"A nuanced, passionate exploration of the life and work of one of the most misunderstood writers of the twentieth century. Sylvia Plath is an object of enduring cultural fascination--the troubled patron saint of confessional poetry, a writer whose genius is buried under the weight of her status as the quintessential literary sad girl. Emily Van Duyne--a superfan and scholar--radically reimagines the last years of Plath's life, confronts her suicide and the construction of her legacy. Drawing from decades of study on Plath and her husband, Ted Hughes, the chief architect of Plath's mythology; the life and tragic suicide of Assia Wevill, Hughes's mistress; newly available archival materials; and a deep understanding of intimate partner violence, Van Duyne seeks to undo the silencing of Sylvia Plath and resuscitate her as the hardworking, brilliant writer she was."
Record details
ISBN:9781324006978
ISBN:1324006978
Physical Description:303 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm print
Edition:First edition.
Publisher:New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2024.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-287) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Introduction: Gaslight -- Love, my season: A brief history of Sylvia Plath -- Loving Assia Wevill -- Nota bene: The dead girls -- The haunting of Ted Hughes -- How reliable a witness? -- Harriet the spy -- The house of the ruler -- In the boneyard -- Afterword: The heart in the fire.