Book Review: Emily’s House by Amy Belding Brown

Emily's House Amy Belding Brown


Official Blurb: An evocative new novel about Emily Dickinson’s longtime maid, Irish immigrant Margaret Maher, whose bond with the poet ensured Dickinson’s work would live on.

Tamara’s Review: It is so easy to believe in this novel, to believe Belding Brown’s interpretation of the personalities and events involved. To see how Margaret Maher’s gift for imagery and way of seeing the world would enchant and influence Dickinson. The characterization of Emily Dickinson herself allows her to retain her mystery but seemed to me full and lively and understandable.

The last section of the book is a treasure (oh, that cupola scene!), it had me in tears, it was heart-opening and beautiful.

An immersive book and one to read if you have a curiosity about the Irish experience in the US, about the lives of maids, about Emily Dickinson, or a love of words and imagery and lyricism.

Emily’s House is available from Penguin Books

Author
Tamara Rendell

Tamara’s upcoming novel Lahana is out 12th April 2026, PRE-ORDER NOW. She is the author of Mystical Tides and Autumn Moon (out late 2026).

Book cover with forest background. Link to purchase.

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