Austin and Mabel
The Amherst Affair and Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd
By Polly Longsworth; Preface by Richard B. Sewall
University of Massachusetts Press
A true tale of illicit love in the era of Emily Dickinson. The author adds her own annotations to correspondence, journals, diaries and the observations of the protagonists' peers, to paint a detailed picture of social and sexual mores in 19th-century America.
One of the most explosive books ever published about social and sexual mores in nineteenth-century America.'—New York Review of Books
'It would be a rare novel that could rival the story of illicit love between Austin Dickinson and Mabel Todd, the 'Amherst Affair' as recreated here by Longsworth. . . . [This book presents] the full, mesmerizing, bizarre account through the copious Dickinson–Todd letters and diary excerpts. . . . Irresistible reading and a literary event.'—Publishers Weekly (boxed review)
'Beyond the interest it has for Dickinson scholars, this tale has a certain exemplary force, as spectacles of human passion frequently do. . . . Mabel Todd is so interesting that one wishes for more of her. The diary passages with which Mrs. Longsworth expands and explains the account appear as fascinating as the letters, whose tone of rapture must have been hard to sustain.'—New York Times Book Review
'Offers a compelling look at the passion shared by two ill-fated lovers. . . . [Longsworth] is a sensitive, clear-eyed observer of the affair. Her portraits of the protagonists—especially Sue Dickinson—are perceptive and subtle, her research meticulous, and her annotations illuminating. Drawing upon diaries, journals, other correspondence and the voices of assorted minor actors in this drama, Longsworth presents a full and moving account of the tangled, tortured, yet often joyous relationship.'—Boston Sunday Globe
'Solidly documented and as readable as the best novels, . . . it is a bizarre chronicle, proverbially stranger than fiction. Longsworth narrates it with great skill, making copious use of letters and journals.'—Wall Street Journal
'There is more to Austin and Mabel than True Romance. Wisely letting her material speak for itself, Longsworth has managed to recreate the flavor of 19th-century middle-class life in New England.'—New Leader
Polly Longsworth is author of The World of Emily Dickinson.
