A TALE OF THREE CITIES

TWO WRITERS PUT A LITERARY SPIN ON THEIR UK TOUR BY FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR IDOLS—SYLVIA PLATH, J.K. ROWLING, JANE AUSTEN, AND MORE

- SUMEET KESWANI

AS I WALK DOWN CHALCOT Road, flanked by the colourful townhouses of Primrose Hill, my heart is in rapture. Somewhere on this lane is my destination. A place I've seen so often in photographs that it has seeped into my dreams. Yet, I cannot pick it out of the lineup. Is it supposed to be the "substanceless blue" of a dawn sky? Or the "too red" of tulips? I forget. I fret. I fail to consider the possibility of repaint. A lively garden sprouts on the right. Facing it is a slate-blue three-storey house with a violently magenta door. It is unremarkable on this rainbow street, except for a ceramic blue plaque that whispers, "Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) Poet lived here (1960-1961)."

The English Heritage plaque adorns the facade of 3, Chalcot Square. This townhouse's top-floor apartment was the residence of Plath and her husband, Ted Hughes, from January 1961 to August 1962. Plath was prolific in this period, writing her only novel, "The Bell Jar," and publishing her first poetry book, "The Colossus." The house stands in stark contrast to another address nearby-23, Fitzroy Roadwhere Plath ended her life in February 1963.

She was drawn there by another blue plaque, which bears the name of W.B. Yeats (18651939). I will visit Yeats's house too, but its darkness will obscure its details from memory.

Visiting Plath's home may be my personal pilgrimage, but it is part of a bigger journey. My wife and I have embarked on a tour of three UK cities—London, Edinburgh, and Bath. Timed to blunt the sting of my 35th birthday, the trip also marks a rebirth—for me, a leap of faith from a full-time job to a pursuit of literary dreams; for her, the conception of a children's book. Naturally, we seek fonts of inspiration.