Sylvia Plath: A life in photographs: 1955-1957

Plath entered Cambridge in September 1955. She met many people, and in addition to her studies, acted in the Amateur Dramatics Club. On 26 February, 1956, she met Ted Hughes at the launch party for the Saint Botolph's Review. She and Hughes married in London on 16 June, 1956, and honeymooned that summer in Benidorm, Spain. Plath marketed both her own poems and those written by Hughes. In early 1957, his collection The Hawk in the Rain won a prize and was accepted for publication. Plath was offered a teaching position for that fall in the English Department at Smith College. The next photograph gallery covers the period of 1957-1959, when Plath & Hughes were in America.


Please contact me regarding use of the photographs on this website. No photographs may be used without my consent.


cambridge

Reference:
The River Cam behind King's College, Cambridge, England.

cambridge1

Reference:
Newnham College, Cambridge. Plath's college while a Fulbright scholar.

cambridge2

Reference:
The garden at Newnham College, Cambridge. In Plath's time, the stone boy with dolphin was located in these garden's.

Newnham_McGraw_watermark

Reference:
Newnham College and garden, Cambridge, taken in 1994. In Plath's time, the stone boy with dolphin was located in these garden's. ©Michael McGraw, Used by kind permission.

stone_boy

Reference:
A copy of Andrea del Verrocchio's Putto with Dolphin, Newnham College, Cambridge. Inspiration for Plath's story "Stone Boy with Dolphin". Also the subject of numerous journal entries. For an example, please see page 200 in the Journals.

queens_bridge

Reference:
Queen's Bridge, Cambridge. Plath purportedly bought her copy of the Saint Botolph's Review here on 25 February 1956. Plath''s copy now held by the University of Virginia.

cambridge9

Reference:
Whitstead, 4 Barton Road, Cambridge. Plath's residence for her first 15 months in Cambridge.

whitstead

Reference:
Whitstead, 4 Barton Road, Cambridge. Plath walked through these sporting fields on her way to Newnham.

cambridge7

Reference:
Grantchester Meadows, England. The subject of Plath's poem "Watercolor of Grantchester Meadows", published in The Colossus. Located near 55 Eltisley Avenue, Hughes and Plath frequently walked here.


Reference:
Grantchester Meadows, England. Another view of the river.

cambridge6

Reference:
Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge. Near Barton Road and Whitstead, Eltisley Avenue is a quiet residence street of row houses.

eltisley

Reference:
55 Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge. Plath and Hughes lived here from late 1956 through June 1957.

55_Eltisley_Avenue_fireplace_McGraw_watermark

Reference:
The fireplace in the living room of 55 Eltisley Avenue taken in 1994. ©Michael McGraw, Used by kind permission.

55_Eltisley_Avenue_bedroom_McGraw_watermark

Reference:
The bedroom in 55 Eltisley Avenue where Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes slept, taken in 1994. ©Michael McGraw, Used by kind permission.

55_Eltisley_Avenue_apple_tree_McGraw_watermark

Reference:
The apple tree in the back yard of 55 Eltisley Avenue taken in 1994. ©Michael McGraw, Used by kind permission.

adc_theatre

Reference:
Amateur Dramatics Club, Park Street, Cambridge. In late 1955, Plath played Alice in Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair at the A.D.C.

st_george

Reference:
St. George-the-Martyr, Queen's Square, London. Church where Plath and Hughes married on 16 June 1956.

altar

Reference:
St. George-the-Martyr, Queen's Square, London. Plath and Hughes were married here on 16 June 1956.

18_rubgy

Reference:
18 Rugby Street, London. Hughes lived here when he and Plath met.

heptonstall

Reference:
Heptonstall Church and village. Yorkshire, England.

hardcastle

Reference:
Hardcastle Crags, Heptonstall. See Plath's poem "Hardcastle Crags".

hardcastle1

Reference:
Hardcastle Crags, Heptonstall. The crags are located just outside of Heptonstall and Hebden Bridge.