The Bell Jar Paperback - 2005
by Sylvia Plath
This extraordinary work--echoing Plath's own experiences as a rising writer/editor in the early 1950s--chronicles the nervous breakdown of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, successful, but slowly going under, and maybe for the last time.
About this book
The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Sylvia Plath, published in 1963. It tells the story of Esther Greenwood, a talented and ambitious young woman who struggles with mental illness and societal pressures in the 1950s.
The Bell Jar is a powerful and poignant portrayal of mental health and the pressures faced by young women. Plath's use of language and imagery captures the complexities of Esther's inner world, making the novel a powerful exploration of the human condition.
It’s Plath’s only novel, and the book is often regarded as a roman à clef due to its parallelism with the author’s own experiences and her struggle with mental illness. Plath committed suicide a month after The Bell Jar was first published.
First line
IT WAS A QUEER, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.
From the rear cover
The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under -- maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
First Edition Identification
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath first edition was published by William Simmonds; London, 1963. It was bound black cloth-affect boards with spine lettered. Plath originally published it under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas". The first edition pictorial dust-jacket was designed by Thomas Simmonds.
Details
- Title The Bell Jar
- Author Sylvia Plath
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: Repri
- Pages 288
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Harper Perennial, New York, New York, U.s.a.
- Date 2005-08-02
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Illustrated
- ISBN 9780060837020 / 0060837020
- Weight 0.48 lbs (0.22 kg)
- Dimensions 8.02 x 5.3 x 0.7 in (20.37 x 13.46 x 1.78 cm)
- Reading level 1050
-
Themes
- Sex & Gender: Feminine
- Topical: Coming of Age
- Library of Congress subjects Psychological fiction, Suicidal behavior
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Media reviews
Citations
- Ingram Advance, 08/01/2005, Page 38
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The Bell Jar (Modern Classics)
by Plath, Sylvia
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by Plath, Sylvia
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- 9780060837020 / 0060837020
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