Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton Paperback – 11 Jan. 2022

Plath and Sexton felt an instant bond due to their experience of mental ill health and suicide attempts and I think it is fair to say that Sexton’s looser style of expressing herself in poetry had a big influence upon Plath whose poetry before this had been too stilted and structured. Anne Sexton’s poetry broke new ground with its exploration of various taboo topics such as mental illness and sexuality and this emboldened Plath to do the same. They were born at a misogynistic time in history when women were expected to be nice little stepford wives, popping out babies, cooking meals from scratch and scrubbing floors, staying silent about their intellectual views and meekly serving their husbands. Plath and Sexton’s poetic voices rebelled against that, paving the way towards the second wave of feminism many that women now enjoy the benefits of.

A book that really puts into context how difficult it must have been for ambitious, yet brilliantly talented women must have struggled and strived to make their voices heard in the 1950's

I have read all of Gail Crowther's books and I have to admit I am disappointed with this one. Normally, her books are quite scholarly and philosophical, full of musings about place, time and archives. Now the focus has definitely changed. The half rhymes in Daddy are 'cool' and some how Crowther even manages to rope in the Black Lives Matter Movement, which has absolutely nothing to do with Plath and Sexton. This book sounds journalistic and similar to something you might find in a high brow magazine, read at the hairdressers and forget about. The only place that sounds like Crowther is in the epilogue. Still there are great photographs in the book and a few details that I've never heard before, although they are rather titillating, ( no spoilers in this review!) Am I glad I read the book? - Yes. Am I glad I paid full price - absolutely not. It's not worth it. I wish I'd waited around for a second hand copy.

I was fascinated to read about Plath and Sexton's three Martini afternoons at the Ritz. It turned out that although it seems they did happen, the author appears to know not one single thing about them.This is simply an autobiography of two different people. The author makes clear links, but this book certainly isn't about their relationship as two leading female poets.It's quite an interesting read, I hadn't read biographies of either previously, but I bought it because I thought it would be an insight into their regular get-togethers, over a drink, putting the world to rights kind of approach. Instead, the title tantalises the reader and then utterly fails to deliver.

I read this years ago and my copy went missing. For those who have to know everything about these poets

Carefully written and well researched account of the lives of two gifted poets and the challenges that they faced as writers who were also women. Each left a legacy to other poets who require inspiration in their own struggles with mental illness and the social judgments and literary bias that tarnish what should be a simple experience of the work.

I read this book in 2 hours. Did I like it, yes. It gave me an in depth peek into Sylvia Plath"s and Anne Sexton"s lives which I enjoyed, especially being a depressive myself. Did I wish it was more a fictionalized story with sprinkling of poems? Absolutely. But I was never promised that here so I can't complain. If I want to read their poems, I will look up their poetry. Its a good book if you want to learn more about their lives, marriages, views on misogyny, sex, abuse and feminism. I enjoyed it. I am not a poetry fan but I love these two ladies poems!

Gail. I loved this book.

Nothing new under the sun here, except absolute howlers. For example this (just before Plath's suicide): "Plath is the prototype for today's breakup makeover. After kicking out Ted Hughes, she got a fabulous new hairdo, a new wardrobe, new jewelry, and a sassy new attitude."A breezy *Seventeen* magazine tone that's oddly off, weird, repeatedly. And the research is recycled, nothing she didn't use in her last book, nothing most people don't already know about Sexton or Plath.