Bitter Fame: A Life of Sylvia Plath [Paperback]

Anne Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 1998

In this authoritative and controversial biography, Stevenson charts the ways in which Sylvia Plath created her own legend--one at odds with the posthumous myth that has grown up around her. It is "the most genuinely feminist account of Plath's life yet: one in which Plath herself is held to be responsible for her own life, her own death" (Washington Post Book World). (A Mariner Reissue)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The best critical biography of Plath yet, poet Stevenson's ( The Fiction Makers ) volume offers a convincing reinterpretation of a complex and controversial life. The author's objectivity and her success in assembling new sources pay off richly: bombarded by a superbly orchestrated array of opinions, quotations, details and anecdotes from Plath and those who knew her (Ted Hughes, Plath's husband, provided background information and reviewed the manuscript for factual accuracy), we are enabled, with Stevenson's guidance, to draw fresh conclusions about the late poet's conflicts between her fierce drive to succeed and keen appetite for self-destruction. Of particular significance is Stevenson's effort to present needed balance in portraying the marriage of Hughes and Plath; no longer cast as a victim of her husband's alleged infidelities (largely imagined, the book asserts), Plath emerges as the forger of her own fate leading to her 1963 suicide. Essays written in remembrance of Plath by Lucas Myers, Dido Merwin and Richard Murphy provide striking, invaluable firsthand views. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In her preface to this new biography of Sylvia Plath, Stevenson states that she intends to create "an objective account of how this exceptionally gifted girl was hurled into poetry by a combination of biographical accident and inflexible ideals and ambitions." Yet how can one be objective when one's aim is to explain "inflexible ideals and ambitions"? It is the very subjectivity that ultimately informs this book that is its weakest aspect. However, several previously unpublished memoirs by people who knew Plath are included as appendixes, and while they are not sufficient to make this a definitive biography (for which we will likely have to wait a number of years), they are interesting and make for a lively, if not altogether trustworthy, account of her life.
- Jessica Grim, NYPL
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1st Mariner books ed edition (June 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395937604
• ISBN-13: 978-0395937600
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,674,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( P ) > Plath, Sylvia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One-sided Depiction of a Controversial Life, February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bitter Fame: A Life of Sylvia Plath (Paperback)

I wish I could give this book two reviews--four stars for the author's perceptive criticism of Plath's poetry, and one star for her depiction of the poet's life. I was stung by her condecending portrayal of Americans in general--one would never guess that the author was an American herself! I was infuriated by the weasel-like way that Ms. Stevenson portrayed Ted Hughes's affair--that he "made contact" with the woman who became his mistress, and that Plath's jealousy essentially "forced" him to be unfaithful. I had always heard that Ted Hughes's sister had a great deal to do with the final book, and I feel that her spectre shadows almost every word. Never have someone who dislikes you write your biography--particularly if she is hiding behind another person! More fuel for the Plath-Hughes controversy, which will rage on into the next century, even though both protagonists are now dead.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Portrayal packs details; lacks empathy, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bitter Fame: A Life of Sylvia Plath (Paperback)

Why would Stevenson, with her apparent lack of knowledge and compassion regarding mental illness, choose Plath as her subject? Stevenson provides great details of Plath's life and adequate criticism of Plath's work, but loses credibility when she begins to blame Plath for behaviors clearly attributable to Plath's mental illness. Many of these behaviors are certainly offensive (i.e. irrational jealousy and rage). But I find Stevenson's attitude much more offensive, when she chastises Plath for her "sardonic refusal to accept limitation." In her final struggle with mental illness, Plath reached out desperately to all who could have helped: family, friends, physician. To compare her to the "Edge" heroine who "has freely chosen the perfection of death" is irresponsible. No one chooses mental illness, or its often dire consequences.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good bio on sylvia plath, March 27, 2004

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: BITTER FAME PA (Paperback)

This is one of the better biographies of Sylvia Plath (as is the Wagner-Martin biography, though Stevenson is much more thorough). Supposedly Stevenson comes down on the side of Ted Hughes, but to me the biography seems objective and fair. Even in those biographies written to make Plath look like a victim, she still comes across as tempermental and difficult to live around. I think Stevenson's biography is fair, if at times a bit ponderous to read. I'd suggest Silent Woman as a companion piece (it's a biography of Stevenson's biography). Bitter Fame has three appendices--memoirs of Sylvia written by others--Lucas Myers, Dido Merwin, and Richard Murphy. You get a sense of dread as you approach Dido's little memoir. I'm sure Plath was difficult and I'm sure Dido has her reasons, but you get the impression that she wrote her memoir just to 'get back at' Plath. To show her up so to speak, even though its tone isn't much different then what else you'll find in the book. Anyway, regardless of what type of person Sylvia Plath was, difficult or not, you cannot deny her genius, which is far greater than those who she came in contact with or have written about her.