Beautiful Exiles by author Meg Waite Clayton is about Martha Gellhorn a writer and later a war correspondent for Collier's. Some may think her prestige in life was as the third wife of Ernest Hemmingway, but I applaud her ability to separate herself from Hemmingway and pursue her own ambitions. Martha had lived at the White House for a short while as a courtesy of Eleanor Roosevelt. I can only imagine the courageous spirit she exhibited as she would leave everything she loved to be in the middle of war zones, give money and cigarettes to many young soldiers, hold the hands of the dying, and then bring those stories to life. She was serious about wanting the world to know the truth of Hitler and Mussolini amid the suffering this war was causing to sweep across Europe.
The reader will experience much of the idyllic and the tumultuous events of Martha's life with the often difficult Hemmingway. Their lives in the Cuban farm home Martha tried to restore and she loved was mostly peaceful. As Martha refused to take a backseat and be the compliant wife, Hemmingway was resentful and tried to make her feel less successful. Martha Gellhorn was a strong woman during a time when it was not convenient or acceptable in polite society to travel as she did to learn the truth of world events of her time.
Publication Date: August 1, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
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Art Images by Diane Lochala-All Rights Reserved
"Beauty in Small Wonders"
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