Emily Dickinson and the Labor of Clothing

"A dazzling, delightful study of the impact of textiles and fashion on the US's most enigmatic poet. . . . Wardrop offers context by exploring the market economy of the mid-to-late-19th century, the textile manufacturing industry in Amherst during Dickinson's lifetime, and the depiction of garments in Dickinson's poetry and letters. Beautifully illustrated and featuring helpful notes and a well-constructed index, this book is by turns fascinating, illuminating, and undeniably original. . . . Highly recommended."—CHOICE

"This is an impressive work, with sharp, informative, and useful writing. When Wardrop states that her manuscript presents a very different Emily Dickinson, she does not overstate. Rather than critique existing secondary material on Dickinson, however, she creates the new persona through providing information very few of us have known. This reading of Emily Dickinson in her time and her contexts—biographical as well as cultural—is truly valuable."—Linda Wagner-Martin, Frank Borden Hanes Professor of English and Comparative Literature, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill