Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Bandgt;A new biography of Sylvia Plath, a literary icon who continues to haunt, fascinate, and enthrall even now, fifty years after her deathandlt;/Bandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;On February 25 , 1956, andlt;/Bandgt;twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Plath walked into a party and immediately spotted Ted Hughes. This encounterand#8212;now one of the most famous in all of literary historyand#8212;was recorded by Plath in her journal, where she described Hughes as a and#8220;big, dark, hunky boy.and#8221; Sylvia viewed Ted as something of a colossus, and to this day his enormous shadow has obscured her life and work. The sensational aspects of the Plath-Hughes relationship have dominated the cultural landscape to such an extent that their story has taken on the resonance of a modern myth. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Before she met Ted, Plath had lived a complex, creative, and disturbing life. Her father had died when she was only eight; she had gone out with literally hundreds of men, had been unofficially engaged, had tried to commit suicide, and had written more than two hundred poems. andlt;Iandgt;Mad Girland#8217;s Love Song andlt;/Iandgt;chronicles these early years, traces the sources of her mental instability, and examines how a range of personal, economic, and societal factorsand#8212;the real disquieting musesand#8212; conspired against her. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this is the first book to focus on the early life of the twentieth centuryand#8217;s most popular and enduring female poet. andlt;Iandgt;Mad Girland#8217;s Love Song andlt;/Iandgt;reclaims Sylvia Plath from the tangle of emotions associated with her relationship with Ted Hughes and reveals the origins of her unsettled and unsettling voice.
Review
"There's a tragic ordinariness in this version of Sylvia Plath's American girlhood--here she is, daughter, student, and lover, desperately trying to create a perfect self. Andrew Wilson's fresh combing of the Plath archives and interviews with Plath's classmates and boyfriends show how
Review
"Insightful...this portrait has much valuable new material about her early years."
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Mad Girland#8217;s Love Song andlt;/iandgt;is a compelling work that makes rich use of unseen material. Wilson renders the young Plath vividly and sometimes unsettlingly present on the page.and#8221;
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“Likely to become the definitive account of Plath’s earlyyears.” Belinda McKeon - author of - < -="" i="" -=""> - Solace - < -="" -="">
Review
and#8220;Wilson is insightful on Plathand#8217;s tormented attempts to forge an identity in this oppressive environmentand#8230;[he] fashions riveting scenes.and#8221;
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and#8220;Wilson makes a convincing case that we can learn more about Plath and the pressures that shaped her by paying attention to her and#8220;life before Tedand#8221;and#8212;the high school and college yearsand#8230;Wilson is able to bring this phase of Plathand#8217;s life into sharper focus than beforeand#8230;yield[ing] significant insights.and#8221;
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andlt;divandgt;"Likely to become the definitive account of Plath's early years."andlt;/divandgt;
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and#8220;This is a rare biography whose narrative style is artful enough that its appeal will range from those who're utterly unfamiliar with Plath's work to those who've inundated themselves in it.and#8221;
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and#8220;A comprehensive pictureof a young Plath with an electric mind, a cultural omnivorousness and asinister dark sideand#8230;Wilson has written what is sure to become the officialbiography of young Sylvia.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"There's a tragic ordinariness in this version of Sylvia Plath's American girlhood--here she is, daughter, student, and lover, desperately trying to create a perfect self. Andrew Wilson's fresh combing of the Plath archives and interviews with Plath's classmates and boyfriendsandlt;iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Likely to become the definitive account of Plathand#8217;s early years.and#8221;
Review
"Thereand#8217;s a tragic ordinariness in this version of Sylvia Plathand#8217;s American girlhoodand#8212;here she is, daughter, student, and lover, desperately trying to create a perfect self. Andrew Wilsonand#8217;s fresh combing of the Plath archives and interviews with Plathand#8217;s classmates and boyfriendsandlt;iandgt; andlt;/iandgt;andlt;iandgt;and#173;andlt;/iandgt;show how economic frustration, sexual craving, and fierce ambition shaped the poet long before she met Ted Hughes, and even longer before her suicide made her famous."andlt;u1:pandgt;andlt;/u1:pandgt;andlt;u1:pandgt;andlt;/u1:pandgt;
Synopsis
From an award-winning author comes a groundbreaking biography of Sylvia Plath, focusing on her childhood, adolescence, and early years of writing, creating a new portrait of this iconic yet still mysterious literary legend.On February 25, 1956, twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Plath walked into a party and immediately spotted Ted Hughes. This encounter—now one of the most famous in all literary history—was recorded by Plath in her journal, where she described Hughes as a “big, dark, hunky boy.” After Plath’s suicide in February 1963, Hughes became Plath’s literary executor, the guardian of her writings, and, in effect responsible for how she was perceived. But Hughes did not think much of Plath’s prose writing, and his determination to market her later poetry—poetry written after she had begun her relationship with him—as the crowning glory of her career.
Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this is the first book to focus on the early life of the twentieth century’s most popular and enduring female poet. Mad Girl’s Love Song reclaims Sylvia Plath from the tangle of emotions associated with her relationship with Ted Hughes and reveals the origins of her unsettled and unsettling voice, a voice that, fifty years after her death continues to haunt and enthrall.
About the Author
Andrew Wilson is an award-winning journalist and author. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including the andlt;Iandgt;Guardianandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Daily Telegraphandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Observerandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Sunday Timesandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Independent on Sundayandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Daily Mailandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;New Statesmanandlt;/Iandgt;, the andlt;Iandgt;Evening Standardandlt;/Iandgt; magazine and the andlt;Iandgt;Smithsonianandlt;/Iandgt;.