The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath

by Ronald Hayman

Not a conventional biograpy, this book offers an explanation of Sylvia Plath's death in 1963. The author looks back on Plath's life in an attempt to offer an objective account of why she killed herself. It discusses her life with her husband Ted Hughes, who had control of all her copyright works, as she killed herself without making a will. This edition brings the story full circle, as it includes the publication of "Birthday Letters", the death of Ted Hughes and Elaine Feinstein's biography of him, along with Erica Wagner's book "Ariel's Gift", the Al Alvarez autobiography which includes new material and Lucas Meyers's new book "Crow Steered Bergs Appeared".

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Ronald Hayman is a critic, dramatist, director and writer best known for his biographies.

Reviews

[Magdalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book as a biography was a good one ( although since I haven’t read other biographies to compare it to maybe my thoughts are not objective enough) Hayman did his research and he presented facts and aspects of Sylvia’s behavior, personality and life. I found his writing easy to follow and not tiring at all. I also appreciated the back story and info he shared on multiple poems of hers every now and then. Although the riddle and mystery around Plath’s suicide still remains foggy Hayman’s study was well done.

Now as far as Sylvia’s life is concerned I am speechless. Unfortunately, I am not able to find words to describe the feelings Plath gives me. I am still conflicted about Ted Hughes, although now his personality is clearer to me and I understand a part of him, but I still can't decide what my opinion about him is.

Anyway, if you are into Plath's poetry it's obviously a book for you...

[Takisx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Συναρπαστική βιογραφία, η μαλλον σκέτο μυθιστόρημα, που τρέχει αβίαστα και ανελέητα, η δε, λάτρεις της λεπτομέρειας και της ψυχολογίας θα το λατρέψουν, αλλά πάνω απο όλα θα θαυμάσουν την καταπληκτική δουλειά που εκανε ο συγγραφέας για να μην πω μελετητής.

Βίβα Συλβια!!

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo much better than the thousand page monster I'm slogging through right now. Ronald Hayman is concise, tougher than hell, but still sympathetic when it really counts. The Red Comet lady should be taking notes!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A worthwhile read if you're really fascinated by the Plath/Hughes relationship. Certainly not one of the best biographies I've come across about the two of them (for that, I say turn to Diane Wood Middlebrook's "Her Husband"), but it's a really quick read. The problem I think I had is that Hayman's intentions were unclear; in the introduction he says it's neither a biography nor a memoir...but what exactly is it? I don't think he knew at the time, and so his focus was difficult to decipher. That he avoids the usage of any direct quotes (for the most part) is both clever--in that he avoids the Hughes estate's agenda--and irritating--in that you never feel like you're really getting the "facts," whatever they are. It's a difficult problem to describe. At times I felt like he could easily have fictionalized or sensationalized moments, and I think he often gets too caught up in trying to relay poems/biographical references in his own words at the expense of becoming bland or didactic.

Some of the positives, however, come from the same style I have so much of a problem with. The first chapter--centering on her final night--reads like a riveting and deeply depressing mystery novel. There are brief moments of brilliance throughout, and I think Hayman does his best to be fair in not taking the Plath or Hughes side too overtly. He paints a picture; he doesn't attempt an argument, which is both a strength and downfall of the text. I really don't know how to put it any other way. If you're really into Plath, it's worth it; if not, I suggest turning to Middlebrook's bio. Even Anne Stevenson's controversial "Bitter Fame" is really good, even though she fell prey to the Hughes-estate Goliath.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand that any writer adding to previous research needs to distinguish the work as better in some way, but from the foreword, Hayman gives the impression that the preestablished biographies of Plath are lacking. He even wrote that “there is still no definite biography” in the foreword to the second edition in 2003 (and says this book is only a “biographical study” with more emphasis on Plath’s death). I feel he completely disparaged Linda Wagner-Martin’s biography, which I read a few months ago and enjoyed FAR more.

