Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton

by Gail Crowther

Introduced at a poetry workshop in Boston University, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton formed a friendship that would soon evolve into a fierce rivalry, colored by jealousy and respect in equal terms. In the years that followed, these two women would not only become iconic figures in literature but also lead curiously parallel lives haunted by mental illness, suicide attempts, self-doubt, and difficult personal relationships. With weekly martini meetings at the Ritz to discuss everything from sex to suicide, theirs was a relationship as complex and subversive as their poetry.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Poetry, Feminism, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2021

About the author

Dr Gail Crowther is co-author of Sylvia Plath in Devon: A Year's Turning (2015) written with Elizabeth Sigmund. She is also author of The Haunted Reader and Sylvia Plath (2016). She has also written numerous papers and book chapters about Plath and sociological hauntings. She has lectured in Sociology, and Religion, Culture and Society and her current research interests include archival studies and feminist life writing.

Reviews

[MarilynW · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther

I'm very familiar with Sylvia Plath, her work (although I don't usually understand it without commentary), her life and her death. I only knew Anne Sexton by name and that she was a poet. Both women suffered from mental illness and were institutionalized at some point in their lives but so were a lot of other creative people in their sphere of contemporaries. They both suffered from pressure to be housewives and mothers while attempting to carve their paths in life as artists and women who speak bluntly about what it means to be a woman in a world where they are supposed to be the support to their man's success. 

Both women led very promiscuous and violent sexual lives and seemed to thrive on doing so even though they didn't garner happiness from that part of their lives. Suicide attempts were a part of both woman's lives until they each succeeded in killing themselves. This book compares and contrasts each woman's life and their friendship and rivalry. Both the title of the book and the cover led me to believe that the story would have a historical fiction slant to it. I have a feeling if I had researched Anne Sexton as much as I had researched Sylvia Plath, I would have known most of what was presented in the book. I feel that this book is for true fans of both women, while for me, it just cements the fact that thinking about their lives, the effect their lives had on their children, and trying to understand their work, is a truly depressing endeavor for me. 

Published April 20th 2021

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

H.L. Mencken once memorably described the martini as "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet." Perhaps Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton also lived by this motto when they spent their afternoons drinking the classic cocktail at the Ritz. Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz by Gail Crowther on the surface is the story of two of the greatest poets of the 20th century.
Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton gave the world poems that will live for eternity eventhough both women died tragically at such young ages.
The book examines a time in their lives when they met at a workshop in Boston and Plath and Sexton started their weekly martini afternoons. The first several chapters spend time examining their friendship and intertwined relationship that was at times friendly but there were undertones of jealously and insecurity.
Crowther examines both poets lives in depth with a thorough, brutally raw and shocking look at the effects that mental illness played in their lives as well as the lives of their families.
It was at times hard to read and uncomfortable as Crowther dissects both poets lives leaving no question that both women suffered. It was uncomfortable to read about the suffering the two women endured. Equally as disturbing was the disclosure of the violence and abuse that the spouses and children endured.
Crowther's book is such an intense look at two women who were perhaps born too soon. They lived when women weren't given the freedom to live their lives in the way they wanted. They were feminists before their time and instead had to live their dream in-between cooking, cleaning, raising children and being the perfect housewife.
Like Plath and Sexton's great works, Gail Crowther's book will stand the test of time and be talked about for years to come.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #ThreeMartiniAfternoonsattheRitz

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's so disappointing that this book which purports to be about the friendship between Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton barely has them together on the page other than in the introductory chapter. The two young married poets took a Robert Lowell seminar together in the spring of 1959. They got into the habit of going for martinis at the Ritz-Carlton after class but turns out they were accompanied by another student, George Starbuck (who went on to have an affair with Sexton) - any opportunities for intimate female friendship must have been rare in this triangulated relationship.

That doesn't stop the book from imagining how Plath and Sexton 'must' have shared confidences about poetry, marriage, motherhood, and suicide. Sadly, there seems barely any evidence of what was talked about over drinks other than what the author imagines. And the friendship doesn't seem either particularly close or to have lasted beyond the semester. The whole claimed purpose of the book fizzles out after the introduction.

