Product Description

Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath were husband and wife; they were also two of the most remarkable poets of the twentieth century. In this stunning new account of their marriage, Diane Middlebrook draws on a trove of newly available papers to craft a beautifully written portrait of Hughes as a man, as a poet, and as a husband haunted—and nourished—his entire life by his relationship to Sylvia Plath.

Her Husband is a triumph of the biographer’s art and an up-close look at a couple who saw each other as the means to becoming who they wanted to be: writers and mythic representations of a whole generation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #630706 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-31
• Released on: 2004-08-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780142004876
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
A deep, rich, and satisfying biography of a marriage— harrowing and ironic, playful and grave. -- The Washington Post Book World

Diane Middlebrook’s shrewd and compelling biography . . . is a book of mysteries, delicately revealed. -- O Magazine

Unquestionably the best book written thus far on these complicated geniuses. -- The Baltimore Sun

Review
Diane Middlebrook’s shrewd and compelling biography . . . is a book of mysteries, delicately revealed. (O Magazine)

A deep, rich, and satisfying biography of a marriage— harrowing and ironic, playful and grave. (The Washington Post Book World)

Unquestionably the best book written thus far on these complicated geniuses. (The Baltimore Sun)

About the Author
Diane Middlebrook is the author of the bestselling Anne Sexton: A Biography, which was a finalist for both a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award, and Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful portrait of Hughes and Plath
I loved this book. Diane Middlebrook approaches the subject respectfully and without bias, which really brought it home for me. I found it interesting because it really discusses the ins and outs of the marriage between Plath and Hughes, focusing specifically on the creative connection they felt with each other. The book is organized chronologically in stages of the relationship. It's certainly not your typical biography.

Middlebrook has a flowing writing style that made this book fun to read. You can tell she understands the importance of words--it shows in her analyses and also her own writing style.

And yes, there is a lot of analysis in this book. Personally, I loved getting the psychological and emotional background behind the poetry. This was, I thought, one of the greatest things about the book. If you like studying poetry and literature like me, you will love this biography. If you are looking for something more thrilling and tawdry, I'd go watch the movie "Sylvia."

Reads like a thesis paper
I don't hate this book, but it assumes that one has significant knowledge of the artists' bodies of work, making reference to poems without giving any context or appendixing the passages to which it refers. I suppose I expected something a lot more personal and a little less mechanical, from the title of the book -- not a romance novel, don't get me wrong, but something more human, and more psychologically interesting. I honestly am having trouble getting through it, so I just wanted to bring some balance to the other reviews. It isn't BAD, but make sure you know what you're getting.

The Passion and Pyre of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes
Anyone fairly acquainted with modern poets will of course stumble across the marital storyline of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. In biographies I look for accuracy, dynamic writing, and the ability to have the reader feel as though they are part of the history, albeit in the shadows, listening and breathing it in. This book does an informative and exhaustively researched job in presenting a human and heartbreaking rendering of Syliva and Ted. The bias is hesitant in assigning blame to one or the other, but hopes to show the frailty and humanity in both of these intelligent individuals, whilst keeping the history and richness of both parties personalities and their artistry keenly alive. At no point did I find this tedious to read and I had a great interest in the unraveling of their marriage and I sympathize with the holding power of these two, not only their love affair, but their power as poets. It's a lovely, engaging story at it's most primitive level and a fantastic analysis of two wonderfully creative souls and the forces that drove them together and incidentally cast them apart.