Afternoons with Emily

Book excerpt: In mid-19th-century Amherst, Emily Dickinson is famous both for her notable family and for her reclusive ways, and only Miranda Chase, a smart girl with big plans for her own life, is allowed to enter the budding poet's very private world. At first, their Monday afternoon visits involve discussing books over piping hot cups of tea, but when Miranda begins exploring her own yearnings -- for love, for an education, even for a career -- she discovers that being a friend of Emily's is not without its dangers. The very charisma that has inspired her becomes a web of intrigue, and to escape it, Miranda will imperil her reputation, her independence, and even her dreams. Drawing on letters, poems, and everything that is known about Dickinson's life, Afternoons With Emily is a vivid portrait of America's most famous poet, a coming-of age story that spans the Civil War, and a tale of two brilliant women who each chose to break with convention and live life on their own terms.