Amherst

Publisher Marketing: Alice Dickinson, a young advertising executive in London, decides to take time off work to research her idea for a screenplay: the true story of the scandalous, adulterous love affair that took place between a young, Amherst college faculty wife, Mabel Loomis Todd, and the college's treasurer, Austin Dickinson, in the 1880s. Austin, twenty-four years Mabel's senior and married, was the brother of the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, whose house provided the setting for Austin and Mabel's trysts. Alice travels to Amherst, staying in the house of Nick Crocker, a married English academic in his fifties. As Alice researches Austin and Mabel's story and Emily's role in their affair, she embarks on her own affair with Nick, an affair that, of course, they both know echoes the affair that she's writing about in her screenplay. Contributor Bio:  Nicholson, William William Nicholson is a screenwriter, playwright, television writer, and novelist. In addition to his Academy Award-nominated screenplays for "Shadowlands" and "Gladiator", he is the author of "Motherland"; several young adult and fantasy novels; and a sequence of contemporary adult novels set in England. He lives in Sussex, England. Contributor Bio:  Lockford, Lesa Lesa Lockford is a professor in the Department of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University. She teaches courses in voice for the actor, dialects, acting, and performance studies. She is also a writer and performer. Before becoming a teacher, she was a professional actor in Great Britain where she appeared in a variety of roles in television, film, and on the stage. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Contributor Bio:  Eyre, Justine Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated over three hundred audiobooks. With a prestigious Audie Award and four "AudioFile" Earphones Awards under her belt, Justine is multilingual and is known for her great facility with accents.