Sylvia Plath : A Biography (Vermilion Books)

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing, Yet Informative
Review: I am a recent follower in Sylvia Plath's work and I found that this biography read like a fiction novel, which I think that more biographical writers should do. It maintained this while being serious and formal about Sylvia's pain and her re-occuring issues with her husband. This book is highly recommended to anyone wanted to find out more about Sylvia's life from an unbiased point of view.

Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: I had the pleasure of taking an American Women Authors class taught by Linda Wagner-Martin at UNC Chapel Hill, and let me tell you, she really knows her stuff about Plath. She fascinated us with her tales of the process of writing this book. For a fresh perspective on the life and work of Sylvia Plath, this is a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Clear, precise description of a haunted woman
Review: So far, this is one of the clearest, and easiest to read biographies of one of the finest (and most intriguing) female poets of the 20th century. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about Sylvia Plath, but doesn't feel like sorting through endless fluff and interpretations of her work. This book simply describes the life of a tortured woman writer. Good job, great reading!

Rating:
Summary: a good starting off point
Review: This biography is a well-written, entertaining biography. It seems to be a good place to start your study of Plath. Trouble with the Hughes caused there to be much less quotes from Plath herself than we would have liked to have seen. And it seems a bit short to cover one of our most important poets in just under 250 pages. But still, it is a good book and a good place to begin.

Rating:
Summary: Wagner-Martin a Solid Scholar
Review: When she was simply Dr. Linda Wagner, the author was one of the shining stars of the faculty of Michigan State University Department of English. That's where I met her. When this biography was published, i was a doctoral candidate in English and American Literature at NYU. I wrote Dr. Wagner-Martin a congratulatory note and was oh-so pleasantly surprised that she not only responded, but she remembered me from my undergraduate days. Linda's (she was VERY informal) scholarship and academic acumen are world-class. One of her Michigan State colleagues, Dr. Clinton S. Burhans, Jr., once described her, admirinigly, as "a book factory." The Plath biography gives a wider audience a chance to appreciate the fine teacher, pain-staking scholar and tough-minded critic that Linda Wagner-Martin is. Highly-recommended for anyone seriously interested in American Literature, woman writers or the British-American literary milieu of the '50s and early '60s. (Incidentally, Ted Hughes WAS a creep..and not half the poet Sylvia was...despite recent [2003] attempts to rehabilitate his image. Linda is right on point here!)