In its place what we get is a dual standard biography of the two women. I didn't know much about Sexton's life so that made this worth reading for me. Plath's life is well known and Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath is the meticulous go-to biography at the moment. Readers wanting something far more abbreviated might appreciate this more that me.

I couldn't help finding this rather forced as it juxtaposes the two lives around themes such as mental health, troubled relationships with mothers and struggles to be writers in a culture that was essentially hostile to non-conforming women. Plenty of other examples of women could have been used, and there's nothing in particular that makes Plath and Sexton illuminating of each other.

Putting them together and saying 'ok, look at what they both had to deal with' ends up erasing what made them individuals and, unintentionally, superimposes a kind of essentialising arc on their lives, as if they were fated to follow a similar trajectory from runaway marriages to breakdowns and suicide.

Readers who want a brisk biography of both these women may appreciate this more than me but it's always annoying when a book claims to be something it is not.

[Rosemary Atwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong and compelling analysis of the life and art of two contemporaneous Boston poets who first met in 1959 at Robert Lowell’s poetry workshops.

And Plath and Sexton each bring something different and unique to Crowther’s dissection of the role of women as creative artists in 1950s/1960s America. Overall, absolutely fascinating, particularly in the discussion of their mental health issues and treatment and the emerging women’s movement at this time.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton was one of the most uplifting and at the same time, the most heartbreaking books that I have read. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton were two very talented women forging their way through those treacherous waters in the 1950s and 1960s when the roles of women were spelled out and you dared not veer away but these two courageous women did so, and at what great cost to them and their families.

"What Plath and Sexton established was a position that would last for the rest of their lives and afterlives--that of women who refuse to be silent. Their voices were not just asserting some louder version of the oppressed female experience, their voices were confrontational and started to open up a space for women to express anger, disgust, frustration, and dissatisfaction. Rage became legitimized."

"Arrogant, I think I have written the lines that qualify me to be 'The Poetess of America. . . . '"

-- Sylvia Plath

"I have to be great that's the entire problem--I want to leave the impact of my personality carved in marble."

-- Anne Sexton

Boston University sponsored a poetry writing workshop by Robert Lowell in the spring of 1959 with students Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. After class they would convene at the Boston Ritz-Carlton overlooking the Public Garden to drink martinis and talk about their lives, hopes and aspirations. Joining them was George Starbuck.

Gail Crowther does a remarkable job in detailing the struggles that these two talented and gifted women waged in the decades that women had prescribed codes of conduct that you dare not be different. And in the end, they both succumbed at an early age to suicide. Which brings me to the final quotation that may say it all:

"In 1958, during those afternoon drinking sessions, with their fingers clutching martini glasses, Sexton recalls how they sucked up every small detail of each other's suicide attempts, 'as if death made each of us a little more real at the moment,' treating the whole thing like some addictive gossip."

[Anita Pomerantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction book is a must read for those interested in the intersection of feminism and literature. A combination of biography and social commentary, Three-Martini Afternoons covers the lives of two renowned poets, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, in a serious of straightforward chapters taking the reader on a parallel journey through their lives. While the book had a bit of an academic feel to it, I also found it very accessible, even to people who know nothing about either of these authors. Since both women struggled with mental illness, there are definitely some sad moments, as they were both so talented and yet, so troubled. Very well researched, respectful and fascinating reporting.

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Crowther brilliantly writes a dual (side by side) biography about two of the most outstanding women poets of the twentieth century. The book is arranged topically-

Rebels
Early days
Sex
Marriage
Mothering
Writing
Mental illness
Suicide

It's so interesting to read about them in this side-by-side kind of way.

Although their friendship was brief, they were linked as women poets who supported each other's work as well as being deeply influenced by each other. I nearly drop a book when I am reading Sexton and can feel a Plathian influence. What Sexton may not have realized-and Crowther points out-is that Plath was just as influenced by her. The poem "Daddy" shows a musicality that she may have gotten from Sexton's sense of music and rhythm.

They seem like divine complements: wonderfully different. I love how Crowther at one point imagines how Sylvia would have needed a wild friend like Anne to loosen her up once in a while and get her through her tough times with less perfectionism. Possibly Syliva could have helped Anne have more structure?

But they only met in real life during a brief moment in time: Robert Lowell's poetry class at Harvard University, in 1959. (The martinis were after class.)

