Sylvia Plath is remembered as a tragic figure as much as she is a gifted literary icon. Born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, Plath showed an early passion for writing, and had her first poem published in the Boston Herald at just 8 years old. The aspiring writer attended Smith College on scholarship where she excelled socially and academically, but Plath also struggled with mental health issues that plagued her the rest of her life. In 1953, she suffered a breakdown that led to a suicide attempt and hospitalization. Plath graduated from Smith in 1955 and received another scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge in England. It was there that she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956.

The couple moved back to the U.S., and after a brief stint teaching at her alma mater, Plath decided to instead focus on writing. She immersed herself in Boston’s literary scene, attending workshops with poet Robert Lowell, whose own confessional writing, along with his encouragement that Plath write from her own personal experience, deeply shaped her poetry. After moving back to England, Plath published her debut poetry collection, The Colossus, to modest attention, in 1960.

In 1962, Plath, at this point a mother to two young children, ended her marriage after discovering Hughes’ affair. She channeled her pain into a creative outpouring, penning her most defining works during the cold, bleak winter. In January 1963, her only novel, the semi-autobiographical The Bell Jar, was published under the pen name Victoria Lucas. A month later, at the age of 30, Plath took her own life at her home in London. Her poetry collection Ariel was released posthumously in 1965 and was immediately adored for its candid sincerity. The Bell Jar also gained fame after her death; its biting criticisms of the era’s gender expectations and raw depictions of mental illness made it an enduring piece of feminist literature.