Laura Lamont’s Life In Pictures by Emma Straub

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What attracts people to fame? Narcissism? Feelings of inadequacy? A need to be loved?

For Laura Lamont, it’s all these things; but it wasn’t always.

Laura Lamont the movie star begins life as Elsa Emerson, a young girl growing up in Door County, Wisconsin, in the 1920s and 30s. Her parents run a theatre in a converted barn on their land, and for the summer months actors and stage crew stay with the family in various cabins and outbuildings, putting on plays every night. Elsa dreams of being on the stage, of being part of the excitement and the spectacle.

Picador hardback cover. Image: bookoxygen.com

Picador hardback cover. Image: bookoxygen.com

She is the youngest of three sisters – there is stoic, mysterious Josephine, and dramatic, beautiful Hildy. Everyone loves Hildy, and everyone says she should be the one on stage, but she shows little interest. Elsa cannot imagine not wanting to be on stage, with everyone cheering for her. One summer when Elsa is nine, Hildy gets involved with one of the actors, Cliff. The results of that affair will change Elsa’s life forever.

In her late teens Elsa marries a visiting actor, Gordon Pitts, and they move to Hollywood together – young love and young dreams. At a party for a film in which Gordon has a bit part (though he acts like the star), a heavily pregnant Elsa is ‘spotted’ by Irving Green, one of the studio heads. He renames her Laura Lamont and tells her to come and see him after the baby is born and she’s lost thirty pounds, and he’ll make her a star. Again, her life is changed forever.

This point is also where the novel changes forever.

The opening section in Wisconsin is very charming and vivid, with excellent characterisations of Elsa, her family, and the actors. There is also a great sense of place and environment, and the influence the life in the theatre has on young Elsa – it is only natural that she should dream of being a part of the plays, of performing and gaining recognition for her talents. Her relationship with her ‘perfect’ older sister Hildy is also brilliantly drawn, with Elsa idolising the teenager and wondering how she could ever be unhappy. What happens to Hildy has a such an effect on Elsa that it stays with her for the rest of her life. She is sill young and naive, but altogether likeable and seems to have great potential for development as a character. You want her to succeed.

In Hollywood, nothing is as Elsa expected. She did not expect to get pregnant so early on, or be singled out at a party by a studio head. She is overwhelmed and doesn’t seem to have time (or the impulse) to make any major decisions for herself. She is swept along by life, and still unsure of herself. Motherhood and marriage do not give her a sense of identity, and so she looks for this in her acting career.

Alas, she does not find it. Elsa/Laura is desperate for the attention, affection and admiration that Hildy always had and that she felt she did not. She constantly tells herself that it should be Hildy in Hollywood becoming a star and has constant feelings of inadequacy, as of the world wanted Hildy and they got stuck with her instead. Most of this stems from her idolisation of Hildy, but also their mother’s lack of maternal instincts and her outright disapproval of the life her youngest daughter has chosen.

Throughout Laura Lamont’s Life In Pictures, I found Laura to be a very passive character. Everything happens to her, and she is not very proactive on her own. When she is acting in a film, she is told exactly what to say and do and how to be, but in her own life she is completely lost. She and Gordon divorce soon after her rebirth as Laura, and she is charged with looking after their two young daughters – but her housekeeper and nanny Harriet does most of that. So Laura reads her scripts, meets with important people, and acts in her films. In no way does she take control over her own life.

From Laura’s early days as a movie star, there is a parallel between her and another actress at her studio, Ginger. Ginger and Laura start out together, but Ginger’s career is entirely different to Laura’s. She acts in movies but later moves into television, and always plays comedic roles. She is incredibly successful and even moves her way up in the studio, influencing the movies that are made. She succeeds ahead of Laura because she takes charge of her life and makes decisions for herself; she is also very ambitious, something that Laura never seems to be. She wants to act, but her life as a movie star is one that was handed to her, and she never seems to dream of stardom. She simply becomes depressed that she hasn’t achieved it, while making no considerable effort to do so.