The impact of their poetry is inestimable. They broke barriers as women poets. Whenever I read about them and the era they lived through, it is so hard to imagine the level of sexism they lived with on a daily basis.

I applaud Crowther for seeing how strong they were! They both endured so much, and they kept writing. That is courage.

[Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this, but it’s important to know what you’re getting. The actual interactions between Plath and Sexton are pretty limited and there was some speculation - not my favorite in nonfiction. But the author does impressive work of showing how these women defied (or sometimes struggled with) the standards and expectations of their day while making art from their pain, art that has been so meaningful to so many people. But it’s more of a compare and contrast situation than about their personal relationship.

It’s written so well - I’m not a big biography reader but I love ones like this, that highlight the importance of specific events and are filled with lots of fascinating random facts and stories. I also appreciated that she looked at things from multiple angles, because there’s a lot of nuance in their behavior and choices. I think for some reason I thought it would be more gossipy but it’s just very well done.

[Britta Böhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

30 Books in 30 Days / Book #15
4.5*

[Rhiannon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



Formatted to focus on individual aspects of their lives, the chapters are sectioned to cover the youth, marriages, motherhood, writing, mental illnesses, and suicides of these two talented poets.

Sex: Author Gail Crowther included numerous details about each poets' sex life, with both being "unusually sexually liberated for the time." Prior to reading this book, I didn't know that Plath had ever really written anything about her sex life but knowing her estranged husband controlled the publication of her posthumous journals, it is easy to see how those thoughts and writings didn't previously make it into the public eye. I had known about Sexton's rock-star style sex life, but I did not know that she sexually abused her daughter.

Personal rant on Ted Hughes: Hughes repeatedly cheated on Plath and left her for their neighbor, Assia Wevill. He shrugged off all parental responsibility to galavant around Spain with Wevill while Plath had to downsize her home, move her children, and try to juggle their care and her work--all on her own. He told Plath of Wevill's pregnancy and then "went off to spend the weekend with another woman he was seeing, Susan Alliston, deliberately dodging being available for Plath in case she tried calling him" on the day of her death. He also prevented Plath's mother, Aurelia from receiving a letter that Plath wrote prior to her suicide, telling Aurelia if she kept bothering him for it she would never get to see her grandchildren. Also, since they were still legally married at the time of her death, Hughes held "full control over all her assets and copyright to her work" due to her not having a will, "a fact that many of her friends found astounding since it was out of character." According to Hughes, Plath's final two journals and an incomplete manuscript were “lost.” This control of Plath's voice even after her death is beyond infuriating to me.

Another Round: I knew a lot about both Plath and Sexton but learned many new details about each woman while reading Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz. Each of these women faced her own personal and professional struggles, but the parallels in their lives were fascinating. One can't help but wonder if they each had better support systems and received access to modern mental health care, would that have been able to better handle some of the tragedies of their lives? Prior to reading this I wasn't aware that Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton ever crossed paths, let alone were in a writing workshop and would frequently have drinks together afterwards. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall for that?!

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[Shelby (curled up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

for a brief moment in time, two of the most iconic American poets, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, would meet up weekly at the Ritz in Boston to drink martinis — three at least — and chat about everything under the sun. would kill to be a fly on the wall of those conversations, and while we’ll never know exactly what was said at these chic, chaotic meetings, this book gives us an in-depth, well-researched, holistic view at the lives and minds of two groundbreaking women, and the impact they made on culture as we know it.

coming right off the heels of reading The Barbizon — about the all-women’s hotel where Plath resided for a stint that inspired The Bell Jar — i thought i’d continue having a Sylvia Plath moment. this book seeks to tell the story of these two women, by outlining their similarities and differences in thought — about marriage, motherhood, writing, mental health, suicide, and more. the book itself is designed this way, a chapter for each.

they had different opinions on running a home and cooking for their husbands, different approaches to mothering their children, stemming from how they were mothered. but those smaller differences dwarfed in comparison to the fact that they both seriously struggled with mental illness, both made several suicide attempts, and both ultimately succeeded. this became an integral part of their legend and their power.

in an era where electroconvulsive therapy was an actual thing, this book makes you realize just how unbelievable it was that they were able to write and create in a way that made them the legends they are, changing the course of history for women, while not only living within their troubled minds, but having no context because of the hush-hush culture that surrounded mental health. this was the beauty of the three-martini afternoons i suppose — finally someone as talented but also tortured as the other, someone who won’t judge their deepest thoughts because they’ve had them too.

just like The Barbizon, this is a niche nonfiction about some pretty badass literary women and their journeys that led to the mark they left on literature and women everywhere.

it’s out tomorrow!

