A magisterial and authoritative biography on the most fascinating of poets, Ted Hughes.
Described by Andrew Motion as, alongside Larkin, 'one of the two great poets of the last half of the last century', Ted Hughes towers among figures of recent world literature. A creative force of rare power and grace, Hughes's poetry engages with the mythical and natural worlds to reflect on the strength, vulnerability and beauty of being.
With the time ripe for posterity to see further into Hughes's works, Jonathan Bate's rich and compelling biography examines those 'places of high wonder' of which Hughes wrote as a teenager, and brings new depth and understanding to this most charismatic and fascinating of poets: his life, his poetry and of course, his relationships - most famously with iconic American poet Sylvia Plath, his wife, who committed suicide in 1963, and Assia Wevill, the woman he left Plath for, who herself committed suicide in 1969.
About the Author
Jonathan Bate, CBE, is Provost of Worcester College and Professor of English Literature at Oxford University. He is Vice-President of the British Academy, a Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and a 2014 judge for the Man-Booker Prize. His biography of John Clare (a poet who was a key influence on Ted Hughes) was shortlisted for seven literary prizes and won three of them, including Britain's two oldest literary awards, the James Tait Black Prize for Biography and the Hawthornden Prize.
Industry Reviews
Booktopia's John Purcell: I devoured this book. Considering it has 600+ pages, and I am meant to be reading other books, this is a feat. I was drawn to the book because I am a Jonathan Bate fan. His book, The Genius of Shakespeare, is one of the best books I have ever read. Big call, but it's true. I learnt more about writing in those pages than from any other book on the writing game.
To be honest, I haven't read any of Ted Hughes' poetry. I haven't read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, either. All I knew about the pair was that Sylvia put her head in an oven because Ted Hughes was a misogynist pig. That much I gleaned from conversations with women while at university.
I feel I know a lot more now.
And to Jonathan Bate's credit, I read to the very last page, even though I didn't much warm to the Ted Hughes he was describing. The writing was compelling, as was the content. I felt I was learning a great deal about the period, 1950s through to 1990s, about Sylvia Plath and about poetry and writing in general. I also learnt a great deal about Ted and Sylvia, about Ted and Assia, Ted and Carol, Ted and a great number of women over the years.
If Jonathan Bate's aim was to get me to read more poetry, well he succeeded. I want to read the poetry of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes now. I will read The Bell Jar, too.
The story of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes' marriage will always interest people. Tragic romances always do. Jonathan Bate manages to examine Ted Hughes life without shying away from the darker truths. Highly recommended.
