Lillian Hellman (1905–1984)
Author of Pentimento
About the Author
Playwright Lillian Hellman was born in New Orleans on June 20, in 1905. After studying at New York and Columbia Universities, Hellman worked in publishing and as a book reviewer and play-reader. In 1934, Hellman had her first success as a playwright with The Children's Hour. In the play, Hellman show more mixed social, political, and moral issues along with more personal ones. Among some of Hellman's other successful plays are The Little Foxes, Watch on the Rhine, The Searching Wind, and Toys in the Attic. Hellman was also a screenwriter who wrote many film scripts and adapted the works of other authors for film and the stage. Hellman's memoirs include An Unfinished Woman and Pentimento. For more than 30 years Hellman had a relationship with "hard-boiled" detective writer Dashiell Hammett. She lived with him until his death in 1961, and shared his commitment to radical political causes. Hellman's appearance before Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952 resulted in her being blacklisted in Hollywood. Her book, Scoundrel Time, explores her experiences during the McCarthy era. Nearly blind and confined to a wheelchair, Lillian Hellman died of cardiac arrest in 1984. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Lillian Hellman uncredited foto by Nutrias
Series
Works by Lillian Hellman
The Little Foxes & Another Part of the Forest (Penguin plays & screenplays) (1973) 82 copies, 1 review
Pentimento: e Il tempo dei furfanti 12 copies
Three American Plays 3 copies
Plays 2 copies
Four Modern American Plays 2 copies
Hellman, Lillian Archive 1 copy
Skakavci 1 copy
Lillian Hellman Plays 1 copy
Associated Works
The Big Knockover: Selected Stories and Short Novels (1943) — Introduction — 1,047 copies, 16 reviews
This is My Best: American Greatest Living Authors Present and Give Their Reasons Why (1942) — Contributor — 214 copies
Writing Women's Lives: An Anthology of Autobiographical Narratives by Twentieth-Century American Women Writers (1994) — Contributor — 128 copies, 3 reviews
In Her Own Words: Women's Memoirs from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States (1999) — Contributor — 28 copies
Critics' Choice: New York Drama Critics' Circle Prize Plays, 1935-1955 (1980) — Contributor — 26 copies
About Women: An Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, Poetry, and Essays (1973) — Contributor — 25 copies
The Dain Curse / The Thin Man / The Glass Key / Red Harvest / The Maltese Falcon / Selected Stories (1952) — Editor — 15 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Hellman, Lillian
- Legal name
- Hellman, Lillian Florence
- Birthdate
- 1905-06-20
- Date of death
- 1984-06-30
- Gender
- female
- Education
- New York University
Columbia University - Occupations
- playwright
screenwriter
memoirist - Organizations
- League of American Writers
Screen Writers Guild - Awards and honors
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (1962)
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1960)
National Institute of Arts and Letters (1946) - Relationships
- Hammett, Dashiell (partner)
- Short biography
- Lillian Hellman was a popular playwright whose most successful works were created between the 1930s and the 1960s. She also published several bestselling volumes of memoirs. Several of her plays were made into films. Ms. Hellman was equally famous for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, and for her long romantic relationship with Dashiell Hammett.
She also conducted a lengthy feud with writer Mary McCarthy. - Cause of death
- cardiac arrest
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Places of residence
- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
New York, New York, USA
Hollywood, California, USA
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA - Place of death
- Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Lillian Hellman would be kinda overrated were it not for Childrens Hour and The little foxes. For every interesting or provocative thought, there's hyere a ton of symbolic cabbage and sticky milieu to wade through. Unmarried sisters living in New Orleans welcome home their ne'er-do-well brother, who arrives bearing gifts and ill-gotten cash. It's an overheated piece of would be-Gothic melodrama, given a luxurious sheen , and the opening scenes are so confusing that patience and interest are show more both enormously tried. show less
This was a re-read. I knew I liked the book but couldn't remember much about it except that Dashiell Hammett had been persecuted by Joe McCarthy. Now I know why I liked it. It's a gem. It presents numerous people from Hellman's life -- well drawn but with details missing, as they would be in normal life; we never know everything about another person. Hellman doesn't fill in those gaps. She lets us see for ourselves and judge for ourselves. There are hilarious parts (the condoms!) and show more wrenching ones (Julia) and intriguing and fascinating parts. This is a wonderful book. show less
The past haunts the couples and former couples of this small Southern town. Like real life, everyone is unlikable, but unlike real life everyone confronts their self delusions.
The Children's Hour single handedly made me a Lillian Hellman fan. The story is of two women who run a boarding school for girls in the 1930s. When a rumor is spread that the headmistresses are having a lesbian affair, the school changes from being their dream to their nightmare. While the rumor is a lie, Hellman explores the impact of a lie and the ripples that it causes. No one is left unscathed in this beautifully written play. Friendships and relationships are tested when both women go show more to court to defend their honor. However, Hellman saves the worst for last.
This play is nothing short of brilliance. The dialog is realistic, insightful, and telling. The characters are beautifully developed and intriguing. As the rumor spreads and their suffering begins, Hellman makes the reader feel that suffering with them. Hellman does not shy away from the tough questions of how far can a lie really go? where are our true alliances? what trials can be overcome? and at what point does one succumb? These are difficult questions to ask of a modern reader let alone one from the 1930s. Hellman had great foresight in writing this play for it is still relevant over 70 years later. This is a must read for all!!
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com show less
This play is nothing short of brilliance. The dialog is realistic, insightful, and telling. The characters are beautifully developed and intriguing. As the rumor spreads and their suffering begins, Hellman makes the reader feel that suffering with them. Hellman does not shy away from the tough questions of how far can a lie really go? where are our true alliances? what trials can be overcome? and at what point does one succumb? These are difficult questions to ask of a modern reader let alone one from the 1930s. Hellman had great foresight in writing this play for it is still relevant over 70 years later. This is a must read for all!!
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 51
- Also by
- 28
- Members
- 4,359
- Popularity
- #5,754
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 68
- ISBNs
- 158
- Languages
- 9
- Favorited
- 14
