{"id":6261,"date":"2025-02-24T04:48:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T12:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=6261"},"modified":"2025-02-24T04:48:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T12:48:05","slug":"amanda-flower-i-died-for-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/amanda-flower-i-died-for-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Flower: I Died for Beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emily Dickinson #3<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This may be my favorite in this series to date.\u00a0 The perfect blend of setting, character and story really sing in this novel, which takes place during a very cold and snowy winter in 1857 Amherst, Massachusetts.\u00a0 While Amherst is now famous as Emily Dickinson\u2019s birthplace and home, in 1857 Emily was just an eccentric member of the prominent Dickinson family, with scraps of writing spilling out of her pockets. And, in these novels, a penchant for sleuthing.<\/p>\n

While today we experience cold and snowy winters, in 1857, those things made a much bigger difference in people\u2019s lives.\u00a0 The cold and snow meant there were fires going all the time which also meant a greater chance of house fires.\u00a0 The snow cut off train deliveries (and travel) so food stores were hoarded.\u00a0 For the poor, the situation was worse, as the cold meant their firewood supply may not have kept up with the need to keep warm.<\/p>\n

As the Dickinsons are asked to help out a poor family in town, by taking them food and other supplies, they are also awakened in the middle of the night by the ringing of bells \u2013 a house fire is blazing in the middle of town.\u00a0 Thanks to Carlo, Emily\u2019s Newfoundland dog (a real dog who followed Emily all over town), Emily and Willa, her maid, discover a child in the woods.\u00a0 Her family has perished in the fire and Emily\u2019s sister in law, Susan, takes her in temporarily as they attempt to find relatives for her to live with.<\/p>\n

Willa is Emily\u2019s Watson, and she\u2019s often in an uncomfortable household position as Emily demands she accompany her, which means she does not always get her work done, to the anger of her superior in the kitchen.\u00a0 Emily is blithely unaware of this dilemma, and thinks Willa\u2019s duties are limited to cooking, but of course she\u2019s cleaning, dusting, ironing, laying fires and serving at the table, among many other tasks.\u00a0 This tension in their relationship makes it an interesting one, as Willa realizes Emily has no idea of her work and what\u2019s more is uncaring about her social status, which also makes things uncomfortable for Willa.<\/p>\n

Despite this, however, the two women make a good detection team and when it becomes clear the little girl\u2019s parents died as the result of a murder and not an accident, the two women\u2019s activity ramps up as they question various people around town, many of them tied to Amherst College, where the girl\u2019s father had worked.\u00a0 The mother was a seamstress, providing another network of information as the women investigate.<\/p>\n

At no time during the novel is the weather situation neglected, as snow and cold continue to envelop Amherst, making detection difficult. \u00a0So does the young girl\u2019s reluctance to talk to anyone but Willa, who feels a growing attachment to her.\u00a0 The solution is a wowser, perfectly set up by Flower and a good oh my gosh moment as the pieces fall into place.\u00a0 Flower also never neglects illuminating the pull of Emily\u2019s writing, a pull that takes her out of herself.\u00a0 It\u2019s a fascinating facet of her character.\u00a0 This novel was simply perfection.\u00a0 —\u00a0Robin Agnew<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emily Dicksinson’s poem<\/p>\n

I died for Beauty – but was scarce<\/em>
\nAdjusted in the Tomb<\/em>
\nWhen One who died for Truth, was lain<\/em>
\nIn an adjoining Room –<\/em><\/p>\n

He questioned softly “Why I failed”?<\/em>
\n“For Beauty”, I replied –<\/em>
\n“And I – for Truth – Themself are One –<\/em>
\nWe Brethren are”,\u00a0 He said –<\/em><\/p>\n

And so, as Kinsmen, met a Night \u2014<\/em>
\nWe talked between the Rooms –<\/em>
\nUntil the Moss had reached our lips –<\/em>
\nAnd covered up\u00a0 – Our names –<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emily Dickinson #3 This may be my favorite in this series to date.\u00a0 The perfect blend of setting, character and story really sing in this novel, which takes place during a very cold and snowy winter in 1857 Amherst, Massachusetts.\u00a0 While Amherst is now famous as Emily Dickinson\u2019s birthplace and home, in 1857 Emily was … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2004,709,189,895,2003,2002,1276],"class_list":["post-6261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-1857-amherst","tag-amanda-flower","tag-berkley","tag-emily-dickinson","tag-harsh-winter","tag-i-died-for-beauty","tag-robin-agnew"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6263,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions\/6263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}