Her Husband: Hughes and Plath--a MarriageTed Hughes married Sylvia Plath in 1956, at the outset of their brilliant careers. Plath's suicide six and a half years later, for which many held Hughes accountable, changed his life, his closest relationships, his standing in the literary world, and the style and substance of his verse. In this stunning new biography of their marriage, Diane Middlebrook presents a portrait of Hughes as a man, as a poet, and as a husband haunted-and nourished-his entire life by the aftermath of his first marriage. Drawing on a trove of newly available papers Middlebrook presents Hughes as a complicated, conflicted figure: sexually magnetic, fiercely ambitious, immensely caring, and shrewd in business. She argues that Plath's suicide, though it devastated Hughes and made him vulnerable to the savage attacks of Plath's growing readership, ultimately gave him his true subject-how marriages fail and how men fail in marriage. Writing with the penetrating insight and lucid sympathy that informed her previous bestselling biographies, Middlebrook rises to the multiple challenges presented by this highly fraught, deeply controversial subject. Her Husbandis a triumph of the biographer's art and craft. |
Contents
His Family 1956 | 50 |
Struggling 19561963 | 82 |
Separating 1962 | 159 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Alvarez animal appears Ariel artistic Assia Assia Wevill August Aurelia became become began Bell Jar Birthday Letters brother called Cambridge Court Green Crow dead death described early edition Emory expressed father February feel flat friends gave Gerald hand Hughes's husband imagination interview January Johnny Panic journal July June keep kind knew later Library Lilly literary living London look manuscript March marriage married mind months mother moved Myers needed never night notes novel October once planned play poem poet poetry publication published quoted Rabbit returned Sagar says seems September SP-AP story suicide Sylvia Plath Ted Hughes tells thing thought tion titled told took turned University voice wanted weeks woman women writing written wrote Yorkshire
References to this book
Eye Rhymes: Sylvia Plath's Art of the Visual Kathleen Connors,Sally Bayley No preview available - 2007 |