😡: I felt I was plodding through this book and reaching the end of a chapter was monumental. The style was dry and the reader is bombarded with information without sufficient context or relevance. This is in stark contrast to my opinion of Wagner-Martin’s book, which was engaging and thoroughly explained. Hayman’s view of his research came across as cocky. Minus one star for me.
😡: This isn’t Hayman’s fault, but my copy has so many typos! What the heck happened, Sutton Publishing?

😀: To his credit, this book shared incredible details I never knew until reading. The focus on Plath’s death and all the experiences that led to it is great.
😡: Ted Hughes’ life and behavior is necessary to get the full picture of Plath’s life, especially how he contributed to her suicide; Hayman includes so much information about Hughes and their marriage, but I thought he was too sympathetic. He also explains the censorship battles with the Hughes family, and maybe that is why he is more objective than the so-called feminist-agenda writings of women about Plath. He presents the damning facts against Hughes that should convince a reader of what a jerk he was, but I still could have used a little more anger from Hayman. Others may disagree, but why is Hughes even on the cover? Let Plath have her own cover for the book about her life! Minus a second star for me.

😃: Hayman also writes extensively about her verse and prose, connecting ideas across works as well as connecting events in her life with her writing.
😡: Although some paragraphs describing her poems read like a contest to see how many poems can be name-dropped and described.

😃: I can appreciate how this study is told in caregories instead of chronological order.
😡: By having chapters for different topics, much of the information is repeated nearly verbatim in different chapters. This helps illustrate connections and reminds the reader of information to prevent flipping back a hundred pages, but it left me thinking, “uh duh, you already told me this.” The book could have been shortened by 1-2 chapters if all the repetition were cut.

I want to repeat, this book had so much new information about Sylvia Plath that I am glad to have learned, but it’s not the end-all-be-all of her biographic writing.

[Someone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love love love love Sylvia.
This biography was not boring at all, it was awesome and Ronald Hayman did an admirable job. The chapters were focusing on specific parts of her life, as her father, her mother, her marriage, her pregnancy etc and it wasn't necessary going by chronicological order. I really liked this and i was obsessed with the names of the chapters. If you wanna read this book, you should probably have already read her poetry and the Bell jar, if you wanna enjoy it. Last but not least, did i mention that i love Sylvia? Because, i really really love her and that's the reason i never got bored while reading a biography! (even though this one was really different from other boring ones bc of the amazing narration)
P. S. The photos of her that were in the book.. 😢she was so beautiful and unique.

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

The structure of the book allows the reader to feel like they're getting a real, true view of Sylvia Plath. The analyses and contextual settings for her poetry work beautifully. Ted Hughes and his rather abhorrent sister are alive in their cruelty. He does not come out of this well. Highly recommended.

[Fiona Thatcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Includes a particularly galling defence of Hughes' violence towards Plath (apparently she was asking for it)

