A total of 55 personal items once owned by American poet Sylvia Plath, including her love letters to her husband and fellow poet Ted Hughes, wedding rings and photo albums, are up for auction at Sotheby’s.
Other items include Plath’s sketches, a family bible, paperweights, a tarot deck and household objects such as a collection of recipes, a rolling pin and chopsticks. The items are currently the property of Frieda Hughes, Plath’s daughter with Ted Hughes.
Plath, whose haunting poems turned the demons of her trauma into some of the most unsettling verses of modern English, killed herself in 1963 aged 30 by putting her head in a gas oven. Her young children were asleep in the flat but she had sealed their room against the gas. They were unharmed.
Plath and Hughes married in 1956 and their relationship was as tumultuous as it was passionate. Her letters to Hughes explore her agony of separation from him while she was studying at Cambridge. The 32 letters included in the Sotheby’s sale, which also include the poet’s letters to her in-laws, are dated between October 1956 and 1961.
The estimate for the letters ranges up to £20,000 ($27,600).
In addition, the sale includes a family photo album showing the couple’s road trip across America along with their friends, including poet TS Eliot.
A number of Plath’s artworks, including her pen and ink portrait of Hughes from 1956, possibly drawn during their honeymoon in Paris and Benidorm, are also included. The drawing of Hughes is estimated at £10,000 to £15,000.
Another sketch reveals Plath’s feelings towards domesticity via dark humour. With the phrase “Great Faux Pas” written on top, the scene shows Plath in a maid’s uniform serving a meal to her husband's two guests. One of the guests says, “Thanks – Sister Rabbit”, to which the Plath character imagines herself striking him with an axe. It is estimated at £1,500 to £2,000.
The items will be sold at the Your Own Sylvia sale by Sotheby's, with bidding running from Friday to Wednesday, July 9 to 21.
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
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Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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