Martha Gellhorn: Myth, Motif and Remembrance

Martha Gellhorn remains one of the most fascinating characters of the 20th century. As a journalist, she crossed oceans and continents to get to the story. She braved war fronts, and challenged and broke the boundaries set for women journalist. From Madrid to Nuremberg, she produced some of the finest documentary journalism of the century. Her war dispatches from the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II are unmatched in their accuracy, consistency and poignancy. This study is a fresh take on the Gellhorn legacy and a look at the basic values, themes and motifs which permeated all of her writing. Gellhorn's life and work are examined in terms of the way she was remembered by her contemporaries and the way she is viewed today in popular culture and her legacy. This is all presented without hype or hyperbole. The book moves chronologically through Gellhorn's career. Her efforts as a novelist and writer of fiction are examined, but the primary focus of this work is on Gellhorn as a writer of non-fiction. There is a strong focus on her early journalistic experiences and her work with the Federal Emergency Relief Agency (FERA) and their influence on her development as a writer. This biography further explores Gellhorn's maturation process and her emergence as one of the preeminent war correspondents of the century. While there is no way to ignore her connection to Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn clearly emerges from his shadow in this work. Martha Gellhorn: Myth, Motif and Remembrance is a fresh new look at the legacy of Gellhorn. If there is one book to read to understand the importance of Gellhorn, it is Martha Gellhorn: Myth, Motif and Remembrance.