| | A Poet Next Door | p. 1 |
| | 'A Still - Volcano - Life' | |
| | The First Family | p. 21 |
| | A Scientific Education | p. 39 |
| | Sister | p. 61 |
| | 'Wife Without the Sign' | p. 93 |
| | 'Snarl in the Brain' | p. 114 |
| | Telling | p. 137 |
| | Romancing Judge Lord | p. 156 |
| | Split in the Family | p. 169 |
| | Mabel's Reign | |
| | Emily's Stand | p. 197 |
| | Lady Macbeth of Amherst | p. 231 |
| | Mabel in Excelsis | p. 250 |
| | The War Between the Houses | |
| | Lavinia's Stand | p. 279 |
| | The Trial | p. 299 |
| | Defeats of the First Generation | p. 313 |
| | Two Daughters | p. 326 |
| | The Battle of the Daughters | p. 345 |
| | Posthumous Campaigns | p. 369 |
| | Outliving the Legend | p. 399 |
| | Sources | p. 407 |
| | Notes | p. 425 |
| | Acknowledgements | p. 471 |
| | Index | p. 475 |
| | Index of First Lines | p. 490 |