I was supposed to be having the time of my life When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953 she is elated believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer But in between the cocktail parties & piles of manuscripts Esther&s life begins to slide out of control She finds herself spiralling into depression & eventually a suicide attempt as she grapples with difficult relationships & a society which refuses to take women&s aspirations seriously The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath&s only novel was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas The novel is partially based on Plath&s own life & has become a modern classic The Bell Jar has been celebrated for its darkly funny & a razor sharp portrait of 1950s society & has sold millions of copies worldwide