Emmeline (Rossner novel)
First edition | |
| Author | Judith Rossner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1980 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Cloth; Paper) |
| Preceded by | Attachments |
| Followed by | August |
Emmeline is a book by Judith Rossner. Published in 1980, Emmeline details the local legend of a woman who becomes ostracized by everyone in her hometown in Maine after a shocking, long-held secret becomes public. The story is a fictionalized account of the life of Emeline Bachelder Gurney. Both anecdotal and documented evidence have been found about Gurney's life.
Filmmaker David Hoffman posted an interview from the 1970s with a Maine journalist named Nettie Mitchell (1886-1981), who at age 89 spoke about having directly known Emeline Bachelder Gurney.
An operatic version by Tobias Picker (libretto by J. D. McClatchy) premiered in 1996 as a commission of the Santa Fe Opera and has enjoyed considerable success. It has been recorded, televised on PBS, and produced in full-scale and chamber productions.