Curse that lasted half a century: New biography casts fresh light on Sylvia Plath's legacy

From The Independent: 

What could be more thrilling than finally having your debut novel published after years of honing your craft? Especially if it has been your goal since childhood; and the book is set to become not merely a modern classic, but a rite-of-passage read for every morose, misunderstood and proto-feminist teenager for years to come. But for one young writer, publication, respectful reviews and a growing reputation were not enough; which is why early 2013 sees both the 50th anniversary of the publication of Sylvia Plath's sole novel, The Bell Jar, and of its author's suicide, which followed a few weeks later. Plath folded a cloth, placed it in her gas oven, and laid her head inside early in the morning of 11 February 1963, having first sealed the door of her children's bedroom. She was 30. "A doctor put her on very heavy sedatives – and in the gap between one pill & the next she turned on the oven, and gassed herself," her anguished, estranged husband, the poet Ted Hughes, wrote to a friend. "A Nurse was to arrive at 9am – couldn't get in, & it was 11am before they finally got to Sylvia. She was still warm."

To celebrate the happier anniversary, at least, there is a sparkling new edition of The Bell Jar, which has never been out of print, a series of events are planned for later in the year, and this month sees the publication of a major new biography, Mad Girl's Love Song by Andrew Wilson. In the past, Plath's hotly contested life has been a minefield for those who attempted to interpret it. "I tried to be as objective as possible," says Wilson. "I've got no agenda, I didn't read the other biographies, I went to the archives completely fresh, trying to stand back and see what kind of evidence there was." He has conjured up a youthful, blonde and vibrant Plath, albeit one with a disturbing shadow side. But the dark fact of the suicide, on a bitter morning in one of the worst English winters on record, overshadows our understanding of the life and work of Sylvia Plath, and has cast something like a curse on the lives of those who survived her.

More here.