The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath's essentially autobiographical book is about a young woman who falls into a deep despair while working as an intern at a New York City magazine in the early 1950s. Merely one month after the book was published, Plath committed suicide. The novel, an American classic, is described as "enchanting" by the Atlantic Monthly. The magazine adds: "The author wears her scholarship with grace, and the amazing story she has to tell is recounted with humor and understanding."