The Belle of Amherst

Based on the life of the nineteenth-century American poet Emily Dickinson, American playwright William Luce’s one-woman play The Belle of Amherst (1976) opened on April 28, 1976 on Broadway with actor Julie Harris portraying all of the play's fifteen characters. For her performance, Harris won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

At the beginning of Act 1, fifty-three-year-old Emily is portrayed as small, delicate, and child-like. She addresses the audience directly, offering them black cake from her own recipe. Emily apologizes to the audience if she appears in a state of fright, as she is unused to having strangers in her home. She introduces herself as Emily Elizabeth Dickinson but adds that she has dropped the middle name because she is a poet. The townspeople of Amherst, Massachusetts, where she lives, all believe her to be crazy, referring to her as "Squire Edward's half-cracked daughter." This perception of Emily Dickinson as a sufferer of mental illness has persisted long after her death, though here, Emily insists that her madness is simply an elaborate ruse.

The reasons cited for her madness include Emily's tendency to run from neighbors, send strange notes, and leap out at sightseers. These actions, however, merely reflect Emily's desire to entertain herself by beguiling the townspeople, or as she refers to them, "her menagerie." Having presumably corrected these misconceptions about her madness, Emily proceeds to discuss her work as a poet. Because she publishes anonymously, Emily is eager to announce herself as a poet whenever possible. She then begins to tell the story of her life, starting with her childhood.



As a child, Emily is far less shy than her reputation suggests. She engages in easy, harmless rebellion into her years as a teenager. Throughout her early life, she feels that the only person who truly knows her is her brother, Austin, who is one year her senior. Meanwhile, her sister, Lavinia, is younger than Emily, and yet Lavinia treats her older sister as if she were a child, looking after her and caring for her as a mother. As for Emily's own mother, few details are shared. Emily does talk a bit, however, about caring for her mother who suffered from various chronic illnesses from the 1850s until her death in 1882, about a year before the present setting of the play. Despite the fact that her mother had been sick for many years, her death still comes as a shock to Emily, somewhat traumatizing her. Her feelings about her father are more complex, representing a mixture of respect and resentment.

At the beginning of Act 2, Emily eagerly awaits the arrival of Professor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a literary critic and abolitionist whom she hopes will publish her poetry. She sews together a number of her poems into a makeshift "book" and tells her servant to inform her the moment Professor Higginson arrives. She also rehearses her conversation with him, nervously asking about his family and flattering him for his wit. Upon hearing his coach, she excitedly grabs a box containing every poem she has written and runs downstairs to meet him.

Emily is too preoccupied with her dreams of publication to work any pleasantries into their conversation, as rehearsed. Professor Higginson asks what she expects him to do with her box of poetry and proceeds to savage her work, deeming the poems unsuitable for publication. Emily is devastated by Professor Higginson's dismissive and highly critical remarks. She tells the audience that in the years since Professor Higginson's visit, she writes poetry less frequently but is still convinced of her artistic prowess. She laments the fact that critics like Professor Higginson are blind and deaf to her talent and artistry. Emily also expresses disappointment over her failed romantic exploits but vows to be undeterred by her professional and personal failures.



Emily then reflects further on her father, recalling his love of animals, particularly horses, which he kept. One day, during a snowstorm, her father trudges out into the savage weather to feed some birds. He hides while they eat so as not to "embarrass" them. The birds who presently live in Emily's garden, she suspects, are direct descendants of those same birds her father once fed. She then recalls the trauma of losing her father to a stroke about ten years earlier. Almost exactly one year later, her mother also suffers a stroke, causing partial paralysis and some brain damage that severely affects her memory.

At the end of the play, Emily is grateful to the audience for letting her share her story and to set the record straight about her life and mental state. She concludes by inviting the audience to come back anytime and to let her know what they think of her black cake recipe.

Though some have criticized the play for perpetuating the myth of Dickinson as a chaste hermit, The Belle of Amherst received critical acclaim and was performed 116 times in its initial Broadway run.