Later in her life she resorts to reflecting on what she sees as failures in her life, but that she has made no effort to achieve. For instance she constantly regrets not taking her children to Wisconsin more often, but never makes any plans and or does anything to make this happen. She just seems to like moaning.

Emma Straub. Image: picador.com

Emma Straub. Image: picador.com

As her career dwindles and the children need her less, Laura begins incessantly writing letters to her mother, who never responds. Over the years, Laura’s parents came once to Hollywood to go with her to the Oscars, and she visits Wisconsin with her family once too. On both occasions, her mother is sour and cold, disapproving of Laura and the life she has chosen. After the visit to Wisconsin, Laura’s mother writes her a particularly cruel letter in which she requests less and less contact, as they have so little in common. It devastates Laura, but she continues to write; again her need for attention and love dictates her actions. You feel sorry for her as her mother is very unkind, but at the same time you wish that Laura would do something for herself and stop seeking attention and validation from someone who will never provide it.

I loved the opening section of Laura Lamont’s Life In Pictures, about Elsa’s childhood in Wisconsin; but once she gets to Hollywood, things go downhill not only for Laura but also for the reader. While Emma Straub’s writing is consistently fluid, considered and elegant, her storytelling meanders and gets muddled in Laura’s emotions and thoughts of self-pity. Laura spends too much time thinking about the past and what could have been, and doesn’t seem to learn much. This is why I found the ending unsatisfying – while Laura fulfils a childhood ambition, she doesn’t really resolve any of her issues or move on from Hollywood as I thought she might. She idealises her childhood and after her career starts to wane she wastes years and years wallowing in self-pity and moping around the house drugged up on barbiturates. I wanted to shake her and shock her into doing something for herself instead of waiting for someone to save her; which in the end is what happens – and so she learns nothing at all.

There are a lot of good things about this novel, and I liked so many aspects of it (the writing, the supporting characters, and life in Wisconsin), but its negatives are too great for it to become brilliant.

*

Published by Picador in the UK and Riverhead Books in the US, in 2012. My copy was kindly provided by Picador for review.

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What Are The Main Differences Between Magazine and Book Publishing?

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This is a guest post from How2Become, one of the UK’s leading careers information and development websites. They help teach people how to write CVs, fill in job applications and do well in interviews, and aim to help prepare people for any form of career selection process. I’m currently on the jobhunt and find services like theirs incredibly useful. This blog post from their founder, Richard McMunn, highlights the differences between book and magazine publishing, and may help you decide which is the right choice for you. Knowledge is power after all!

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What are the Main Differences between Magazine and Book Publishing?

Books and magazines are essentially different products and so there are many differences between them, in the way they are authored, the content and format, as well as in the way they are published. Books are generally from single authors, or in the case of a collection from multiple authors contributing pieces. Magazines generally consist of content from multiple authors, all centred on a particular theme or topic.

Although this can vary from product to product, magazines generally contain a mix of images and text, as well as features in different formats. When it comes to books, they may contain pictures depending on the type of book – but generally tend to contain more text. Adult fiction and non-fiction for instance tends to contains lots of text and few pictures, if any. Magazines for adults on the other hand often contain lots of pictures.

Let’s look at the main differences in publishing for books and magazines. This involves looking at how revenue is mainly generated for both these products, and the different considerations publishers have to take into account for books and magazines.

Magazines are generally published by regular volumes. This may be weekly, monthly, bi monthly, quarterly, or even annually. So as opposed to books, magazines usually have tight schedules and deadlines to meet. There are many factors to co-ordinate including content production, editing, design and layout of the magazine, advertising and finally distribution. All these steps must be accomplished in a relatively short period of time, and so a magazine publishing house is usually a very busy place.

A book on the other hand involves a longer interaction between the editor and author. The author works with the publisher until they get a satisfactory draft. The content can then be published, and the book promoted in order for value to be generated. A book must be promoted in order to generate revenue.

