and illuminates nothing. Overall, the novel is a shallow and superficial dramatization of real-life people in Amher
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A screenwriter comes to Amherst to research the story of the love affair between Emily Dickinson's brother and the woman who brought her poetry to the public eye--a woman Emily Dickinson never met in person. The screenwriter, Alice, falls for Nick, an older, failed Amherst College English professor. I was so intrigued by the cinematic premise and the possibilities--but the film-making parts are left out (mostly, more on that in a second).
This book has a good sense of the history around the Dick ...more
Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
2.5 stars
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
This book tells two different stories at the same time. There is the story of Austin and Mabel from the past and Alice and Nick from the present. It is told in alternating chapters and there are slight similarities between the two stories.
I quite enjoy stories that go from present to past ...more
2.5 stars
I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
This book tells two different stories at the same time. There is the story of Austin and Mabel from the past and Alice and Nick from the present. It is told in alternating chapters and there are slight similarities between the two stories.
I quite enjoy stories that go from present to past ...more
Following from his critically acclaimed 2014 novel Reckless, William Nicholson – also a playwright (notably of Shadowlands) and a scriptwriter (Gladiator and Les Misérables) brings another story of passion to life as he recounts the love affair between Austin Dickinson, the brother of the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson and the young, charismatic Mabel Todd, the woman who is single-handedly responsible for convincing skeptical male publishers to bring Emily’s poetry into the world.
It is clear tha ...more
It is clear tha ...more
I may be too critical of this novel because I looked forward to reading it so much. It has so many elements that I enjoy:
. . . an historical setting and notable figure (Emily Dickinson);
. . . a modern counterpart researching the notable personality;
. . . an opportunity to learn something . . .
But, it let me down. The premise was similar to one of my very favorite novels, Posession, by A.S. Byatt but Nicholson's book lacked the depth and the lyrical quality I hoped for. It felt repetitive and bor ...more
. . . an historical setting and notable figure (Emily Dickinson);
. . . a modern counterpart researching the notable personality;
. . . an opportunity to learn something . . .
But, it let me down. The premise was similar to one of my very favorite novels, Posession, by A.S. Byatt but Nicholson's book lacked the depth and the lyrical quality I hoped for. It felt repetitive and bor ...more
This was the first book I've read WITHOUT consulting the masses on Goodreads. I have cast away a lot of books due to reviews that were less than 4 stars.
This time though, I liked the premise of the book, and didn't want to ruin it for myself before giving it a chance. And I devoured it.
My favorite thing about this book is how it's NOT a great love story. Sure, it makes you think that is exactly what it us, two parallell love stories set in different times. And there's an element of that, but i ...more
This time though, I liked the premise of the book, and didn't want to ruin it for myself before giving it a chance. And I devoured it.
My favorite thing about this book is how it's NOT a great love story. Sure, it makes you think that is exactly what it us, two parallell love stories set in different times. And there's an element of that, but i ...more
The story of two love affairs, one of which is based on historical fact, that of Austin Dickinson (Emily's brother) and Mabel Todd. The other is set in modern times and mirrors the past affair. What I like about Nicholson's novels is that the characters recur in most of them. In this book we have Alice and Jack, Nick and Laura, who have featured in previous books at different ages. I liked the modern characters much better than the historical characters. 3.5 stars.
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This novel presents a thought-provoking pairing of two stories: one of a young Englishwoman coming to America to research a screenplay on Emily Dickinson, and the other the story of Dickinson herself--or, more to the point, of her brother Austin and his extramarital relationship with Mabel Todd, the woman who eventually brought Dickinson's poems to the world. To call the two stories 'love' stories seems inadequate, because Nicholson is writing about love here in its largest sense--not just roman
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When Alice Dickinson takes time off from her job in advertising to write a screenplay about the late Emily Dickinson (no relative), she is excited. Her research takes her to Amherst, Massachusetts, and she almost immediately meets Nick Crocker, a fifty-something academic who has a bit of a reputation.
Somehow she finds herself staying in his huge house, and despite all of her best laid plans, she is soon involved in a love affair with him. But where is his wife, and why is she absent?
"Amherst: A ...more
Somehow she finds herself staying in his huge house, and despite all of her best laid plans, she is soon involved in a love affair with him. But where is his wife, and why is she absent?
"Amherst: A ...more
A young woman from England, Alice Dickinson, is on leave from her job to visit Amherst for a few weeks to research her idea to turn the love affair between Emily Dickinson's brother Austin and a married woman, Mabel Loomis Todd, into a screenplay. It isn't clear whether she actually has any talent or prior success in this line of work. Alice is invited by Nick, ~30 years older than her and also a Dickinson scholar at the local university, to stay at his home while she conducts her research. Nick
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Emily and Alice are unrelated Dickinsons, centuries and life-styles apart yet connected by more than coincidental surnames.
Alice, 21st century film maker visits Amherst to research Emily, poetess and the as yet unchartered love affair of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Todd, wife of close colleague. Emily, staunch spinster of this parish, dressed in her virginal (bridal?) white may well have spent her time outside the door of the dining room listening to the lustful, passionate recreations of her bro ...more
Alice, 21st century film maker visits Amherst to research Emily, poetess and the as yet unchartered love affair of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Todd, wife of close colleague. Emily, staunch spinster of this parish, dressed in her virginal (bridal?) white may well have spent her time outside the door of the dining room listening to the lustful, passionate recreations of her bro ...more
I'm not a faithful reader of William Nicholson, so I'm afraid I can't offer any comparisons in that way to readers who are. But I've read enough of his works to know I'd be in skilled hands with this story.
