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The Bell Jar
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The Bell Jar Cloth - 1971

by Sylvia Plath

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first

Description

New York: Harper & Row, 1971 . Cloth. Very Good Indeed. 9" by 6". Sylvia Plath. A late printing of the first US edition of Sylvia Plath's magnum opus, published nearly a decade after her death. An unstated later printing of the first US edition, without the issue statement to the colophon, or the numberline to page 296.In an uncommon later issue green and grey variant of the usual lavender cloth binding. First published in 1963 under the pen name 'Victoria Lucas', the work was first published with Plath's own name in 1967, and - at the request of both Ted Hughes and Plath's own mother - was not published in the US until 1971.Set largely in early 1950s New York and New England, the book follows Esther Greenwood's descent into mental illness.With a biographical notice to the rear, alongside reproductions of a small number of Plath sketches.Ink marks to rear pastedown. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Bumping to back strip head and tail. Minor mark to front board, and light handling marks to rear board. Ink stamp to rear pastedown. Internally, firmly bound. Pages exceptionally clean and bright. Very Good Indeed
Used - Very Good Indeed
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Details

  • Title The Bell Jar
  • Author Sylvia Plath
  • Illustrator Sylvia Plath
  • Binding Cloth
  • Condition Used - Very Good Indeed
  • Publisher Harper & Row, New York
  • Date 1971
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 896F1

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 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.

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