Books About Sylvia Plath

Oct 31

Explore this curated list of books about confessional poet Sylvia Plath and find your next read. From biographies of Sylvia Plath, to Plath’s own journals and poetry, and even a fictional book about Plath’s life, you’ll find recommendations for reading a book about Syliva Plath here.

Loving Sylvia Plath: A Reclamation
by Emily Van Duyne
IN A NUTSHELL. Revisiting Sylvia Plath’s legacy
SHORT & SIMPLE. Scholarly work that attempts to reclaim Plath’s story from the version created by her partner, Ted Hughes
GO FOR THIS BOOK IF…you want to read a book about Sylvia Plath that examines intimate partner violence in Plath’s relationship with Ted Hughes and the impact Hughes had on Plath’s legacy.
In Loving Sylvia Plath, Emily Van Duyne examines intimate partner violence in Plath’s relationship with Ted Hughes and Hughes’ role in creating Plath’s legacy as “literary sad girl.” This scholarly work attempts to reclaim Plath’s legacy with a re-telling of her final years that takes into consideration the negative impacts of her relationship with Hughes.
nonfiction, biographies & memoirs
Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath
by Kate Moses
IN A NUTSHELL. Fictional recounting of Sylvia Plath’s last days
SHORT & SIMPLE. A true to historical fact - but fictional - telling of Sylvia Plath’s final days in which she moved out of her marital home
GO FOR THIS BOOK IF…you want to read a fictional book about Sylvia Plath.
Wintering imagines the final days of Syliva Plath, exploring Plath’s reflections on her marriage to Ted Hughes, her relationship with her mother, her children, and her work as a poet.
fiction + historical fiction
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
by Sylvia Plath edited by Karen V. Kukil
IN A NUTSHELL. Sylvia Plath’s journals from the last 12 years of her life
SHORT & SIMPLE. Sylvia Plath’s own journals provide insight into struggles in her work and personal life
GO FOR THIS BOOK IF…you want to read a book about Sylvia Plath’s life in Plath’s own words.
This is a complete collection of Plath’s existing journals with annotations from the editor. These journals follow Plath through university, graduate school, her early encounters with Ted Hughes, their relationship and marriage, the birth of their two children, and her later separation from Hughes shortly before her death.
nonfiction + biographies & memoirs
Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath
by Paul Alexander
IN A NUTSHELL. Heavily researched biography of poet Sylvia Plath
SHORT & SIMPLE. This detailed biography about Sylvia Plath is based on interviews with those who knew her and archival documents
GO FOR THIS BOOK IF…you want to read a biography book about Sylvia Plath.
This compassionate biography of Sylvia Plath provides detailed information about Plath’s family history (inclusive of brief biographies of her parents and grandparents), her childhood - including the death of her father when Sylvia was 8 years old - her adolescence, her marriage to Ted Hughes, the birth of her two children, and her eventual suicide at 30.
biographies & memoirs
Ariel: The Restored Edition: A Facsimile of Plath's Manuscript, Reinstating Her Original Selection and Arrangement
by Sylvia Plath
IN A NUTSHELL. Plath’s final collection of poetry as she intended it
SHORT & SIMPLE. Plath’s final collection of poems, Ariel, published after her death, was originally arranged by her husband, poet Ted Hughes; this edition of Ariel presents Plath’s final poems as she intended them to be presented.
GO FOR THIS BOOK IF…you want to read Sylvia Plath’s poetry.
This edition of Ariel includes Plath’s handwritten notes, arranges the poems as she intended, and provides a copy of her working drafts for the poem Ariel.
poetry