Sylvia and Ted

by Emma Tennant

A fictional re-creation of the turbulent courtship, marriage, and separation of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

In intense, dramatic prose, Emma Tennant unfolds a story of passion, conflict, and betrayal. Creating a series of unforgettable images she reconstructs the twentieth century's most famous literary love affair and the tempestuous triangle between Hughes, Plath, and Assia Wevill. Filled with mounting suspense and lurking danger, Sylvia and Ted is a tale that culminates in tragedy, leaving in its wake a hundred unanswered questions.

Tennant was drawn to the subject partly as a result of her past relationship with Hughes -- and because of the legs that surround him and the two women who loved him. Though imaginative fiction, her novel vividly evokes the social and literary circles in which Plath and Hughes traveled and with the complexities, needs, and desires of three talented yet tortured people whose story continues to capture the imagination of readers.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Biography Memoir, Poetry, Biographical Fiction, Novels

177 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Since the early 1970s, when she was in her mid-thirties, Emma Tennant has been a prolific novelist and has established herself as one of the leading British exponents of "new fiction." This does not mean that she is an imitator of either the French nouveaux romanciers or the American post-modernists, although her work reveals an indebtedness to the methods and preoccupations of some of the latter. Like them, she employs parody and rewriting, is interested in the fictiveness of fiction, appropriates some science-fiction conventions, and exploits the possibilities of generic dislocation and mutation, especially the blending of realism and fantasy. Yet, although parallels can be cited and influences suggested, her work is strongly individual, the product of an intensely personal, even idiosyncratic, attempt to create an original type of highly imaginative fiction.

Reviews

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetic novelisation of the romance between Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

[Kristi Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd book. All mood, very few events: it was like this, and it was like that, and years did pass somehow... reading it was like eating whipped skim milk.

Depressing and compelling, but hardly a narrative; more a meditation, or an enormously stretched out poem. The imagery was poetic, and the few details: the scarlet headband, the table, the hand under the tap holding a knife. Fairy tales.

Perhaps because it was based on real people, and she had few definite events to deal with? I suppose much of it did read like hazy recollections. I tell you, no, it was like this.

Sylvia reads as most difficult to live with. That came through in the real biography I read, and even a little in the Bell Jar. Can't blame Ted for his leaving of her, only for the manner of it.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fictional story about the twisted love of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. The writing style was perfect for a novel about two such emotionally driven people. Definitely a must-read if you are interested in Sylvia Plath as I was.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is a fictionalized account of the sad story of the marriage of sylvia plath and ted hughes, which ended when plath committed suicide after finding out that hughes was having an affair with assia wevill (what a name).more tragedy was to follow as some years later assia also committed suicde after killing her daughter.obviously hughes didn't have much luck with women, or should i say women didn't have much luck with him.i get the distinct impression that most of the fault lies with him.the book is reasonably well written but kind of tedious in parts.luckily it's short (177 pages), so if you're interested in this kind of thing, it's worth a try.

[zespri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another take on the marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Written in a rather obscure poetic format, I had to think quite a bit to understand what the author was actually trying to tell us. Maybe she was trying to imitate the language of Sylvia Plath - I am not sure.

Anyway, it was a haunting sad novel, we know the end from the beginning - and I just get mad with Ted Hughes every time I read another Sylvia book. She probably was a very difficult woman to live with, but she still did not deserve the treatment she was given, and for all his dramatics at her death, it is still one of the saddest literary marriages.

[Prairie78 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose one mark of a so-so book is if you can't remember much of it. The lives of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes were intense and tumultuous and rife with suffering. One would think their lives would engender a richly drawn novel. Unfortunately, Tennant fails in this regard. This novel moves along limply, without the gusto it deserves.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dark book. A little confusing at times.. went back and forth a lot and wasn't able to keep track of the past, present and future. It was a sad story as well. Perhaps I need to do a bit more research on Sylvia Platt before I judge too harshly.

[Jaimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldnt believe that one woman suffered so much. This book touched my heart and gave me the insight I needed to understand Plath's poetry on a deeper level

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had a dreamy poetic style which pulled me into the emotional lives of Sylvia, Ted and Assia. I didn’t want to put it down. Beautiful and sad.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sylvia has tried not to see this man--whose nerve endings, heartbeat, thoughts and dreams match hers--as a killer. But she knows by now that he cannot walk across this land without the knowledge of where his next victim may lie: rook, pigeon, rabbit, hare. She has seen him lift the gun as if it's no more than another limb, to point out to her a cairn, a fairy ring set in sphagnum moss that's eerie emerald green. But it is a gun. The sickening thump of falling bird haunts her at night as she lies under the padded quilt in the stifling room. Ted kills, and he loves to kill.

The love triangle of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Assia Wevill unfolds in work of fiction. The novel starts with the childhoods of the three protagonists. Ted's love for the outdoors and hunting is a big theme of the novel. And the killing of a beautiful deer when he is a teenager seems to portend the death of Sylvia. It also mentions Ted's fascination with the occult and tarot cards and how he introduced this to Sylvia to these, to help her with her writing. I did not know about this before, although when I think about his poetry it makes sense, as there is something of the mystical in something like Crow. Definitely worth a read if you are interested in finding out more about the Plath/Hughes/Wevill triangle, although fans of Plath and Hughes may already be familiar with these details.

[Jennifer Warnock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating...
Like walking into something embarrassing and not being able to look away..
Probably feel like that because I know that after Sylvia and after Assia, Ted had a relationship with Emma (the author). Emma never mentions that in this book, but capitalizes on the Sylvia/Ted/Assia triangle in a shameless way.
Wondering if it was published before Ted's death, and what he thought about it!

[Chris Pra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated just on the quality of the writing, which is excellent to me: full of the kind of lyrical prose that forces me to read slowly, savouring each word and image. It also filled my head with a terrible heaviness, the ache of constantly reading about depression and death.

[clio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I'm reading Ariel for school and this book was insightful into their relationship. The writing style was very poetic and whilst that was beautiful, the narrative actually got lost in some areas and I would have liked to see more of Sylvia's, Ted's, and Assia's relationship.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very poetically told sad story.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

😕

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

How much I suffered from the wooden movement of the plot and the incongruous narrative!

[Flavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetic, brave and very readable.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetic read full of allusions to the poems of Hughes and Plath

[Hugh Coverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggled with this novel at the beginning. Then dawned on me that it was a long poem. Then it made sense. A tragic story told beautifully.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, I have no clue why I,m so drawn to Sylvia Plath, anyway an insightful, painful, lovely telling of their tale.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for something biography-like, maybe for something that will give me more light on Sylvia and Ted relationship. What I got, was over poetic, way over dramatised and to be honest, quite boring. If not for my interest in Sylvia Plath life I would probably just leave it. And don't get me wrong - I know that many things in her life were dramatic, especially for such fragile and vulnerable mind as she possessed but the way author show was definitely over the top and too tragic as far I my opinion is concerned.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Though to read this you need to know the story in advance which I did, the events and what really happened or at least the things tha can be verified by others.

Only there are three events/scenes that are perhaps either made up or new information.

Personally, I don't know why, I'm inclined to think that these 'imaginative' scenes probably did happen, Tennant has no proof other than something someone told her.
Humans love a mystery... this one will run and run because of it.

[Kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, a compelling new look on an overworked story. I do think Tennant had good motives for this. She is sympathetic toward Sylvia Plath. Many writers were not and wrote as though the failure of the marriage with Hughes was due solely to Plath's behavior. We don't know and never will but I doubt the Hughes champions' objectivity. I don't agree know and feel doubtful toward narratives that present him as either victim or villain.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. A bit try-hard to recreate poetry as verse. I know nothing about poetry, but this seemed a bit forced. Still, I was one of many who idolised Sylvia Plath as an angst-riddened teenager, so I was convinced to give it a go. :)

[Edna Nová · Rating 2 out of 5]

To si tak člověk má chuť přečíst Deníky Sylvie Plath, jenže Deníky jsou všude nedostupné. Tak vytáhne alespoň “tohle”.
Kdysi čteno už. Lyrický tón je OK, ale je to celé “nedomrlé”, jen pár stran skoro o ničem.

[Carrie | Boston Book Fanatic]

5/04

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 cent score

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt overwritten to me. Better than underwritten, I suppose!

I'd be curious to see more of her work.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

ecxellent recreation of the marriage of Plath and Hughes. thpugh fictionalzed, it rings true.