Shirley Tucker on 'The Bell Jar' Cover

. . . I suppose it was a doodle that turned into a jacket. . . .

~ Shirley Tucker, Book Cover Designer

We don't often get to hear how a book cover came to be designed, especially for a book as famous as Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Below is a very short visit with Shirley Tucker, the Faber and Faber book cover designer who was responsible for the original 1966 edition of the novel. Note that she states that  she, like others in her line of work at Faber, were never credited at the time for their jacket designs; it just wasn't done. On the Faber and Faber site today, however, her name is listed. The novel's cover designs have changed repeatedly over the years.

As I mentioned in Monday's post, February 11 is the 50th anniversary of Plath's death; a re-issue of The Bell Jar marks the anniversary.

My thanks to the Guardian for the link to the video.

Sam Jordison, "January's reading group: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath", Guardian, January 1, 2013

Lesley McDowell, "IoS book review: The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath - Plath's timeless narrative still resonates", The Independent, January 6, 2013

The Bell Jar Poster

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) at Modern American Poetry, Poetry Archive, The Poetry Foundation, Sylvia Plath Forum

Sylvia Plath Info Blog