Sylvia Plath: A Biography

by Linda Wagner-Martin

Book Overview

Sylvia Plath: A Literary Life examines the way Plath made herself into a writer. Close analysis of Plath's reading and apprenticeship writing both in fiction and poetry sheds considerable light on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312023251
• ISBN13: 9780312023256
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Refreshing, Yet Informative

I am a recent follower in Sylvia Plath's work and I found that this biography read like a fiction novel, which I think that more biographical writers should do. It maintained this while being serious and formal about Sylvia's pain and her re-occuring issues with her husband. This book is highly recommended to anyone wanted to find out more about Sylvia's life from an unbiased point of view.

a good starting off point

This biography is a well-written, entertaining biography. It seems to be a good place to start your study of Plath. Trouble with the Hughes caused there to be much less quotes from Plath herself than we would have liked to have seen. And it seems a bit short to cover one of our most important poets in just under 250 pages. But still, it is a good book and a good place to begin.

Informative

I had the pleasure of taking an American Women Authors class taught by Linda Wagner-Martin at UNC Chapel Hill, and let me tell you, she really knows her stuff about Plath. She fascinated us with her tales of the process of writing this book. For a fresh perspective on the life and work of Sylvia Plath, this is a good one.

Clear, precise description of a haunted woman

So far, this is one of the clearest, and easiest to read biographies of one of the finest (and most intriguing) female poets of the 20th century. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about Sylvia Plath, but doesn't feel like sorting through endless fluff and interpretations of her work. This book simply describes the life of a tortured woman writer. Good job, great reading!

Highlights the life of the gifted poet.

Wagner-Martin shows you a life of a woman writer who was treated badly by illness and Ted Hughes. There are alot of personal photographs from her childhood. She was also an excellent sketch artist!