Ted and I

October 13, 2014
Hughes’s understated memoir chronicles his relationship with his younger brother, Ted, the esteemed British poet and husband to Sylvia Plath. Gerald tenderly sketches an idyllic childhood in rural Yorkshire, where the two boys roamed the hills and skipped rocks on the river as “life proceeded at a pleasant pace.” In Gerald’s account, Ted had a sense for language from a young age. “Fires can get up and bite you,” he said after burning his hands on a flame.
Gerald and Ted were separated in 1942 when Gerald joined the British Army and was dispatched to North Africa. He moved to Australia following the war, and his relationship with Ted unfolded mostly through letters. He also never met Plath, though they corresponded often after her marriage to Ted. Gerald recounts these years from a considerable distance, focusing on Ted’s devotion to Plath and her affection toward him and their children. Writing of Plath’s suicide, he emphasizes Ted’s concern for his wife’s health and his attempts to repair their marriage before her death. Gerald’s pride in Ted’s accomplishments is clear, as is his devotion to preserving his brother’s memory. This account does not contain any startling revelations, but Gerald’s fond recollections may give critics and fans new insight into a famed poet’s work.