# Sylvia Plath

> A Boston-born poet who studied at Smith and Cambridge, published one novel under a pen name, and won a Pulitzer Prize nearly two decades after her death.

- Poet and novelist · Ariel · The Bell Jar
- Known for: The poems of *Ariel* and *The Collected Poems*, which won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and her novel *The Bell Jar*.[2][4]
- Born: October 27, 1932
- Died: February 11, 1963
- Last updated: 2026-11-14
- Editorial review: approved 2026-11-15
- Web page: https://authorbackstories.com/classic/sylvia-plath/
- Reading list (PDF): https://authorbackstories.com/classic/sylvia-plath/reading-list.pdf

## Featured book: Best known

*The Bell Jar* (1963). Her only novel, first published in London in January 1963 under the name Victoria Lucas; it appeared under her own name in Britain in 1966 and in the U.S. in 1971.[4]

## At a glance

- Born: Oct. 27, 1932, in Jamaica Plain, Boston[3]
- Parents: Otto Plath, a professor of German and biology, and Aurelia Schober, once his student[3][1]
- Education: Smith College, summa cum laude, 1955; Fulbright student at Newnham College, Cambridge[2][4]
- Married: The poet Ted Hughes, June 16, 1956; the marriage ended in 1962[3][1]
- Children: A daughter, born in 1960, and a son, born in 1962[3]
- Pen name: Victoria Lucas, for *The Bell Jar*[4]
- Died: Feb. 11, 1963, in London, aged 30[4][3]
- Major award: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, 1982, for *The Collected Poems*[2]

## Sylvia Plath's Backstory

### Early life

Sylvia Plath was born on Oct. 27, 1932, in Jamaica Plain, Boston, the daughter of Otto Plath, a German immigrant who taught German and biology, and Aurelia Schober, who had been one of his students.[3][1] Her father died in 1940, and the family later moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts.[3][1] Her first poem was published in 1941, when she was eight, and she was placing stories and poems in national magazines while still in her teens.[3][1]

### Smith and Cambridge

She went to Smith College on a scholarship and in 1953 spent a summer in New York as a guest editor at *Mademoiselle*.[1][3] That August she attempted suicide and was treated in hospital, including with electroshock therapy.[1] She returned to Smith and graduated summa cum laude in 1955, then went to Newnham College, Cambridge, on a Fulbright.[2][4]

### Marriage and The Colossus

At Cambridge she met the poet Ted Hughes on Feb. 25, 1956, and they married on June 16 that year.[4][3] From 1957 to 1959 they lived in the United States, where she took Robert Lowell's seminars in Boston and met Anne Sexton.[3] Back in England, her first book of poems, *The Colossus*, was published in 1960; it appeared in the U.S. in 1962.[2] Her daughter was born in 1960 and her son in 1962, and the family moved to Court Green, a house in North Tawton, Devon.[3]

### The last year

Her marriage ended in 1962, leaving her with two young children.[1] She moved to London, to a flat in a house where W.B. Yeats had once lived.[3] Her novel *The Bell Jar* was published in January 1963 under the name Victoria Lucas.[4] She died by suicide in London on Feb. 11, 1963, aged 30.[4][1]

### After her death

Hughes published *Ariel* in 1965, rearranging the manuscript she had left; her own arrangement appeared in 2004 as *Ariel: The Restored Edition*.[4][5] His edition of *The Collected Poems* (1981) won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1982, the first awarded to a poet after death.[2][3] Her mother published *Letters Home* in 1975, and her journals appeared in 1982 and, unabridged, in 2000.[1][2] In May 2026 Faber published *The Poems of Sylvia Plath*, a complete edition of more than 500 poems edited by Amanda Golden and Karen V. Kukil, whose notes read the poems less through her biography than Hughes's did.[9][6][8]

## Fun facts

- Her first poem was published in 1941, when she was eight.[3]
- She met Ted Hughes on Feb. 25, 1956, at a party to launch the Cambridge literary journal *St. Botolph's Review*; they married four months later.[4][3]
- In the last months of her life she rented a London flat in a house where W.B. Yeats had once lived.[3]
- She was the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize after death, for *The Collected Poems* in 1982.[2][3]
- *The Magic Mirror*, published in 1989, is her undergraduate thesis from Smith.[4]
- The new complete edition includes "Mad Girl's Love Song," which Hughes apparently did not know about.[6]

## Books

In order of first publication; each series is kept together in reading order.

Titles and first-publication years from the 2026 copy of Wikipedia's Sylvia Plath article, checked against the Academy of American Poets' bibliography and New World Encyclopedia; the 1985 *Selected Poems*, the UK compilation of children's stories and the single story *Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom* are left out.[4][2][3]

