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Shop nowHer Husband
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Learn moreTed Hughes married Sylvia Plath in 1956, at the outset of their brilliant careers. Plath's suicide six and a half years later, for which many held Hughes accountable, changed his life, his closest relationships, his standing in the literary world, and the style and substance of his verse.In this stunning new biography of their marriage, Diane Middlebrook presents a portrait of Hughes as a man, as a poet, and as a husband who was haunted—and nourished—his entire life by the aftermath of his first marriage.
Drawing on a trove of papers, Middlebrook presents Hughes as a complicated, conflicted figure: sexually magnetic, fiercely ambitious, immensely caring, and shrewd in business. She argues that Plath's suicide, though it devastated Hughes and made him vulnerable to the savage attacks of Plath's growing readership, ultimately gave him his true subject: how marriages fail and how men fail in marriage. Writing with the penetrating insight and lucid sympathy that has informed all of her bestselling biographies, Middlebrook rises to the multiple challenges presented by this highly fraught, deeply controversial subject. Her Husband is a triumph of the biographer's art and craft.
Diane Middlebrook is the author of two highly praised, bestselling biographies, Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton and Anne Sexton, which was a finalist for both a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award. A former professor at Stanford University, she lives in San Francisco and London.
Bernadette Dunne is the winner of more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.
Reviews
“In her fascinating new book Middlebrook is a thorough and careful guide through this brief but endlessly intriguing marriage. Her knowledge of the poets’ work, her ability to trace currents and themes, and her singular vision in synthesizing it all is downright mystifying.”
“Middlebrook’s book is sure to be the gold standard. Astutely reasoned, fluidly written and developed with psychological acuity, the work is a sympathetically balanced assessment of two live that flamed brightly with the incandescent fire of creative genius.”
“Bernadette Dunne provides a smooth and even-handed narration, adding dimension and perspective to the analysis of the emotional lives of two intense and talented people. She is nonjudgmental and treats each individual, and their relationship, with respect.”
“A beautifully written two-strand biography; highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.”
“Although many of the details, taken from the couple’s letters and diaries, seem intimate and private, they are never voyeuristic, thanks to Dunne’s admirable performance. She shows obvious respect for both the biographer and the principles of the book. A compelling audio.”
“Reader Bernadette Dunne does an admirable job, given the weight of this material. Her matter-of-fact delivery is softened when characterizing Plath and Hughes’ voices during the reading of diary excerpts. She sounds compassionate when reading Plath’s darkest moments.”
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