Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath

by Heather Clark

Book Overview

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST - The highly anticipated biography of Sylvia Plath that focuses on her remarkable literary and intellectual achievements, while restoring the woman behind the long-held myths about her life and art.

"One of the most beautiful biographies I've ever read. --Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller, Untamed

With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark brings to life the brilliant Sylvia Plath, who had precocious poetic ambition and was an accomplished published writer even before she became a star at Smith College. Refusing to read Plath's work as if her every act was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark considers the sociopolitical context as she thoroughly explores Plath's world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her troubles with an unenlightened mental health industry; her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes; and much more.

Clark's clear-eyed portraits of Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath's suicide promote a deeper understanding of her final days. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark's meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 030795126X
• ISBN13: 9780307951267
• Release Date: September 2021
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 1184 Pages
• Weight: 3.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest biographies of all time...

I went into this biography knowing next to nothing about Sylvia Plath and left a complete fan-girl. It literally changed my life. This is not "simply" a biography - it is a history book, a poetry collection, a textbook, a romance - at times a page turner reminiscent of your favorite mystery novel. The care that Heather Clark put into building this book is staggering - transcendent. Somehow Clark hides herself behind the curtain, while keeping the spotlight directly on Plath and her genius. I cannot stress enough how critical of a read this biography is - for all of us.