cover image The Diary of Emily Dickinson

The Diary of Emily Dickinson

Jamie Fuller. Mercury House, $18 (240pp) ISBN 978-1-56279-048-6

The most glaring difference between the work of Emily Dickinson and this novel ``in the style of'' the belle of Amherst can be simply put: offered the real McCoy, the reader never wonders if his time is being wasted. Fuller brings an unmistakable talent for research and an ear for language to her first book, but she doesn't demonstrate much purpose. Here, she simulates entries and poems in a diary ``kept'' by Dickinson from 1867 to 1868, then ``annotates'' these with factual material and published verse. While her use of language is reasonably convincing, she doesn't interpret Dickinson's life with much imagination. Essentially, she unravels Dickinson's correspondences and Dickinson research, then threads her findings into diary entries. For example, Emily reports returning a copy of Nicholas Nickleby to her sister-in-law, although she does not comment upon it; the appended note reveals that the book is part of the Dickinson family library now at Harvard. Elsewhere, this Emily schoolgirlishly appraises Aurora Leigh ; comments on newspaper items; and, unavoidably, issues passionate declarations about poetry and cryptic statements about those she loves. If anything, Fuller has made an already circumscribed life seem even narrower. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Oct.)