Ariel first published in 1965 contains many of Sylvia Plath's best-known poems written in an extraordinary burst of creativity just before her death in 1963 Including poems such as ' Lady Lazarus' ' Edge' ' Daddy' & ' Paralytic' it was the first of four collections to be published by Faber & Faber Ariel is the volume on which Sylvia Plath's reputation as one of the most original daring & gifted poets of the twentieth century rests' Since she died my mother has been dissected analysed reinterpreted reinvented fictionalized & in some cases completely fabricated It comes down to this her own words describe her best her ever-changing moods defining the way she viewed her world & the manner in which she pinned down her subjects with a merciless eye'
- from Frieda Hughes's introduction to Ariel