The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Harper & Row First U.S. Edition, Sixth Printing, 1971)

Sylvia Plath’s only novel, The Bell Jar was first published in England in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas and did not appear under Plath’s own name in the United States until this Harper & Row edition in 1971. Now regarded as a landmark of twentieth-century literature, the novel follows Esther Greenwood through ambition, alienation, depression, and psychiatric treatment with Plath’s distinctive combination of dark humor and psychological precision.

This copy is the sixth printing of the first U.S. edition, identified by the number line ending in 6. The original dust jacket retains its $6.95 price and features the striking black-and-plum design by Amy Isbey Duewell, with the photograph of Plath on the rear panel taken from the August 1953 issue of Mademoiselle. The hardcover beneath is bound in vivid purple cloth with silver spine lettering and the Harper & Row 1817 device on the front board.

Condition: Very Good overall. The purple cloth boards remain bright and clean with strong color and lettering. The original dust jacket retains excellent color and presents very well, with light rubbing and edge wear, including small areas of wear and creasing at the spine ends and extremities. An attractive early American printing with the scarce original jacket intact.