[Allie Marini · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review*

*** I deducted a full star from this book, because there is a passage in Chapter Five, in reference to Assia Wevill, where the author describes a "disappointing lack of female solidarity", and then proceeds to slut-shame Assia Wevill, making absolutely NO MENTION of the fact that she, like Plath *as well as Ted Hughes child from their affair* ALSO died by suicide. (Maybe...just maybe...it was him who was the problem? Just a thought.) Talk about a lack of female solidarity. Perhaps instead of blaming Assia (who was no angel, but was, in fact, a human being who suffered terribly and was completely erased by Hughes) -- the author should have added Yehuda Koran's "Lover of Unreason" bio of Assia Wevill to their reading list. So one full star docked for calling out lack of female solidarity while slut-shaming. Very uncool.

The other star I docked because rather than dedicate a full chapter to examining both poets and their lives from the perspective of a 21st century, 3+ wave feminist and the myriad of social justice conversations happening now, the author kind of shoehorns those ideas into the narrative, which, yes, those conversations ARE important to the discussion of both poets, but they're not the book I signed on to read, and because these points seem to come and go without any real predictability, they make for an unsatisfying read, because none of the ideas are explored further than the fact that what we consider okay now, 60+ years later, is not the same as it was in the 50's. Go figure.

If there had been a dedicated chapter to exploring how things have changed, and how to engage with these difficult writers within a modern context, that would have been great. However, that's not what's there. and as a reader, it grated on my nerves to read comment after comment about how these poets aren't living up to a 21st century standard, instead of just focusing on how they laid the groundwork for a lot of modern conversations to happen. As a reader, this tactic came off as the author critiquing the poets for not "doing better" within the context of their own time, which is not, in my opinion, as worthwhile as an endeavor as exploring how to take work out of its historic context and examine it with a modern eye for the things that are valuable, while leaving behind the things that no longer serve a modern reader.

Other than that, I did like the way that the book's chapters were organized, from "Rebels" and "Early Days" to chapters on Sex, Marriage, Mothering, Mental Illness, and Suicide. This approach allows the reader to see each poet's experience of each of these concepts, compare their experiences, and contextualize the work they were creating with respect to each concept. That part was enjoyable and interesting to read, especially if you have read a lot of biographical works on either author -- it's unusual to see them compared directly alongside each other, and that was, for me, the best part of the book.

I'd recommend it to academics, particularly if they're teaching a course on either Plath or Sexton, because it is a solid work that adds much to the conversation about both poets.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gail Crowther has put together a fascinating book that examines Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton as poets, women, and colleagues during a time when powerful women (even in the literary field) were overlooked and undervalued. I'm a self-described amateur, armchair Plath "historian" (I'm saying that with tongue in cheek humor more than legit seriousness), and while I'm familiar with Anne Sexton, I really didn't know much about her before reading this, but I'm now curious to look more into her life and her writing. That being said, I didn't learn anything about Plath that I didn't already know. Admittedly, I read this immediately after finishing Heather Clark's Red Comet, which I think is THE quintessential Plath biography, so it probably isn't fair to look at the two with the same lens, especially since they're very different books.

Crowther honestly compares and contrasts the two women while making it clear that they were their own separate people with separate identities, struggles, desires, and loves. Her writing is easy to follow, and her love for her topic shines through. I definitely enjoyed the approach she took to connecting the relationship between Plath and Sexton, and I think Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz is a good read for all Plath-Sexton "historians," whether amateur armchair or real.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz by Gail Crowther is a well-researched, voyeuristic dual biography of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. The title refers to the brief period where their lives intersected at Boston University and they became friends, often drinking martinis at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. The author does not hold anything back, giving this biography a voyeuristic feel while painting Sexton and Plath as real, complex women. Individually, they were so different from each other-from personality, background, and even the implementation of boundaries in their lives; but intersected with writing and bonded over mental illness, writing, and their gender. This book is very well-researched and includes a lot of information, but the style is quite readable so I quickly finished this one. The biography is organized by topic, like Writing, Marriage, Mental Illness, etc. I loved this fascinating dual biography.

Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz was a fascinating book.
I'll admit to knowing very little, like next to nothing about great poets Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.
These women for their time period were very progressive, very ahead of their time in reference to the subject manner they wrote about. This didn't sit well with many people especially some men who believed women had a role in the household of being a wife and mother and were to be polite and docile women. This was the 1950's and times were very different than now.
These women tragically battled mental illness and it came through in their daily lives and through their writing. This is a nonfiction book and very informative about these women's lives.

Pub Date 20 Apr 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a "First Reads" winner.

Crowther's 'Three Martini Afternoons' read more like an abstract than a fully rendered and fully realized biography of Plath and Sexton and their contributions, overall impact, and greatness in literature. The recounting of their "afternoons at the Ritz" held the promise of presenting something "new" and revelatory but, for me, never .... delivered.

Perhaps 'Three Martini Afternoons' should be read as less a biography (as Crowther's book is presented) and more a detailed introduction - a primer? - to further, other, more fleshed-out works on Plath and Sexton (like Diane Middlebrook's 'Anne Sexton: A Biography', for example).

For those who have a cursory interest in Plath and Sexton, Crowther's 'Three Martini Afternoons' is a good starting point for insights into these awesome women's lives and works.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book about Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, neither or which I was familiar with ... not a big poetry reading... I found it boring and couldn't connect with any of it..

1 star DNF

Happy Reading!

[CCB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Gail Crowther’s Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz feels a little like watching someone arrange a meticulously curated Instagram flat lay of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton’s lives: all the right props are there — martinis, lipstick traces, psychiatric wards, cigarettes smudging the ashtray at the Ritz — but the mise-en-scène starts to look suspiciously airbrushed the longer you stare at it.

Crowther clearly adores her subjects and wants us to adore them too — as doomed glamazons, literary rebels, proto–girlbosses avant la lettre. And to be fair, there’s pleasure in watching her spin the Plath/Sexton friendship into a mini-cultural melodrama. Both of them were poets of domestic misery and sexual resentment who tried — and mostly failed — to transfigure that raw material into a kind of high lyric art. Crowther makes them read as avatars of female rage before feminism had the infrastructure to metabolize it.

It’s an appealing narrative, especially in the Instagram-ified, "sad girl" literary moment we’re in now, where mental illness is marketed as a lifestyle accessory and every Bachelor in Fine Arts candidate has a flirtation with Sylvia Plath’s Ariel the way every 14-year-old once had with Romeo and Juliet. But Crowther’s framing tends to collapse Plath and Sexton into a single archetype — gin-soaked muses of despair — at the expense of their terrifying individuality. Plath was crystalline, obsessive, a technician of her own neuroses. Sexton, by contrast, was sloppy, performative, a confessional exhibitionist. Lumping them together as tragic sisters of self-destruction risks flattening the very contradictions that make their poetry compelling.

The book is strongest when it leans into the pettiness, the competitiveness, the banal cruelty of their friendship. These moments — two brilliant women circling each other like frenemies, trading confidences before racing home to turn them into material — cut against the airbrushed mythologizing. But Crowther can’t quite let them be monstrous; she wants heroines, martyrs, icons.
The result is a work that brims with atmosphere but sometimes dodges the uglier truths that made both Plath and Sexton so unassimilable in their time, and so marketable in ours.

It's stylishly written, sharply evocative, and undeniably fun to read. But ultimately it sells me an image of rebellion that feels a little too safe — like a cocktail hour for the dead where all the drinks come with biodegradable paper straws.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book brought me back to my years working at BU and studying in London. Walking to Newbury street ( did not have a friend with a car like Sexton) for drinks at the Ritz or other establishments near the gardens. I had not realized so many similarities of locations in my life and theirs. I was delighted to read of these women not just about their end but about their lives. That Plath was funny. Her work is funny. That her own work made her laugh, is delightful. That Students loved Sexton’s classes. That she read at the de Cordova just like any up and coming artist would today makes these ladies very real and present. Their struggles are so poignant. You could find almost any woman’s posts today railing against the same things they were, they just were doing it in poetry and fairly alone. This book will make you want to go reread both of these ladies and maybe make up some martinis and think of what has changed and what has not.