It's a reasonably short novel, fairly compelling and happily returned to. To my shame I admit I knew next to nothing about Emily Dickinson except her being a renowned poet, but Nicholson really does do justice to the poetry of hers that he quotes, even getting me to speak the verses out aloud ...more
It's a reasonably short novel, fairly compelling and happily returned to. To my shame I admit I knew next to nothing about Emily Dickinson except her being a renowned poet, but Nicholson really does do justice to the poetry of hers that he quotes, even getting me to speak the verses out aloud ...more
This was just awful. Would-be British screenwriter Alice Dickenson (no relation) visits Amherst to research her project: the affair of Austin Dickenson, poet Emily's married brother, with Mabel Loomis Todd, a much younger married woman. She is convinced not only that this was a true passion but that much of the sexual action took place in Emily and Lavinia's house with the sisters getting hot and bothered listening outside the parlor door. And let's not forget that the affair had the approval of
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This fictional look at the poet Emily Dickinson and her siblings focuses on her brother's affair with a much younger woman (both married), presented in alternate chapters along with a 21st century screenwriter going to Amherst to research the family and getting involved in a brief affair with an older man herself. The Dickinson story was of much greater interest than the two contemporary characters, who were annoyingly verbose and prone to excessive navel-gazing. What is love? What is happiness?
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This book is a historical fiction story about Emily Dickinson's family as well as the story of Alice Dickinson (no relation) who wants to write a play about Emily's brother, Austin his girlfriend, Mabel Todd. Alice travels from her home in England to Amherst to gather information for the scipt. Alice learns of the relationship between the married middle aged Austin and his much younger also married girlfriend, Mabel. Emily and her sister lived in the Dickinson family home and it was ere that the
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If I've committed to finishing a book, I find it hard to give it less than 3 stars. It's either a book I am going to finish because I want to (3 stars), need to (4 stars), or because it's helped alter my perspective on life (5 stars). I wrote a blog yesterday that included a mention of Amherst for a rather small incidental character and something that happens to her which affected me profoundly. Then I finished the book later that day and experienced a moment of synchronicity which threw me for
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I liked this book. I am quite poetry-illiterate, so Emily Dickinson passed me by until recently. I stumbled upon A Quiet Passion, a great movie about her (with Cynthia Nixon in the leading role) a few months ago and I have been living near Amherst temporarily last few months. So, when I saw this book in the bargain section at a bookstore in Montreal, I decided to read it.
The book goes back and forth between present day, where a young woman arrives in Amherst to do research about a screenplay sh ...more
The book goes back and forth between present day, where a young woman arrives in Amherst to do research about a screenplay sh ...more
Sigh. While the use of Emily Dickenson's poetry was well done, the modern romance was thin and I didn't much care about the characters. Reads like a screenplay the author is going to try to turn into a movie, which is amusing since that's the premise of the main character's efforts. One thing I'll give the author: he did actually spend some time in Amherst, although he beats you over the head with that fact in his use of local details (e.g., the main character goes to Rao's for coffee. Yes, Rao'
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The lovers in question are the married middle aged brother of the poet, Emily Dickinson and the young wife of an academic, recently come to live in Amherst, New England. This adulterous relationship which occurs in the 1880s is particularly unconventional. It has the blessing of Emily who we do not see but is present throughout much of the book where she is referred to as “The Myth”.
Partly set in the time of the principal historical characters – 1880s and then 120 years or so later when a young ...more
Partly set in the time of the principal historical characters – 1880s and then 120 years or so later when a young ...more
I wanted to love this and I thought I would, given how much I love Amherst, having gone to school there. I didn't. I also didn't finish it, which normally would prevent me from reviewing but in this case I wish I hadn't wasted the time so I'll share the opinion. Terrible characters, boring story, too long winded. I get the author was trying to draw out 2 different affairs, in 2 different times, in 1 beautiful town. He failed because what I read was 2 boring stories that I didn't care about all i
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Alice in the 20th century wants to write a screenplay about the passionate love affair between Emily Dickinson's married brother Austin and a married much younger woman, Mabel. This seemed like the author really wanted to explore all the many variations and pitfalls of love: is it real? Can it last? Can you love more than one person? Is great passion killed by familiarity? The theme was interesting, but the story began to drag amidst all this discussion between various characters. Interesting th
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I loved the dual-time-period story as well as the well researched historic and poetic detail. I found myself drawn into both worlds and continually wanting to know more. I enjoy a book that captures my attention and compels me to do my own research to learn more. A good read.
I listened to this audio book. I loved the British vs American accents. It helped move the book along. I'm not sure I loved any of the characters but I didn't really dislike them either. Kind of a lukewarm review huh?
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This is not a book that I would typically pick to read. It was, however, my bookclub's choice. I hope i get to choose the next book.
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William Nicholson was born in 1948, and grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire. His plays for television include Shadowlands and Life Story , both of which won the BAFTA Best Television Drama award in their year; other award-winners were Sweet As You Are and The March . In 1 ...more
William Nicholson was born in 1948, and grew up in Sussex and Gloucestershire. His plays for television include Shadowlands and Life Story , both of which won the BAFTA Best Television Drama award in their year; other award-winners were Sweet As You Are and The March . In 1 ...more
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