From the early 1860s onward, she became essentially a recluse.
The Lonely House: A Short Biography of Emily Dickinson, Paperback - Paul Brody After her death in 1886, it was only the good judgment of her sister Lavinia that preserved the more than 1,700 poems Dickinson had secretly produced. During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson did not seek out recognition or attempt to change the world around her, even in the smallest way. Her life was rich in intellectual pursuits, and she had many friends with whom she exchanged witty and brilliant letters, but she rarely left the town of her birth.