This novel is the fourth (?) in a series about an ancient tribe of people trying survive and evolve. In this episode, Mana and her tribe, the Moonhawk, move because of the threat of a tribe that murders other men and keeps the skulls as trophies. They plan a trap to kill the stalkers after adopting a woman whose mate was murdered. They also face the problem of saving and raising a child who is the son of these tribesmen and Mana herself must face the oldest and wisest of these men in a confrontation which kills him. All throughout, Mana is learning a lot about who she is and what is right, even though her kinsmen do not always agree with her. The book's action and moral message are strong points in its favor. However, in between each chapter is a sort of fable about the gods of the different tribes that is slightly confusing. It also detracts from the plot of the story. Another factor to consider is the language, which is appropriately more basic and tailored to the experiences and thoughts of the tribes. It takes a long time to get used to. Overall, it is a pretty good book, but I recommend starting with the first in the series and going from there.

Walsh's account of the Todd-Dickinson affair is probably the most unbalanced work in the name of scholarship I have read so far. Unabashedly biased and judgemental, this book reeks of the author's personal issues with matters of adultery, while no effort is expended in trying to understand the complicated dynamic between all the adults involved in the affair.

Among other ludicrous and reductive explanantions for the behavior of Dickinson and Todd, Walsh asserts that Dickinson's participation in an almost fifteen-year affair was driven by a desire for "revenge against the fate" that had taken his son, who died as a young child. Walsh's grip on the psychology behind this stops here as does the supporting evidence. However, a great more effort is made to "justify" Austin's role in the affair while Todd, according to Walsh, is guilty of the deliberate "wrecking" of the reputation of Austin's wife, Susan, assuming that for her, malice toward others was the driving force behind her participation in the affair.

Apparently, Walsh is joining the ranks of a long line of historians and scholars who see fit to crucify their female subjects for deviant sexual behavior, while ignoring or justifying the same behavior in men. It is also interesting to note that Todd's sexual behavior is the just about the only aspect of her life mentioned in this book; her numerous accomplishments as a musician, author, painter, seasoned travelor and lecturer are dismissed or ignored. Once again, with Walsh's help, the historical representation of an ambitious, successful female is reduced to that of a conniving, malicious "hussy" whose sexual behavior exclusively defines her.

It seems odd that Walsh or any other investigator on this topic feels the need to "justify" or blame anyone's actions, well over a century after the fact. Susan and Austin Dickinson and Mabel and David Todd were all strong, creative personalities who created their own complex dynamic which in turn created the behaviors we have evidence of today. Understanding what happened between them as a group is nearly impossible, but reducing their individual motivations to a series of quick explanations is simply foolish and unrealistic. No individual is this easily explained through biography, historical research or other speculation. Even Walsh's attempts to portray Susan as the "victim" in the affair are reductive and insulting. That she should be viewed historically as a passive martyr, who "endured" the events around her, sacrificing her own accomplishments and reputation is ridiculous. Given her intelligence and social dexterity, it seems her role must be given a more complex motivation than this.

If nothing else, Walsh's account raises some important questions about just how much social attitudes toward women have changed over the years. Do we still consider successful, ambitious women who challenge the sexual status quo to be threats to society? Mabel Todd extended the notion of "ownership" in a nineteenth-century marriage to include more than one partner, and partners of her choosing. Mr. Walsh's aggressive condemnation of her suggests that if an educated woman were to suggest such a radical definition of multiple partner marriage today, she too would be considered deviant and perhaps malicious. Have attitudes toward women evolved to the degree where women might be able to criticize the accepted social dynamic of marriage without fear of castigation? Mr. Walsh's book suggests not, but I hope his view is an anomaly and that Mrs. Todd was not ahead of our time as well as her own.

John Evangelist Walsh's books explore murky literary corridors, sweeping aside rumor, innuendo, and distortion. In 'This Brief Tragedy', he examines the last days of Emily Dickinson, with particular emphasis upon the affair between her older brother Austin and the young wife of his colleague, Mabel Todd. Walsh brings a fresh and critical eye to this relationship, using their own letters and diaries to reveal the truth of this celebrated 'love affair'. Neither Austin or Mabel are well-served by their own words.

Walsh also argues for a new study of Austin's long-suffering wife, Susan. Susan was Emily's closest friend and supporter, but she has suffered through a century of bad press largely because of Mabel Todd's peculiar place in Dickinson scholarship. Todd was asked to type copies of Emily's poem for publication because the Dickinson family did not wish to risk mailing the original manuscripts. She did so, and from that humble beginning, managed to fashion herself into the authority on all things related to Emily Dickinson. In truth, the two women never met and Emily had a low opinion of the woman who willfully toyed with the emotions of both her nephew and brother.

But all lovers of great literature were desperate for information about the reclusive poet from Amherst. As various Dickinson relatives died in rapid succession, Mabel rewrote her own place in Emily's history. She found a receptive audience and few scholars have questioned her true motives. For this reason alone, Walsh's book is a necessary companion piece to Richard Sewall's celebrated two-volume biography of Emily. Sewall accepted Mabel's version of events so thoroughly that it mars his otherwise fine work. Neither Emily or Susan Dickinson left behind journals or diaries regarding the tumultuous events of the 1880s and '90s. But Mabel did. As a result, she has been given too much influence upon Dickinson scholarship. Read Sewall, but pick up this book immediately afterwards.

The print is so small in this paperback book you can hardly read the type. There are no picturs of the items. Half the book is list of antique shops in London and around the UK. He does list the antique fairs but gives no actual dates.
If you are any kind of an antique buff this book is worthless.

I gave this book a 2 because it was received timely, but the book is filthy...it was not worth the [money]. Books that are nasty think about putting a book cover over them.
Kimberly

I will admit there is some interesting stuff in the book but most of it I found to be quite boring. Also the book is in black and white with poor quality photographs. The book did introduce me to two interesting people, Bart Prince and William Eckerman, check out their web sites.

I was disappointed and frustrated at getting this. I looked in America for a book on Dickinson because he is almost unheard of in England, and I was excited to find a title that sounded very promising. When the "book" came through the mail, however, it was such a disappointment as the intro explained that this was a publication to go with a series of exhibitions of Dickinson's work in America some time ago. As a result the little commentary there was too specific to be interesting to anyone who had not seen the exhibition, and was essentially was un-illuminating. The most important part of the book, ie. the images, were poorly reproduced in black and white, with the exception of a couple. Anyone who knows Dickinson will know that his work is painted in muted colours, rendering a black and white repro almost unreadable. Go elsewhere to find stuff about Dickinson; this does not do him - or your wallet - justice at all.