In case of magazines, advertising must first generate revenue in order for the content to be published! Hence, in magazines, advertising is the basis of the publication running. This is also true for most online magazines, which also run on the basis of advertising. In the case of most leading magazines, the scene is dominated by a few big publishing houses. On the other hand, book publishing has a mix of big publishing houses and smaller, more independent publishing houses. As with magazines, distribution and promotion is an important issue and one that is handled by a few large companies.

The world of publishing is undergoing slow but steady change thanks to the shift to digital publishing. Reading a book no longer necessarily means holding a paper copy and reading from it. There are numerous devices and platforms that support digital versions of books and magazines and so digital publishing is becoming more and more popular today. Most leading magazines already have a strong online presence with stable backing from advertisers. Books too are beginning to make the shift to online publishing.

Thanks to publishing platforms being readily available online, anyone today can become an independent publisher and publish their book online. However, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd in a saturated environment, and so it becomes all the more important to be noticed and seen by a wide audience. Promotion and strong distribution therefore becomes even more significant in digital book publishing.

Richard McMunn is the director and founder of How2become.com and the author of this article. Richard spent 17 years in the Fire Service and now provides insider recruitment training for those looking to join the fire service, police service and also the armed forces. You can also connect with How2become on Twitter

Midnight in St. Petersburg by Vanora Bennett

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At university I signed up for a course called Demonic Literature, and started doing some of the reading in the summer holidays. When term began, we were told the course had been cancelled – cue mass anger from English Lit students (i.e. ineffectual grumbling). I had already read and annotated over half of Dostoyevsky’s Demons for the course and loved it – but I was so annoyed and disappointed at the course being cancelled, and had so much new reading to do that I gave up on Demons and read other stuff. Boo. But my interest in the history of Russia remained, and I have kept an eye out for a book to pique that interest.

Enter Midnight in St. Petersburg.

2013 trade paperback cover. Image: randomhouse.co.uk

2013 trade paperback cover. Image: randomhouse.co.uk

This is a totally different book to Demons, don’t get me wrong. This is not crazy complicated and intense 19th century Russian literature, and there are no demonic metaphors, but it does share the themes of revolution and public disillusionment with both the ruling classes and government. While the ordinary people hate the government and the Emperor, there are also tensions within the communities of revolutionaries, with different groups insisting on their ideas being right and craving power for themselves.

But let’s go back to the beginning. Inna, a Jewish orphan, “has fled the pogroms of the south to take refuge with distant relatives” in St. Petersburg, travelling on a stolen passport (quote from the blurb). She meets a peasant priest on the train, and he guides her to her new address, promising to help her if she ever needs papers. She reaches her new home and the door is opened by the cousin she has never met, Yasha, who has no idea who she is or why she is on his doorstep. He lives with the Leman family, violin makers and kind people that accept Inna and employ her in their workshop, training her to craft violins.

Anxious about being found with false papers, Inna goes to visit the priest she met on the train, Father Grigory. At his house she meets a group of his devout followers, as well as a few curious observers – who include Prince Felix Youssoupoff (also spelt as Yusupov) and his English friend Horace Wallick, an artist at Faberge. Horace takes a shine to Inna and soon comes to visit her at the Lemans’, and they become friends. Meanwhile an attraction has been brewing between Inna and the young revolutionary Yasha; and Horace’s feelings for Inna grow every time he sees her. As the First World War approaches and Inna’s position becomes increasingly precarious, she must choose between Yasha and Horace.

Midnight in St. Petersburg is a very rich, intelligent text with great depth. The sheer length of the book – which I thought was a little excessive – is filled mostly with the political side of the story, as St. Petersburg becomes increasingly dangerous for Inna, Yasha, and Horace. Specific details of the political unrest are not really examined beyond the fact that the people have little money and are fed up with the government and the Tsar. Yasha disappears into the night to meet with fellow revolutionaries, and he gets himself into trouble when he takes too many risks; Inna tries to find solace in Father Grigory but quickly loses faith as his reputation changes and the country comes to know him as Rasputin; and as Russia unravels a classic love triangle develops.

