An edition of The Bell Jar (1963)

The Bell Jar

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Cover of: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Sylvia Plath
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  • ★★★★ 4.3 (58 ratings)
  • 1,943 Want to read
  • 58 Currently reading
  • 115 Have read
Notes

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Buy this book

Last edited by MARC Bot
July 14, 2025 | History
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An edition of The Bell Jar (1963)

The Bell Jar

by

  • ★★★★ 4.3 (58 ratings)
  • 1,943 Want to read
  • 58 Currently reading
  • 115 Have read

I was supposed to be having the time of my life. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into depression and eventually a suicide attempt, as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take women's aspirations seriously. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath's only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath's own life and descent into mental illness, and has become a modern classic. The Bell Jar has been celebrated for its darkly funny and razor sharp portrait of 1950s society and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Publish Date
Publisher
Faber and Faber
Language
English
Pages
258

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Previews available in: English Spanish

Subjects

women college students, summer, Classics, Literature, Psychology, Feminism, Novel, Poetry, Mental Health, American, Adult, Fiction, Mental Depression, Suicidal behavior, Mentally ill, Psychiatric hospital patients, Mental illness, Women authors, Treatment, Women periodical editors, College students, Suicide, Psychological fiction, Autobiographical fiction, Roman à clef, open_syllabus_project, Women psychotherapy patients, Fiction, psychological, American fiction (fictional works by one author), Young women, fiction, Students, fiction, Children's fiction, Depression, mental, fiction, Fiction, biographical, Fiction, general, New york (n.y.), fiction, American literature, Interns, Women's periodicals, Electroconvulsive therapy, Sexism, Depression in women, Authors, Medicine in Literature

People

Esther Greenwood, Buddy Willard, Betsy, Constantin, DeeDee, Doctor Gordon, Doctor Nolan, Dodo Conway

Places

New York City, Adirondacks, Boston, United States, Belsize

Times

1953, 1950s

Showing 11 featured editions. View all 149 editions?

Edition Availability
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
2003, Perennial Classics
Paperback in English - 25th Anniversary Edition, 1st Perennial Classics ed. (25)
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
2003, HarperLargePrint
Paperback in English - 1st Harper large print ed. (1)
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1996, HarperCollins Publishers, Harper
Hardcover in English - 25th anniversary ed.
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1981 08, Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback in English - Bantam Windstone edition (47)
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1981 08, Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback in English - Bantam Windstone edition 23960-0 (29)
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1976-09, Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback in Spanish - Bantam Edition, 22nd printing
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1972 November, Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback in English - 13th printing
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1972 November, Bantam
Mass Market Paperback in English - Bantam edition, 13th printing
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1970?, Faber & Faber
Paperback in English - 1st Faber paperbacks edition (16)
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1966, Faber and Faber
Paperback in English
Cover of: The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
1964-01-01, William Heinemann 1964
in English

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Book Details

Edition Notes

"First printed in this edition 1966."

Published in
London, England
Series
Faber paper covered editions

Classifications

Library of Congress
PZ4.P717 Be3, PS3566.L27, PS3566.L27 B4 1966b

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Pagination
[4], 258 p. ;
Number of pages
258

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL6012563M
ISBN 10
0571081789
ISBN 13
9780571081783
LCCN
66068247
OCLC/WorldCat
36740765, 1853974
LibraryThing
1512
Goodreads
828038

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL1865528W

Source records

Work Description

The Bell Jar is the only novel written by American poet Sylvia Plath. It is an intensely realistic and emotional record of a successful and talented young woman's descent into madness.

Excerpts

IT WAS A QUEER, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.
added by Lisa.

first sentence

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 14, 2025 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
February 11, 2025 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
February 12, 2020 Edited by lisaBot moving edition(s) to primary work
May 25, 2018 Edited by Lisa Edited without comment.
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record