Review 218: Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Here we have two women poets who came of age in the 1950s. They struggled to be writers while juggling married life and children. This was during a time of that expectations for a woman was solely as a mother or wife. Plath and Sexton rebelled and pushed against the conventions of the day. Unfortunately the two also struggled with mental illness.

This biography of Plath and Sexton compares the lives of the two friends, mostly in a chronological manner. Each chapter took on a subject such as “Early Days”, “Mothering” and “Mental Illness”. It would talk about Sexton then Plath or the other way around. While they were friends, meeting in Boston in a writing course, they didn’t always live near each other as Plath moved to England with Ted Hughes.

One aspect of the book I appreciated was how the Crowther made points on why these two women are important for today. They were trailblazers as women writers and are still relevant. Today women still are not on equal footing with men; although there are a multitude of women authors and poets, men are still regarded more highly than their female counterparts, such as with their books reviewed more often. Crowther points out that when men write autobiographies words often used to describe them include brilliant and sensitive, while the same type of book by women are described as confessional and overemotional. While there is progress it is still not equal.

The format and material worked well for me. I certainly will look upon their poems with new insight and understanding.


Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.