IU Columbus professor reframes literary history in new, award-winning book: IU Columbus : Indiana University

Based on extensive archival work at the British Library and Emory University, as well as unpublished materials in private hands, Lives Revised offers a groundbreaking reexamination of three complex figures in literary and cultural history. Through a trauma-informed, feminist lens, Goodspeed-Chadwick restores Assia Wevill’s voice to literary history and challenges longstanding narratives that have shaped public understanding of Wevill, Hughes and Plath.

“This book tells us what we don’t know about Assia Wevill, Ted Hughes, and Sylvia Plath, and in so doing illuminates the limits of biographical knowledge–and what happens when we fail to navigate those limits with humility and care for the pain of others,” notes Janine Utell, editor of Teaching Modernist Women’s Writing in English.

Advance praise for Lives Revised includes endorsements from other leading scholars such as Elaine Showalter, Heather Clark, Linda Wagner-Martin, and Peter K. Steinberg, who describe the work as “essential,” “revelatory,” and “meticulously researched.”

Goodspeed-Chadwick’s work has long focused on feminist biography and trauma studies. She is a nationally recognized expert on the life and writing of Assia Wevill and a dedicated member of the IU Columbus faculty.

To learn more or purchase this newly released book, visit the Lives Revised website.

Learn more about the Lewis P. Simpson Award.