So you sort of get a blend of revolutionary/political thriller and classic love story tropes with this novel. Bennett’s writing flows and engages, and is beautiful without detracting from the action. At times I found the pace a little slow, and as mentioned I think the novel as a whole was longer than it really needed to be, and I think the conclusion was a bit drawn out. The political undercurrent creates  a feeling of tension throughout the book, and as in Demons causes both the reader and the characters to question not only who they can really trust but also what it means to be free. Late in the novel Yasha talks with Inna about the futile nature of revolution – once one leader is out, another always comes in and the people are “slaves” again. But there are no grand political allusions here – this is more a simple story of disillusioned people trying to find a place for themselves in the world.

Author Vanora Bennett lived in Russia for some years, and on her return to England discovered that her great-grandmother’s brother had worked for Faberge and lived in St. Petersburg in the early 20th century, leaving as war broke out to return to the safety of home. This man was Horace Wallick, and he was the inspiration for Midnight in St. Petersburg. Bennett states in her Afterword that she loved her new connection to Russia and the city she loved, and wanted to explore her great-great-uncle’s life and consider what his time in Russia could have been like. Of course the novel is entirely fictional, but its grounding in reality (of both Horace and the political upheavals) gives it extra depth.

Vanora Bennett. Image: guardian.co.uk

Vanora Bennett. Image: guardian.co.uk

As the novel progresses the story still moves around the unstable nature of St. Petersburg and the need for safety, but the drive within the narrative comes from Inna’s complicated feelings for both Yasha and Horace. Her search for happiness is the real story here, with quests for safety and love being part of a larger whole. I also rather enjoyed the side notes about the individual members of the Leman family, particularly Mrs Leman, and how their story (/stories) play (s) out alongside Inna’s. While she is ‘exotic’ they are ‘everyday’, just trying to get on with their lives and run their business; they think about home and family, while she thinks about great love and her own emotional life.

I really enjoyed Midnight in St. Petersburg, but I didn’t quite love it. I found it overly long and the ending not quite in tune with the rest of the story; but I loved the characters and the sense of place, as well as the interplay of sociopolitical struggle and the intense emotions of the love triangle. Bennett has written previous historical novels as well as non-fiction books, which I might explore when I’ve worked through my current (huge) TBR. Anyone who loves historical fiction would definitely enjoy Midnight in St. Petersburg.

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Midnight in St. Petersburg was published in April 2013 by Century, an imprint of Random House UK. My copy was kindly provided by the publisher for review.

Vanora has written a great blog post here about her long lost relative, Horace Wallick.

The Desmond Elliott Prize for Debut Fiction 2013

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This is the first year that I’ve followed the Desmond Elliott Prize for debut fiction, and I’m excited about it already. The longlist of ten debut novels (all have to be written in English and published in the UK) was announced on 25th April, and the shortlist will be announced on 23rd May. The winner will be awarded the £10,000 prize at Fortnum & Mason on 27th June.

The Prize was launched in 2007 in memory of publisher and literary agent Desmond Elliott, who died in 2003. The judges look for “a novel which has a compelling narrative, arresting character, and which is both vividly written and confidently realised.” (Quote from desmondelliottprize.org)

I really like this idea, or aim, and though there are a lot of literary prizes out there, I like that this one has quite a ‘pure’ aim behind it, in that it celebrates the qualities that make a novel officially ‘good’, and that it can help to launch the careers of first-time novelists that really deserve recognition. Reading through the longlist it also seems that the titles chosen are a good mix of ‘buzzy’ popular titles and slightly under-the-radar books that need a little more exposure. To me it looks like a healthy mix of genres too, with no one type of novel being particularly favoured.

Of course this year everyone has picked up on the fact that the majority of the longlist is made up of books written by women. The Prize’s website identifies this as a trend, with three of the five previous winners having been women. Personally I think this is totally irrelevant – there is more then enough comment in the media about the proportions of men and women achieving or doing this or that, and for a literary prize that celebrates pure talent and merit, I think gender should be ignored. The novels are what matters, and they should to an extent speak for themselves. To me the background, experiences, talents and techniques of the authors is much more interesting than whether they are a man or a woman.

