poets (1932-1963 and 1930-1998). Joint autograph letter signed. 3 Chalcot Square, London, NW1. Folio. 1 page. $ 30,626 / 28.000 € (95681/BN63358)
Jointly written to Ted's parents Edith and William Hughes ("Dear Mum & Dad"), begun by Hughes, on the advance copies of his "Lupercal" ("The book looks very nice. It doesn't much matter what people say about it - I'm past caring for that"), explaining that their domestic life in their new flat is "going better now we have everything fixed up", with recent visits from Olwyn Hughes and Lucas Myers. The letter is then continued by Plath, with news of "The Colossus and Other Poems" ("my book of poems should be out sometime next September") and her exhaustion in late pregnancy.
The couple had followed their American road trip with an autumn at Yaddo, the writers' retreat, then returned to Britain in December 1959. They moved to their flat in Primrose Hill at the beginning of February and had spent the next weeks cleaning, painting and furnishing. - The Chalcot Square flat was to remain their home until the move to Devon in September 1961. A week after they moved in, Plath heard that Heinemann would publish her first collection of poems. Meanwhile, Hughes received his advance copies of "Lupercal" on 23 February. The visits of friends and relatives mentioned in this letter were a cause of aggravation to Plath, who was well into the third trimester of her first pregnancy. Their daughter Frieda (named after Sylvia's aunt) was born on 1 April..