Daffodil Days

Helen Bain interviewed by Claire Malcolm Sylvia Plath's story has too often been defined by tragedy. Helen Bain's remarkable debut novel offers something altogether different. Daffodil Days reimagines the final year that Plath and Ted Hughes spent together in Devon in 1961—a period of extraordinary creativity during which Plath completed The Bell Jar, gave birth to her son Nicholas, and wrote many of the poems that would cement her literary legacy. Rather than dwelling on the myths surrounding her life, Bain celebrates Plath's brilliance, humour, ambition and fierce joy in living. Described as a "virtuoso portrait" and a "stunning debut", the novel has been praised for its emotional depth and fresh perspective on one of literature's most fascinating relationships; Harper's Bazaar named it one of its books guaranteed to get you out of a reading rut. Helen Bain, who holds a PhD in Creative Writing from King's College London and has worked for the Financial Times, Vogue and The Guardian, is joined by Claire Malcolm, founder and CEO of New Writing North and one of the UK's leading champions of emerging writers. “This deeply researched and utterly convincing debut is an astonishing achievement.” – The Guardian.