Rough Magic [Paperback]

Karl Len Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 1999

Since her suicide at age thirty, Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) has been celebrated for her impeccable and ruthless poetry, which excels at describing the most extreme reaches of Plath's consciousness and passions. Her work includes the autobiographical novel,The Bell Jar, and such collections as The Collosus, Ariel, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning Collected Poems. Based on exclusive interviews and extensive archival research, Rough Magic probes the events of Plath's life—including her turbulent marriage to the English poet Ted Hughes—in a biography that stands alone in its compassionate view of this fiercely talented, deeply troubled artist.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nearly 30 years after Plath's (1932-1963) suicide, her troubled life proves to be fertile ground for biographers, as witness this work by Alexander (editor of Ariel Ascending ), which may be the most objective portrayal yet of the controversial American poet. Choosing to write Plath's life without the consent and probable constraints of the estate, Alexander eschews quoting from Plath's work; his is not a literary study. Yet the results are impressive: a thorough, beautifully fashioned chronicle rich in new materials and significant minutiae, beginning with the convergence of her parents' lives, continuing with Plath's precocious childhood and tumultuous adulthood, and concluding with her posthumous literary career. The book's achievement is to record Plath's notable vicissitudes with respect and sensitivity, implying but not imposing an interpretation on complex, often ambiguous evidence. Though at times we may desire more direct analysis, Alexander's understated approach has the considerable virtue of allowing readers to determine for themselves--insofar as such questions can ever be answered--what forces nurtured Plath's extraordinary lyrical gifts and what finally ended them. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

It seems no longer possible to read Plath's poems and fictions without her life and suicide as guide. Ignore her death, and the fiction and most of the poems increasingly seem self-indulgent and less than first-rate, unable to support a major reputation half as well as her self-destructive behavior does. Because her estate--which is ruled over by Ted Hughes and his sister Olwyn, the villains in these biographies--denies authors permission to quote from Plath's work unless manuscripts are submitted for approval and changes, if requested, are made, readers are left with inadequate paraphrase, innuendo, gossip, and speculation, which then lead to controversy and mystery--which in their turn lead to sales and literary immortality. Alexander, editor of Ariel Ascending: Writings About Sylvia Plath, deserves some attention. Still, each biography finally fails, either because of padding with irrrelevant minutiae (Alexander's); or a melodramatic and Kitty Kelleyish tone (Hayman's); or the substitution of simplistic paraphrase for analyses, sensationalism for objectivity, mystery for understanding (both). The Plath Industry thrives, though the quality of its products decreases. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/91 and LJ 3/15/91.
- Vincent D. Balitas, Allentown Coll. , Center Valley, Pa.
Copyright 1991 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: 424 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808897
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808890
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,907,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( P ) > Plath, Sylvia

More About the Author

Paul Alexander is the editor of the essay collection Ariel Ascending: Writings About Sylvia Plath and the author of Rough Magic, a biography of Plath; Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean, the bestseller that has been published in 10 countries; Death and Disaster: The Rise of the Warhol Empire and the Race For Andy's Millions; Man of the People: The Life of John McCain; The Candidate, a chronicle of John Kerry's presidential campaign; and Machiavelli's Shadow: The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove. His bestseller Murdered was published by Rosetta Books as a Kindle Single.

A former reporter for Time, Alexander has published journalism in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York, The Nation, The Village Voice, Salon, Worth, The New York Observer, George, Cosmopolitan, More, Interview, ARTnews, Mirabella, Premiere, Out, The Advocate, Travel & Leisure, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, Biography, Men's Journal, Best Life, The New York Review of Books, and Rolling Stone. In Europe, his journalism has appeared in Paris Match, Gente, and The Guardian. He contributes to The Daily Beast.

Shane Salerno's much-anticipated feature documentary Salinger, due out this fall, is based on Alexander's biography of J.D. Salinger, which has recently been republished. Alexander wrote Good Night, Dorothy Kilgallen, an original screenplay about Kilgallen's investigation of the Kennedy assassination, for Twentieth Century Fox.

Alexander is the author of the plays Strangers in the Land of Canaan and Edge, which he directed. Developed at The Actors Studio, Edge, the critically acclaimed one-woman play about Sylvia Plath, ran in New York, where Angelica Torn received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination; London; and venues in other cities, among them Miami, where New Times named Torn Best Actress. Edge toured Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed a second run in New York. In all, Torn performed Edge 400 times. Alexander is also the director of a British revival of Ariel Dorfman's play Death and the Maiden; New York Stories, an evening of one-act plays by Paul Kane that ran in New York; and Brothers in Arms, a documentary film about John Kerry and Vietnam (First Run Features).

Alexander is a graduate of The Writers' Workshop at The University of Iowa and a member of PEN American Center, the Authors Guild, and the Playwrights and Directors Unit of The Actors Studio. In the fall of 2002, he was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and compassionate is "Rough Magic", September 1, 2005

By 

P. B. Branscombe "Paul Branscombe" (Wellington,New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath (Paperback)

Paul Alexander's "Rough Magic"is an outstandingly sensitive account of Sylvia Plath's life. The enormous amount of research by Alexander is highly impressive and clearly comes through in his amazing book. Since the author spent over five years interviewing over two hundred people who knew Plath and or Hughes as well as reading most if not all of the available archival documents concrned with his subject, it's small wonder that "Rough Magic" is such a great biography.

The description of her horrible ordeal in the chapter "Edge" should evoke sympathy and admiration for this highly talented woman who tried to cope against overwhelming odds of personal mental and physical sickness, harsh environment and separation from the man she loved.

The strength of this is the great number of personal stories from Aurelia's numerous talks with Alexander, and so many other close friends of the author which range over much of Syliva's lifetime.

I would strongly urge anyone who has even a modicum of interest in Sylvia Plath to beg, borrow, steal or even buy this book. It is one of the best biographies I have had the enormous pleasure and at times sadness in reading.

Paul Branscombe

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rough Magic, March 7, 2004

By 

Leigh (Lafayette, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath (Paperback)

Paul Alexander's Rough Magic allows the reader to fully understand and enter the psyche of Sylvia Plath from her blissful childhood to her more tumultuous adult years. What I found was very nice about this biography was that it included Sylvia's poetry in a chronological order. It was so helpful to have her poetry included after just reading what her life was like at the immediate time that she wrote that certain piece. Also, by having her writing placed in a chronological order, I found that I could really pick up on how she developed her writing and honed her skills over time.
It is very apparent that the work gone into the making of this book was so thorough and in depth. Mr. Alexander did a fabulous job piecing Sylvia's life together in one book. It seems like every relationship Sylvia ever had has been accounted for and analyzied in this book.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of Sylvia Plath's life and her continuous descent into depression.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, February 20, 2003

By 

jenbird "book and classic movie fiend" (Havertown, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rough Magic (Paperback)

At long last, a biography of Sylvia Plath written by someone who refused to bow to the editorial demands of Ted & Olwyn Hughes, who unfortunately controlled the late poet's estate at the time. Choosing freedom of speech over permission to quote Plath's work, Paul Alexander has produced an extraordinary biography that reveals the true Sylvia Plath as a girl, woman, wife, mother, and most important, author. With interviews from friends and family who had never before spoken about Plath for publication, this is a book that any scholar of Plath's life and work should not miss.