BOOKS and personal effects showing the strong links to the West Country of two of the greatest poets of the 20th century, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, are to be offered for sale at Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts sale in London on Wednesday, March 21.

The collection, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes; The Property of Frieda Hughes, is being sold by the poets’ daughter, Frieda Hughes.

Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath moved to the Grade II listed house, Court Green, in North Tawton, in 1961 and lived there together until the disintegration of their marriage in late 1962.

After Plath’s suicide in London in 1963, Hughes continued to live at Court Green, until his own death in 1998, dividing his time between there and a home in Lumb Bank, North Yorkshire.

His funeral service was held at North Tawton Parish Church.?Among the highlights of the sale are:

• Sylvia Plath’s copy of the "uncorrected proof" of "The Bell Jar", with her manuscript corrections, inscribed "Sylvia Plath/Court Green/North Tawton/Devonshire" on the first page, estimated at £50,000 to £70,000.  Plath has made approximately 70 textual corrections to this copy, including spellings and the addition of words. She signed the book with the address of her Devon home, where she worked on the proofs prior to her final break with Hughes.

• Sylvia Plath’s final typewriter - "Hermes 3000" estimated at £40,000 to £60,000.  It was purchased by Plath in Boston in 1959, and used by her to write "The Bell Jar" in spring-summer 1961 when she was living at Court Green.

• Plath’s writing desk from Court Green, estimated at £4,000 to £6,000.

• A child’s nursey elbow chair with hand-painted decorations by Sylvia Plath at Court Green. This chair was used by both Frieda Hughes and her brother Nicholas. Estimate £3,000 to £5,000.

• Plath’s copy of the "Book of Common Prayer", inscribed "Sylvia Hughes, Court Green 1961". Estimated at £2,000 to £3,000.?The sale also includes:

• Sylvia Plath’s own copy of "The Bell Jar", her only novel, published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in January 1963, two months before her death. It is inscribed and dated "Sylvia Plath/23 Fitzroy Road/London NW1/Christmas 1962" and is estimated at £60,000-80,000. Plath and her two children, Frieda and Nicholas, had moved to London from the family home in Devon following her split from her husband, Ted Hughes.

• An important pen and ink portrait of Ted Hughes by Sylvia Plath, drawn shortly after their marriage in July 1956, probably during their honeymoon. In October 1956, Plath wrote to her mother about the sketches saying, "every drawing has in my mind and heart a beautiful association of our sitting together in the hot sun, Ted reading, writing poems, or just talking with me... the sketches are very important to me...". The portrait is estimated at £20,000 to £30,000.

• The dedication copy of Hughes’ first book of poetry, "The Hawk in The Rain" (1957) inscribed to Plath - "Written [To Sylvia, printed] and now presented to her with all my love." Plath was instrumental in the genesis of the book, and launching of Hughes’ career. In a letter to her mother Plath wrote: "I am more happy than if it was my book published! I have worked so closely on these poems of Ted’s and typed them so many countless times through revision after revision that I feel ecstatic about it all." It is estimated at £10,000 to £15,000.

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was an American poet and novelist.  Educated in Boston and at the University of Cambridge, she married British poet Ted Hughes in 1956.

Best known for her published poetry collections "Ariel and The Colossus and other Poems", and her novel "The Bell Jar", her confessional style of writing has proved enduringly influential.  Sylvia Plath committed suicide in 1963, having suffered from clinical depression for most of her adult life.

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was a British poet and children’s writer. Born and raised in Yorkshire, much of his early poetry reflects the landscape and dialect of his upbringing.  His later work fused concerns for nature and the environment with explorations of myth and the British bardic traditions.  Among his best known works are, "The Hawk in the Rain" (1957), "Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow" (1970), and "Birthday Letters" (1998). He was married to Sylvia Plath from 1956 to 1963, though the marriage had broken down by the time of her death. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984.