[Erin B SC · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the title and description of this book, I mistakenly believed I would experience something quite a bit different than what I got. Instead of a book about the interactions between these two famous writers and potentially some insight into their relationship, this is instead a dry biography of them. There are actually very few references to the women in relation to the other - the book is more of a comparison and contrast of their lives. It is very slow moving and sometimes gets bogged down in little details. The author clearly did a lot of research, but I would have liked to have seen it presented in a more interesting way.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a few books about Sylvia Plath but didn't know much of anything of Anne Sexton but after this I'm very intrigued to learn more about her and try to find her works. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was both very engaging and emotional. Truly fascinating women but with tragic lifes.

[Chrissie]

***********************
*The Bell Jar 3 stars
*Her Husband: Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath - A Marriage 4 stars
*The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 3 stars
*Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton TBR
*Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath TBR

[Jessi - TheRoughCutEdge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to start with what I enjoyed most about this book. Getting a glimpse into who Anna and Sylvia were in their private lives, what they were like as children, teens, and then as wives and mothers was really fun. Sylvia would use large words to tease her younger brother, Warren, then revel in the fact that he had no idea what she meant!

As you might expect, considering how both of their lives ended, this is often a dark and difficult read. While the author does a good job of stressing the importance of discussing mental health, I think it’s important to understand that a large majority of the book centers on their individual suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Even though the author at one point says that it’s a shame they are know for those singular, life ending acts, she still mentions it multiple times per chapter.

The author does quite a bit of speculating, and since this is a biography, I didn’t enjoy that aspect. I was also disappointed by the lack of interactions between the two woman. From the description and title, I expected more focus on their times together (at the Ritz perhaps) but it ended up being more of a compare and contrast situation.

Overall, it was an interesting read and very well researched. A good book to pick up for anyone who wants a deeper dive into the lives of these well known Poets.

Thanks to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the e-ARC!

[Melissa Kreider · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sole critique of "Three Martini Afternoons" is the book feels like it focuses more on Plath than Sexton. It does make sense because Crowther has written two other books about Plath, but it feels like the book sets up Sexton to be almost a reaction to Plath when in reality these women were contemporaries.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review TK

[Vaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

kiss.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So pleasantly surprised at how nuanced and emphathetically Crowther tied Plath's and Sexton's story together! I don't know why the title suggested me a fictionalised novel of their lives, but I was glad to discover it was a biography after all, because I could not see how fictionalising their encounters could do them justice. Also glad that the author really did their best to keep a neutral voice towards all parties involved and handled the recounting of the suicide in a sort of grounded manner, adressing uncalled for romantisacion for taking one's life as well as critically noting their death's circumstances and the readings of all of their live's work through a lense of suicide. Will we ever read that novel Sylvia was writing on that Ted likely let disappear? Probably not but I like clinging on to the thought that something will turn up...

[Mairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sad, sad book.
I feel like Plath’s life has been completely wasted away, mainly because of her husband who destroyed her, in life and death. He punished us by pushing her over the edge, I cannot imagine how many more beautiful poems Sylvia would have written if she would have lived a longer life.

Sexton was quite a character. I had never heard of her before but I look forward to discover her work after reading this book.

A very insightful book about the greatest American female poets of the 20th century. Suicide connects them but they are two opposite personalities. I imagine Sexton as this larger than life personality, borderline obnoxious, the opposite of Plath’s subdued, calmer, straighter image I have of her.

Very cool read! Great pick if you are interested in those artists lives, as well as the 1950s culture, suicide, mental conditions, and simply being a woman in the 50s and 60s.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

More biographies should be structured this way. It’s immediately more compelling to learn about two lives than one, as there’s a continuous layering effect, with parallels / contrasts filling in some otherwise-mundane moments.

That being said, this biography feels a little confused as to its target audience; it spends a looot of time on stuff that the expected reader will already know all too well. It’s also surprisingly plain-spoken given the subject matter.

A worthwhile read if you’re interested in Plath and Sexton, but otherwise a bit humdrum.

[Megan Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book and I enjoyed reading this book.