- 1960: *The Colossus and Other Poems* (Poetry). Her first book of poems.[2] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Colossus%20and%20Other%20Poems%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1963: *The Bell Jar* (Novel). First published under the name Victoria Lucas.[4] ISBN 9780060837020. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780060837020) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780060837020)
- 1965: *Ariel* (Poetry). Published after her death, in an arrangement by Ted Hughes.[4][5] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Ariel%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1968: *Three Women: A Monologue for Three Voices* (Poetry). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Three%20Women%3A%20A%20Monologue%20for%20Three%20Voices%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1971: *Crossing the Water* (Poetry). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Crossing%20the%20Water%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1971: *Winter Trees* (Poetry). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Winter%20Trees%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1975: *Letters Home* (Nonfiction). Her letters of 1950–1963, published by her mother.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Letters%20Home%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1976: *The Bed Book* (Children's book). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Bed%20Book%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1977: *Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams* (Story collection). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Johnny%20Panic%20and%20the%20Bible%20of%20Dreams%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1981: *The Collected Poems* (Poetry). Edited by Ted Hughes; won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.[2][6] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Collected%20Poems%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1982: *The Journals of Sylvia Plath* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Journals%20of%20Sylvia%20Plath%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1989: *The Magic Mirror* (Nonfiction). Her Smith College thesis.[4] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Magic%20Mirror%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 1996: *The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit* (Children's book). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20It-Doesn't-Matter%20Suit%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2000: *The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath* (Nonfiction). Edited by Karen V. Kukil.[2] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Unabridged%20Journals%20of%20Sylvia%20Plath%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2001: *Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen* (Children's book). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Mrs.%20Cherry's%20Kitchen%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2004: *Ariel: The Restored Edition* (Poetry). Her own selection and order of the *Ariel* poems.[4][5] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Ariel%3A%20The%20Restored%20Edition%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2017: *The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 1* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Letters%20of%20Sylvia%20Plath%2C%20Volume%201%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2018: *The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Volume 2* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Letters%20of%20Sylvia%20Plath%2C%20Volume%202%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2024: *The Collected Prose of Sylvia Plath* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Collected%20Prose%20of%20Sylvia%20Plath%20Sylvia%20Plath)
- 2026: *The Poems of Sylvia Plath* (Poetry). A complete edition of more than 500 poems, edited by Amanda Golden and Karen V. Kukil.[6][8] ISBN 9780571372041. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780571372041) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780571372041)

## Latest news

- Sept. 12, 2026: Reviewing the new complete edition for the *Los Angeles Review of Books*, Heather Treseler noted that it gathers 542 poems from Plath's published work and archives in 944 pages.[7]
- May 7, 2026: Faber published *The Poems of Sylvia Plath*, edited by Amanda Golden and Karen V. Kukil, with more than 500 poems; Ted Hughes's 1981 *Collected Poems* had 274.[9][6][8]
- Jan. 28, 2026: Faber announced a year of Plath publishing, including new editions of *The Bell Jar* and *Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams* and a selection of her writing about writing.[10]

## Adaptations and other media

### Film

- *The Bell Jar* (1979). Based on *The Bell Jar*. A film directed by Larry Peerce, with Marilyn Hassett as Esther.[4]

### Television

- *Letters Home* (1986). Based on *Letters Home*. An experimental television film by Chantal Akerman.[4]

## Myth and record

- Claim: *Ariel* (1965) is the book of poems Plath left finished at her death.[5]
  The record: Ted Hughes rearranged the manuscript, dropping some poems and adding others; Plath's own selection, which ran from the word "love" to the word "spring," was published in 2004 as *Ariel: The Restored Edition*.[4][5]

## Timeline

- Oct. 27, 1932: Born in Jamaica Plain, Boston.[3]
- Nov. 5, 1940: Her father, Otto Plath, dies.[3]
- 1941: Publishes her first poem, at age eight.[3]
- 1953: Guest editor at *Mademoiselle* in New York.[3]
- 1955: Graduates summa cum laude from Smith College and goes to Cambridge on a Fulbright.[2][4]
- Feb. 25, 1956: Meets Ted Hughes at a Cambridge party.[4]
- June 16, 1956: Marries Hughes.[3]
- 1960: *The Colossus*, her first book of poems, is published in England.[2]
- Jan. 1963: *The Bell Jar* is published under the name Victoria Lucas.[4]
- Feb. 11, 1963: Dies in London, aged 30.[4]
- 1965: *Ariel* is published, in an arrangement by Hughes.[4]
- 1982: *The Collected Poems* wins the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first awarded to a poet after death.[2][3]
- Nov. 2004: *Ariel: The Restored Edition* publishes the book in her own order.[5]
- May 7, 2026: Faber publishes *The Poems of Sylvia Plath*, a new complete edition.[9][6]

## What came after

Faber's 2026 program also includes new editions of *The Bell Jar* and *Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams* and a selection of her reflections on writing.[10]

## Sources

1. [Sylvia Plath](https://poetryfoundation.org/bio/sylvia-plath). Poetry Foundation. (reference)
2. [Sylvia Plath](https://poets.org/poet/Sylvia-Plath). Academy of American Poets. (reference)
3. [Sylvia Plath](https://newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sylvia_Plath). New World Encyclopedia. (reference)
4. [Sylvia Plath](https://wiki.krisyotam.com/content/wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2026-03/Plath). Wikipedia (March 2026 copy). (reference)
5. [Ariel Redux](https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_highbrow/2004/12/ariel_redux.html). Slate (Meghan O'Rourke). (news)
6. [Review: The Poems of Sylvia Plath, edited by Amanda Golden and Karen V Kukil](https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/books/poetry/73358/review-the-poems-of-sylvia-plath-edited-by-amanda-golden-karen-v-kukil-faber). Prospect (Jeremy Noel-Tod). (news)
7. [Who's Afraid of Sylvia Plath?](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/poems-sylvia-plath-golden-kukil-faber-complete-edition/). Los Angeles Review of Books (Heather Treseler). (news)
8. [Complete Plath](https://bouncenode02.smith.edu/news-events/news/complete-plath). Smith College. (primary record)
9. [The Poems of Sylvia Plath](https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/books/sylvia-plath/the-poems-of-sylvia-plath/9780571372041/). Topping & Company Booksellers. (website)
10. [Faber unveils ambitious raft of Sylvia Plath publishing](https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/faber-unveils-ambitious-raft-of-sylvia-plath-publishing). The Bookseller. (news)