The Lonely House: A Biography of Emily Dickinson

During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson did not seek out recognition or attempt to change the world around her, even in the smallest way. A private but not antisocial person, she kept her life’s work, and her innermost feelings, almost entirely to herself. Her life was rich in intellectual pursuits, and she had many friends with whom she exchanged witty and brilliant letters, but she rarely left the town of her birth. From the early 1860s onward, she became essentially a recluse.

After her dea...