The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar was first published in London in January 1963 by William Heinemann Limited under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. Sylvia Plath had adopted the pen name for publication of her first novel because she questioned its literary value and did not believe it was a ""serious work"" she was also worried about the pain publication might cause to the many people close to her whose personalities she had distorted and lightly disguised in the book.