Emily Dickinson’s father was a leading local lawyer and treasurer of the well-known Amherst College, founded in 1821. From 1840 she was educated at the Academy and then for a year at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. At the age of 23 she withdrew from most social contacts to live a secluded life. Once a year her father held a large reception for local dignitaries. On these occasions, Emily emerged from her withdrawal to play her part as a gracious hostess. After the event, she would retreat and again become invisible to the world. In later years, Emily took to dressing in white and seldom consented to meet even family visitors. She would have remained as an unknown recluse had it not been for a few close friends, for some of whom she composed her verses. She wrote nearly 1800 poems, most of them between 1858 and 1865: and almost all without publication in view.