Customer Reviews

Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Brontė

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The five writers who are the subject of Shaggy Muses-Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte-are so well-known and well-studied one might think it difficult to approach their biographies freshly. But Maureen Adams, a clinical psychologist interested in the human/animal bond and ex-professor of English, has found a new entry point into their lives: their relationships with their family dogs.

These relationships are not always sentimental, and Adams' approach is not to idealize the role of dogs in human lives, but instead to explore, through letters, journals and accounts by the writers' friends and family members, how these dogs influenced the lives and writing of these famous authors. Adams explores the vast difficulties of the lives of these women, including the famous cloistered existence of Emily Dickinson and the well-known poor health of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, for example. But she also shows these five writers, whose lives were harder than we can imagine, enjoying life and managing to pursue their writing, sometimes because of the protection and loyalty of their companion dogs.

The influence that these dogs had on their literary owners varied-while Edith Wharton surrounded herself with Pekinese but never seemed to write directly about them, Emily Bronte's dog Keeper finds an almost exact parallel in her famous novel Wuthering Heights. Virginia Woolf was almost never without a pet dog, they appeared often throughout her diaries, and she even wrote an entire novel, Flush: A Biography, imagining the life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's beloved dog. Emily Dickinson's dogs appear in several of her poems and in her letters, just as Elizabeth Barrett Browning's dog Flush appeared in many of her letters to friends.

While Shaggy Muses is obviously well-researched, one would never guess while reading it that its genesis was a series of critical papers for scholarly journals. Adams' writing in this book is genuine, compelling and entertaining. These five mini-biographies are little gems. Anyone who is a lover of either literature or dogs will delight in reading them.

I was drawn to this book because I'm a dog lover and the idea of examining the relationship between dogs and humans has always interested me. I have read the works of only a couple of the authors covered in "Shaggy Muses" and thought that might limit the appeal the book would have for me, but quite the opposite.

All five of the biographies are extremely well written and illuminative. Authtor Maureen Adams shows how the relationship between the authors and their dogs influenced their lives and work. These relationships were different for each of the writers. I think the best definition of Keeper's role with Emily Bronte is a protector, while Flush helped Elizabeth Barrett Browning emerge from grief and isolation after the death of her brother.

Highly recommended for lovers of dogs and of literature.

I picked up this book even though I wasn't familar with all of the authors listed. I loved it! Each chapter is its own fascinating story detailing a different author and how her dog inspired her. I didn't expect the book to be such a page turner and so enjoyable! This book would also make a great gift or bookclub selection.

As a fan of literature written by women, I approached this book mostly with the desire to find out more about these women writers from what I hoped would be a new angle. And author Maureen Adams provided that fresh vantage point by looking at the women through the dogs that were so important in their lives. I admit I am not a dog person at all, but I was taken with how the pets affected the daily lives and also the creative endeavors of these famous women. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, at first a bedridden hermit, found new energy and purpose in Flush, her Cocker Spaniel. Emily Dickinson, perhaps as famous for her shy nature and homebound life as for her poetry, found the courage to venture further from home with the companionship of her Newfoundland dog, Carlo. Adams helped me appreciate such bonds. I would recommend this book to all lovers of literature, as well as dog enthusiasts.

This was a very interesting new look at some famous authors. Who would have thought Emily Dickenson would love a huge Newfounland? Or expected Emily Bronte to have been the inspiration for Heathcliffe, not Cathy? I finished the book in short order and enjoyed going back to have another look at the famous authors' works. As an English teacher, this was a most enriching experience, and could lead to something 'other than the same old, same old' discussions with my students.

Maureen Adams provides thoughtful insight into the very private lives of these five troubled women authors by exposing and exploring their relationships with their beloved dogs. Through Adams' well researched narrative, we learn about how and why these dogs were so important to each of these women, giving some confidence, others companionship and all of them love. Adams' background in psychology and literature allow her to weave these topics together in an unlikely subject matter to great effect. This is an illuminating and enjoyable read!

This book is terrific. It traces the influence of dogs on the lives of famous women writers. I was surprised by how much information there was on each writer. In 37 pages I gained a huge appreciation for Emily Dickinson, more perhaps than I could in a 300 page biography.
Ms. Adams has an uncanny knack for taking the reader into the culkture she is writing about. With her attention to detail and the social culture of the author, I felt I was walking the streets of Amherst, Massachusetts 150 years ago with Emily's dog Carlo at my side. Many of these authors found great consolation in their dogs, often talking to them, reading to them, allowing them to fill emotional vacuums in their lives. I came away with an enlarged understanding and respect for the healing influence of dogs as beloved pets.

I'm a reader and have long loved some of these writers but was not familiar with all of the women whose lives are lovingly presented in this book. And I had no idea that dogs had exercised such influence on their lives and work. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, since I know how much people I know and love depend on their pets for companionship, security, unquestioning loyalty, and fun. So this easily readable book opened my eyes not only to the lives of some very interesting women, but also to new dimensions of the bond between people and their dogs. A worthwhile read! I've already given it to several friends who are "dog people."

Fascinating book especially if you enjoy these authors. Aside from their attachments to their dogs, I loved learning more about their lives. Highly recommend it.

This book will long have a place on my bookshelf! Being an avid reader and having just lost the furry love of my life I was immediately drawn to this work. It is not surprising to learn how these celebrated female authors were inspired by their dog friends. These stories bring life to the famous writers in a way one can easily relate to. Shaggy Muses has deepened my appreciation for the novelists themselves and I have gained greater understanding of the therapeutic role beloved pets can play in our lives.