New Emily Dickinson Biography

Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's FeudsLives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds

Publisher's Weekly writes:  Although deciphering Emily Dickinson's mysterious personality is like trying to catch a ghost, this startling biography explains quite a lot. 


On the reviews from Amazon, most people give it 2-3 stars because they dislike Gordon's epilepsy diagnosis about Dickinson.  One person gave it five stars and loved it.


I haven't read it yet, but it's on my summer reading list.


Here's a review from The Boston Review that goes into a little more detail about the book.



LIVES LIKE LOADED GUNS: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s FeudsBy Lyndall Gordon
Viking, 491 pp., illustrated, $32.95


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  1. I've just put this on my list, too. Thank you for the link to the Boston Review article, which I enjoyed.

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  2. Of and on for the last two years or so,I have been reading a complete collection of Emily Dickinson's poems but I wasn't sure which biography was the best to pick up. I have a feeling a more traditional one might be better for me to start with. Do you have one you suggest?

    my capture code was slubbelf nice are they calling me names now!

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  3. Did you read The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson? Maybe you've posted on the book previously. Just finished and overall I was disappointed as I thought the artifice lost its appeal as the novel proceeded.
    Wondering about your thoughts.

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  4. I am reading this book right now, and it had better get a little more coherent--the beginning is a bit of a mess.

    And Jessie--I read and loved an ED bio called My Wars Are Laid Away in Books--totally great.

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  5. Maureen- let me know what you think when you read it!

    Jessie-- Hilarious word verification! I would recommend My Emily Dickinson by Susan Howe (though this deals more with her work than a bio, but still has interesting insights) and Emily Dickinson: A Biography by Connie Ann Kirk. Definitely the best bio I know of. It was written to teach not to create controversy.

    Pam- I have seen that book (and book cover!) all over the place but haven't read it. I think I would have your feelings if I read it. I'm not much into fictionalizing Emily, she is too rich in my mind and I feel I'd feel as if she was being manipulated.

    Leslie-- I just started Loaded Gun & I am so glad to hear you say that. I was losing track of characters and if they were talking about Emily or her sister-in-law or whomever! It felt as if we were playing hopscotch as we were all over the place! I hope it becomes less of a mess as I'm definitely interested in it.

    And thanks for the bio recommendation for Jessie, I have not read that that one.

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  6. Thanks for all this info! This is one I'll look for, and I'll be yearning for your book of poems, too.

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  7. I'd read it for the title alone. That was always one of my favorite's of Emily's.

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