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9781584657804

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Just when one might have thought that biographical, historical, and cultural examinations of Dickinson had been exhausted, Wardrop (Western Michigan Univ.) steps up with a dazzling, delightful study of the impact of textiles and fashion on the US's most enigmatic poet. . . . Wardrop challenges the notion that Dickinson was not fashion conscious and argues instead that the poet was 'vitally concerned' with her appearance. Whenever critics venture into topics that are biographically peripheral rather than central, they risk that their findings may be fluff. That is not the case here. 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.

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 Wardrop and Joslin begin to make crucial interventions into the study of women's literature and the material culture of clothing: they move toward arguing that U.S. women writers' depictions of fashion and clothing are shot through with desires for feminist solidarity. -- American Literature By analyzing often-dismissed aspects of the famous poet like her approach to clothing, Wardrop presents a more down to earth perspective on Dickinson, one that sees her not just as a talented writer but also in many ways a conventional woman living in an antebellum era. An impressive archive of mid-nineteenth century North Eastern fashion, including the labour practices behind textile production, is thus interwoven with biographical facts about Dickinson. -- Worn Fashion Journal

Choice American Literature Worn Fashion Journal Just when one might have thought that biographical, historical, and cultural examinations of Dickinson had been exhausted, Wardrop (Western Michigan Univ.) steps up with a dazzling, delightful study of the impact of textiles and fashion on the US's most enigmatic poet. . . . Wardrop challenges the notion that Dickinson was not fashion conscious and argues instead that the poet was 'vitally concerned' with her appearance. Whenever critics venture into topics that are biographically peripheral rather than central, they risk that their findings may be fluff. That is not the case here. 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 Both studies do a wonderful job of setting literary texts and clothing in relation to each other and then revealing the histories that emerge from that juxtaposition. The political stakes of these historical contexts remain implicit, however, and the Marxist feminism informing these projects could have been more pronounced. Nevertheless, Wardrop and Joslin begin to make crucial interventions into the study of women's literature and the material culture of clothing: they move toward arguing that U.S. women writers' depictions of fashion and clothing are shot through with desires for feminist solidarity. -- American Literature Daneen Wardrop ties fashion and academia together in Emily Dickinson and the Labor of Clothing. The Dickinson that is often studied - the one portrayed within her poetry - shows her intellect and her exceptional handle on language. By analyzing often-dismissed aspects of the famous poet like her approach to clothing, Wardrop presents a more down to earth perspective on Dickinson, one that sees her not just as a talented writer but also in many ways a conventional woman living in an antebellum era. An impressive archive of mid-nineteenth century North Eastern fashion, including the labour practices behind textile production, is thus interwoven with biographical facts about Dickinson. -- Worn Fashion Journal -Daneen Wardrop ties fashion and academia together in Emily Dickinson and the Labor of Clothing. The Dickinson that is often studied - the one portrayed within her poetry - shows her intellect and her exceptional handle on language. By analyzing often-dismissed aspects of the famous poet like her approach to clothing, Wardrop presents a more down to earth perspective on Dickinson, one that sees her not just as a talented writer but also in many ways a conventional woman living in an antebellum era. An impressive archive of mid-nineteenth century North Eastern fashion, including the labour practices behind textile production, is thus interwoven with biographical facts about Dickinson.---Worn Fashion Journal -Both studies do a wonderful job of setting literary texts and clothing in relation to each other and then revealing the histories that emerge from that juxtaposition. The political stakes of these historical contexts remain implicit, however, and the Marxist feminism informing these projects could have been more pronounced. Nevertheless, Wardrop and Joslin begin to make crucial interventions into the study of women's literature and the material culture of clothing: they move toward arguing that U.S. women writers' depictions of fashion and clothing are shot through with desires for feminist solidarity.---American Literature -Just when one might have thought that biographical, historical, and cultural examinations of Dickinson had been exhausted, Wardrop (Western Michigan Univ.) steps up with a dazzling, delightful study of the impact of textiles and fashion on the US's most enigmatic poet. . . . Wardrop challenges the notion that Dickinson was not fashion conscious and argues instead that the poet was 'vitally concerned' with her appearance. Whenever critics venture into topics that are biographically peripheral rather than central, they risk that their findings may be fluff. That is not the case here. 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 Daneen Wardrop ties fashion and academia together in Emily Dickinson and the Labor of Clothing. The Dickinson that is often studied - the one portrayed within her poetry - shows her intellect and her exceptional handle on language. By analyzing often-dismissed aspects of the famous poet like her approach to clothing, Wardrop presents a more down to earth perspective on Dickinson, one that sees her not just as a talented writer but also in many ways a conventional woman living in an antebellum era. An impressive archive of mid-nineteenth century North Eastern fashion, including the labour practices behind textile production, is thus interwoven with biographical facts about Dickinson. Worn Fashion Journal Both studies do a wonderful job of setting literary texts and clothing in relation to each other and then revealing the histories that emerge from that juxtaposition. The political stakes of these historical contexts remain implicit, however, and the Marxist feminism informing these projects could have been more pronounced. Nevertheless, Wardrop and Joslin begin to make crucial interventions into the study of women s literature and the material culture of clothing: they move toward arguing that U.S. women writers depictions of fashion and clothing are shot through with desires for feminist solidarity. American Literature Just when one might have thought that biographical, historical, and cultural examinations of Dickinson had been exhausted, Wardrop (Western Michigan Univ.) steps up with a dazzling, delightful study of the impact of textiles and fashion on the US s most enigmatic poet. . . . Wardrop challenges the notion that Dickinson was not fashion conscious and argues instead that the poet was vitally concerned with her appearance. Whenever critics venture into topics that are biographically peripheral rather than central, they risk that their findings may be fluff. That is not the case here. 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

Worn Fashion Journal

Author Information

DANEEN WARDROP is a professor of English at Western Michigan University. She is the author of Word, Birth, and Culture in the Poetry of Poe, Whitman, and Dickinson and Emily Dickinson's Gothic: Goblin with a Gauge

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