[Annie Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Παρόλο που σου δίνει την αίσθηση ότι έχει αναλύσει σχεδόν κάθε πτυχή του χαρακτήρα της, οι αναφορές σε τόσο προσωπικά συναισθήματα και ενδόμυχες σκέψεις της Πλαθ σε κάνει να αναρωτιέσαι αν οι περιγραφές αυτές βασίζονται σε πραγματικά στοιχεία ή ο συγγραφέας απλώς συμπληρώνει τα κενά κάνοντας εικασίες. Αυτός ήταν ο βασικός λόγος που αμφιταλαντεύτηκα μεταξύ των τριών και τεσσάρων αστεριών. Ωστόσο, αν παραμερίσουμε αυτές τις αμφιβολίες, θα έλεγα ότι το βιβλίο καταφέρνει να δώσει στον αναγνώστη μια αρκετά πλήρη και αντικειμενική εικόνα για τον τρόπο σκέψης, το χαρακτήρα και τα σημαντικά γεγονότα στη ζωή της Πλαθ. Θεωρώ επίσης, ότι ξεκαθαρίζει το τοπίο αναφορικά με το κατά πόσο η ευθύνη της αυτοκτονίας της θα έπρεπε να βαραίνει τον Τεντ Χιουζ. Προσωπικά θα προτιμούσα τα γεγονότα να περιγράφονται με χρονολογική σειρά και όχι σε θεματικές ενότητες. Σε γενικές γραμμές δεν υπάρχουν ασάφειες και οι επανειλημμένες αναφορές σε ποιήματα της Πλαθ καταλήγω ότι ήταν απαραίτητες για τη συμπλήρωση του παζλ.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after re-reading The Bell Jar as I wanted to learn a bit more about Sylvia Plath's life. I liked that it started with her suicide -its so sad it would be hard to end the book on it.Rather than lay out her life chronologically, the book was split into chapters to look at e.g. her relationship with female friends, relationships with boyfriends/her marriage, relationship with her mother/father etc.I am sure a lot of it is speculative but i did find it an interesting read. Her suicidal feelings occurred at an early age and she attempted suicide long before she met Ted Hughes which has made me review my opinions on the destructiveness of her marriage. I still had a lot of unanswered questions after reading this book but I suspect that is always going to be the case. I am now going to read a biography on Ted Hughes next to see if it alters my opinion on him......

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was alright....The beginning was intriguing and it was interesting to read about Sylvia's supressed life. The book made me hate Ted Hughes even more than I already did. Many parts of the book explained each of Sylvia's poems in detail and it became boring to me. The ending of the book made me believe that many details of Sylvia's life aren't fully proven...Ted Hughes tried to keep her life as secret as possible. Nobody can be sure if this book was completely accurate! The ending of the book was also very bland and I was rushing to get through it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvia never really had a chance.

[Ashley Morlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every summer, Sylvia.

[Natasha Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The typos were awful!

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

all my homies hate ted and olwyn hughes

[Katie Marquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very impressive, in depth biography of Sylvia Plath. I loved gaining some valuable insight into some of my favorite Plath poems as well as learning more about her and Ted Hughes's turbulent (and rather bizarre) relationship. The first chapter, in which Hayman gives a detailed account of her suicide and the days preceding it, is gripping. As one commentator wrote on the back - the first chapter is 'worth the cover price alone.' Because of copyright problems, none of Plath's poems are actually quoted - only summarized. This is aggravating for readers and was also frustrating, I'm sure, for the author. In the last two chapters, there was such a myriad of typos and grammatical errors I had a hard time reading them - it seems as if the copy editor got bored and simply skimmed the last bit of the book. I cannot say Hayman writes without bias - he is obviously very Pro-Sylvia and Anti-Ted (not that I really mind). Sylvia died without leaving a will so everything was left to Ted. I was shocked and horrified to find out that Olwyn Hughes, Ted's sister, who hated Sylvia and repeatedly referred to her as "psychotic" and a "terrorist" was the one put in charge of the Plath estate and all her work. Hughes repeatedly held back poems that he thought reflected badly on himself and famously burned Sylvia's diary with entries from the last year of her life. Hughes did admit once that he admired Sylvia for being able to do what he couldn't - write about the awful and hateful things inside oneself. He confessed that he had a great desire to be well liked and thought of as a good person. All and all, I found the book to be intriguing and very well written. Hayman treats Plath and her work with respect and admiration. A fascinating book.

