Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath are posthumous inspirations for rival
teams, each with a strong-armed body of supporters: one team asks
for sympathy for Hughes' indisputably tragic and supposedly
forbearing life, blighted by a demanding first marriage and by the
shadow of two suicides (first Plath's and, later, that of the
object of his infidelity, Assia Weevil, who also killed their
child); while the other rallies feminist argument in favour of
Plath, the wronged genius. This biography is a workmanlike account;
the writing is sometimes flat and formulaic ('As Ted and Sylvia
drove up to Yorkshire for Christmas that December in their new
Morris car, Ted could not but wonder how this visit would go') but
the narrative is page-turningly pacy, and we swiftly learn the
outline of the two key lives (Sylvia is often in the foreground).
Feinstein avoids literary politicking, but there is a bias in
Hughes' favour, which leaves us somewhat shocked when she withholds
analysis of the poet's compulsive infidelities. As countervailing
qualities, we are told of his generosity, his thoughtfulness, his
lack of guile and his responsible stewardship of Plath's
electrifying poetry - yet there is no real engagement with the more
primitive, self-serving side of his nature. Moreover, there is
little illumination of his own poetry (except for the
autobiographical Birthday Letters, whose provenance remains
frustratingly mysterious) and little on Hughes' inner life
generally. To take two examples of the many unexplored corners: why
was Hughes so deeply attached to his emigre brother Gerald? And
what was Hughes' view of the role of the Poet Laureate and of the
royal lineage he felt impelled to honour in that capacity? We never
learn the answers to these and many other important questions. One
day the world needs a longer, deeper account, but in the meantime
this biography, which manages to make a virtue of its concision, is
well worth acquiring. (Kirkus UK)
"[The] biography that needed to be written, an attempt to set the record straight and clear the air."—New York Times Book Review
Although Ted Hughes ended his days as England's beloved poet laureate, his life was dogged by tragedy and controversy. He never entirely recovered from the suicide of his wife Sylvia Plath in 1963, for which many have held his adultery responsible. In this insightful biography, the first written since Hughes's death, Elaine Feinstein explores an altogether more complex situation, throwing new light on his relationship with his lover Assia Wevill, who later killed herself along with their young daughter. 12 b/w photographs.
"A fascinating read...the story of [Hughes's] romantic escapades...keeps this book rolling."—The Virginian-Pilot
"An admirable book....Hard to believe it could be bettered any time soon."—The Times [London]
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