Let’s have a look at the lovely covers of the long list: (all images from desmondelliottprize.org)

MarlowePapers_hb.indd the_universe_versus_alex_woods the_panopticon the_palace_of_curiosities petite_mort the_fields signs_of_life seldom_seen jammy_dodger the_painted_bridge

While I cannot critique each book on the list individually I feel this is a strong selection of titles. I love the variety and feel I could get along well with most of the novels, though some more than other obviously! I will hopefully be attending the Desmond Elliott event at Foyles on 30th May, at which authors from the Prize’s history will be reading from their work and discussing the 2013 Prize, as well as what inspires them to write. The event will be chaired by Robert Collins, deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times, and tickets as well as more information about the event are available here.

What do you think of the longlist? Have you read any of the titles? Comments welcome!

2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction Shortlist Announced!

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So here it is! The shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013. I had no idea how many would be chosen when I made my predictions, and luckily all those on the shortlist are ones I predicted would be! But like I said, I chose a very wide range of possible titles. Still quite pleased.

The titles on the shortlist are (all images from womenspriceforfiction.co.uk):

245533_Book_Scans_S12-378x584 Flight-Behaviour-378x568 life-after-life May-We-Be-Forgiven-378x578 245533_Book_Scans_S18-378x590 Whered-You-Go-Bernadette-378x576

Huge congratulations to all the authors, as well as their publishers! All the titles chosen have really impressed everyone who has read and reviewed them (I’ve got my eye on Where’d You Go Bernadette) and I reckon they are all worthy choices.

Personally I think Hilary Mantel and Zadie Smith have a very good chance, but they are a bit ‘safe’ as they are already very successful. Everyone has been going nuts over Life After Life, so realistically I think that has a very high chance of winning.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday 5th June at a special awards party in London – I’m very excited to hear the winner’s name. Who do you think it will be?

The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain

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The President’s Hat is a charming little novel that really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon, and I am glad Gallic Books sent it to me. Set in 1986, the novel tells the story of a hat that belongs to French President Francois Mitterand; Daniel is sitting in a Paris bistro when the President comes in to have dinner with some colleagues. Amazed and overwhelmed by the man dining next to him, Daniel stays as long as the President, wishing he could join his table. After the President leaves, Daniel realises that he has left his hat behind.

Gallic Books 2013 edition. Image: amazon.fr

Gallic Books 2013 edition. Image: amazon.fr

He picks up the black felt hat, unable to believe that this is that hat of the First Frenchman. Drawn to it and unwilling to lose the feeling of excitement the evening has brought him, Daniel impetuously takes the hat. And, for reasons unknown, his whole life seems to change. He gains unprecedented confidence at work and astounds his colleagues, earning a promotion. As he relocates with his family for his new job, Daniel forgets the hat on a train outside Paris. And so begins the journey of a simple black hat belonging to President Mitterand. It travels around France and even to Venice, each of its owners completely unaware of its owner and how it came to them, but each knowing (except one!) that it makes them feel strangely different and seems to have a magical effect on their lives, changing them forever.

I really liked The President’s Hat and read it in one sitting, and was buoyed up afterwards. With each character, different philosophical and political issues are discussed – Daniel is given a chance he never imagined and dreams of greater happiness; Fanny also searches for happiness in love and business; Pierre considers his past success and current depression and disillusionment; and Bernard reconsiders his entire political belief system and changes almost everything in his life. There is also plenty of discussion of the randomness of our lives and the multiple possible routes that our lives can take, and how apparently small events can make big differences. The unknown nature of the future and the possibility of change are central themes to this novel, as well as the importance of taking chances and going with your heart.

