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Buyer Finds Inspiration in Sylvia Plath’s Massachusetts Childhood Home

A new owner is ready to stroll the same halls as Sylvia Plath in Wellesley, MA. The acclaimed poet’s childhood home, recently listed for $825,000, has just been sold.

Plath lived in the two-bed, two-bath home from age 10 to 18, when her mother moved her and her younger brother there after their father’s death. Her mother remained in the home until her death in 1994.

Plath, who died in 1963 at age 30, sat under the apple tree in the yard to write, and the neighborhood’s tree-lined streets and other occupants were part of the inspiration for her classic novel “The Bell Jar.”

“It’s a warm home,” says listing agent Beth Petrone. “You walk in the door, you know it has some special history to it. As you walk through you just feel comfortable.”

The two-story Colonial has been expanded since Plath’s day, though the vintage charm has been maintained. Blue shutters on sash windows face the street as well as the landscaped back lawn, and hardwood flooring and carpets run throughout the interior.

Previous owners updated the kitchen and created an enclosed breezeway to the living and dining rooms. A working fireplace keeps the living room warm.

At 1,670 square feet, “it’s not a big house, but what’s there is very nice,” says Petrone.

Plath attended the local Wellesley High School, which has a plaque in her honor. Residents and their guests can stroll the same Wellesley streets that the teenage Plath likely took to spots including Morse’s Pond and the Fell’s Library. The property is also near churches and a nature conservation area.

Petrone hopes the new owner is a writer, “someone that’s tied to the home in that emotional way,” she says. “It’s a historical house, and it’s nice that it’s going to stay intact.”

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Source: Real Estate News and Advice – realtor.com » Real Estate News