The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson

by Martha Gilbert Dickinson Bianchi, Emily Dickinson

Published in 1924, The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson is a biography by her niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi. Featuring detailed biographical essays and her letters, for the first time arranged chronically, the book stands as a retelling of her aunt's life from the perspective of family in an attempt to challenge the image of Emily Dickinson as a cold, isolated woman of mystery. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson is a must-read biography reimagined for modern readers.

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

Martha Gilbert Dickinson Bianchi (1866-1943) was an author and poet, who wrote various poems for Harper's Magazine such as Her Answer (1898), The Words We Do Not Say (1898), His Talisman (1899), Violet (1899), Effroi d'Amour (1900), Gypsying (1906), His Appeal (1907) and The Wind (1909).

Reviews

[Mattea Gernentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I had no portrait, now, but am small, like the wren; and my hair is bold, like the chestnut burr; and my eyes, like sherry in the glass that the guest leaves."

Praise God that Emily Dickinson wandered the earth, that she called it good, that her fascicles were not burned upon her death. For a poet so fixated on Immortality, how fittingly her sage words have sung throughout the ages. She has become like Shakespeare, whom she so admired.

I will never be able to satisfyingly articulate the comfort to be found in Dickinson's words; her letters are like missives received from a dear friend, a catalyst for laughter (thanks to her sharp wit) as well as great inspiration and solace. I believe Emily Dickinson to be one of the most brilliant minds to have ever graced this planet—a mind held within a being of such gentleness yet unflinching fortitude of character. An apprentice to awe, a devotee of mystery. The openness of her faith is radical and once challenged me, her comfort in a suffering Savior whilst rejecting the judgement of a harsh God.

Being immersed in Emily Dickinson's work for a quad course during my first year at Wheaton was deeply impactful, and I only continue to grow more in love with her wordsmithing and her way of seeing the world. I would not be who I am as a writer without her influence.

[Molsa Roja(s) · Rating 3 out of 5]

God, what a bluff. Ingenuous me thought I may get to know more about Emily through her niece, but I actually think I knew her better before her writing. What a terribly, almost sinfully dull way to convey the life of the highest poet! Whoever aims to find in these texts a biography of the poet, or a closer look to herself as a person, will surely fail: there’s nothing here but a bunch of facts stringed through her own impression of what those times must have looked like, and a pretty vague view for that of Emily. Cold and empty, the nieces’ words are saddening. The letters of Emily Dickinson, which I already had the pleasure to read, bring us way closer to her than any description may do —besides, have you seen the TV show on Apple TV? That’s extraordinary too.

[Kara Whicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it. I think the author did her research and most of the poems and letter had enough context to know what they meant in the moment and how they effected the receiver of them.

I felt like I got a good look into Emily Dickinson life and letters.

[Russell Stamets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters by people who are otherwise larger than life are cool.