[Lexi M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath is a biography that tells about the life Sylvia Plath lived with by describing her hard and easy days that she and her family/peers went through. I liked that it told both the troubles Plath had and the easy and relieving days. It helps you to see how people can have good and bad days that can lead to a good or bad ending of life. I didn't like that it was very step by step and stage by stage type of book. The authors style was a play by play of Sylvias life describing details while including emotion. I would recommend this book if someone was doing a biography on Sylvia Plath's life because it provided a good play by play but if not doing a biography, then I would not recommend it to someone because it isn't a very enticing book.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this biography of Sylvia Plath because I'd just re-read The Bell Jar for book club, and I was curious about Sylvia's real life, family and marriage. I chose the one of four biographies at the TCL that was the thinnest... I had a limited amount of reading time!! Hayman's bio is perfectly serviceable. It starts with Sylvia's suicide and then backs up to examine her life. A bit sensationalist for my taste, but also, you know what's going to happen anyway, so why not get it out of the way up front? The book is a timeline of Sylvia's life, and a translation of her journals and published work.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hayman's The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath wasn't really a biography (although it didn't claim to be), but rather a compilation of other Plath biographies interspersed with the author's own interpretation of Plath's motivations. As an avid reader of Plath's works, I enjoyed the liberty that Hayman took in quoting from her poetry as well as The Bell Jar to enrich the narrative. Undoubtedly a depressing read, but worthwhile if you're a Sylvia Plath enthusiast or have a morbid curiosity in her suicide.

[Shonell Bacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was was a fascinating read, but it didn't give me the true biographical information I wanted. Many times, I felt the writing to be too poetic, too literary, as if it was trying to compete as a literary work instead of a form of biography. I also wasn't a fan of the slanted view - I prefer not to read something that has a set Pro-Plath or Pro-Ted slant to it, and this book read pretty explicitly to be Pro-Plath. I did, however, appreciate the discussion Plath's work.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough read that does the best it can within both self-set and outside restrictions - somewhat flawed and occasionally repetitive, but not to any overwhelming detriment. The main criticism of this book that I've seen is that it fails to be objective, but I think for the most part Ronald Hayman balances his own interest/opinion with what is accepted as fact very well. He certainly doesn't sensationalise or vilify, and keeps his focus on Sylvia.

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the things Hayman wrote about here should be read with caution. He seems to have believed everything people told him without checking the facts ... for a biography that's closer to the truth, read Anne Stevenson's Bitter Fame.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of my love of Plath as a poet and author...it kind of ruined the pedestal that I had her on, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book. I still prefer to think of Plath as a tragic heroine, but after reading this book I feel like that illusion has been ruined slightly as the author divulges many of her jealous and needy tendencies.

[Corina Romonti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn`t the best biography to say the least. Too lyrical and I was disappointed that it doesn`t say much about Sylvia Plath, the poet. And the tinny amount is scattered around in all these weird named chapters and you can`t really make much of it. I guess it`s a hard thing to work on her biography given the copyright and everything but this is a really bad attempt.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the best accounts of Plath's life. My copy was riddled with typos and errors, too..? It was interesting to read about the extent of the control exerted by Hughes over Plath's literary estate, though. More balanced than Elaine Feinstein's book, too, which was very pro-Hughes. Inspired me to re-read The Bell Jar.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed knowing more about Sylvia Plath's death and life. I think Sylvia Plath's book "The Bell Jar" is one of the best-written books I've ever read; her fierce, brisk honesty is arresting. So I am interested in her brief life. This book helps answer some of my questions about her life and what kind of person she was.

[Lesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

As fascinating as the subject matter is, I was bored by Hayman's tedious writing. It reads like a school child's 'weekend diary' written for their school teacher. I'm left with the impression of a book made up of an '...and then...and then...and then..' narrative. I read it alongside her poems to make it bearable, but nonetheless it is impossible to give it more than one star.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe you have to experience great pain to produce great literary works, but I think Plath self-inflicted most of her pains. She decided to make the loss of her father the central event of her life. How sad.

[Peter Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing story especially just after reading her letters to her mother which give a totally different impression of Sylvia.This seems to be more objective as he follows her battle with mental problems after the death of her father.Very sad to see how abandoned she felt just before her suicide.

[Kate Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for my birthday and got through it in no time. Good story of a sad, lonely, talented woman. Very sad.