Antoine Laurain. Image: lefigaro.fr

Antoine Laurain. Image: lefigaro.fr

There is also the question of the power of power itself – does the power of the President transfer to each wearer of his hat? Does association with power make us feel more powerful, more in control of our own lives? This book certainly suggests that this is true. Mitterand was an extremely influential and often divisive figure in French and European politics, and one wonders why Laurain chose him as the owner of the hat. Mitterand as hat-owner places the story in the 1980s, and this brings up issues of wealth and economic climate, and its effect on people’s lives. In this sweet little book Laurain manages to sneak in some much more complex issues.

The style is quite light and flows nicely, creating a whimsical and very enjoyable atmosphere. Interestingly three different translators were used – one for Daniel, one for Fanny and Bernard, and one for Pierre. There are no stark differences between the styles of the three translators (or at least none obvious enough for me to pick up on), but I like the idea of using different translators for different characters. Experienced translators will hopefully appreciate the different nuances of each section, and it gives the characters more depth.

This is a great little book that I really recommend – get it!

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The President’s Hat was originally published in French as Le Chapeau de Mitterand by Flammarion in 2012, and in English by Gallic Books in 2013.

Travels With Myself and Another: Five Journeys From Hell by Martha Gellhorn

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I was walking down Long Acre with my boyfriend; we wandered into Stanford’s to ogle maps and travel books. After having a wander we came to the books table back near the entrance. I was attracted to the dated-in-a-good-way cover of Travels With Myself and Another (from Eland), not only because of the layout and title but also because of the incredible photo of the author. Martha Gellhorn, in black and white, turning back to the camera with a frown and windswept hair, holding a gun and wearing what appears to be tweed in a field of long grass. She looked bloody amazing and I wanted to know more.

Eland cover, 2002. Image: betterworldbooks.com

Eland cover, 2002. Image: betterworldbooks.com

The opening paragraph of chapter one also enticed me:

I was seized by the idea of this book while sitting on a rotten little beach at the western tip of Crete, flanked by a waterlogged shoe and a rusted potty. Around me, the litter of our species. I had the depressed feeling that I spent my life doing this sort of thing and might well end my days here. This is the traveller’s deep dark night of the soul and can happen anywhere at any hour.

Gellhorn writes with a very likeable sense of dark humour and a healthy ‘buck up’ attitude that keeps her going through her worst trials of unbearable weather, transportation, lodgings, illness… and the rest. When having to deal with a useless guide, driving around Kenya and Uganda, she repeatedly tell him to buck up, as she wrangles with the Land Rover (he was meant to drive but refused to do so) and takes charge of the trip. Suffice to say I think she’s pretty awesome.

Martha Gellhorn had what I would call a remarkable life. Born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1908, she dropped out of university (in 1928) to forge a successful career in journalism. She wrote for a host of American publications as a foreign correspondent, and reported on the rise of Hitler as well as the Spanish Civil War, which she covered with her later husband, Ernest Hemingway. They were married for the duration of the Second World War, during which Gellhorn threw herself into the action. I was amazed to read in her author profile in my copy of Travels that “after Hemingway stole her accreditation, she stowed away on a hospital ship on 7th June 1944 and went ashore during the Normandy invasion to help collect wounded men” – according to Wikipedia she posed as a stretcher-bearer so that she could follow “the war wherever [she] could reach it.” No mean feat. She was also one of the first journalists to report on the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, from the scene.

Her five Journeys From Hell are truly spectacular. In 1941 she travelled to China to document the Sino-Japanese war and the effects of WW2 on China. This section of the book is the most blackly comic as Gellhorn describes the appalling places they have to stay and the incredibly dangerous flights in small aircrafts, and the men who fly them. She travelled with an “Unwilling Companion, hereinafter referred to as UC”, who I soon realised was Hemingway. They had been married a few months before and this trip was in effect their honeymoon. Their compared experiences of the trip create much of the humour, as he is happy to drink, smoke, and chat with locals, while she is trying to get material for her article and remember important details, as well as deal with guides and officials that barely speak English. The fantastic quote on the back cover perfectly embodies Gellhorn’s feelings on this trip:

The door [of their accommodation for the night] opened onto the street and the smell thereof. The mosquitoes were competing with the flies and losing… I lay on the boards, a foot off the floor, and said in the darkness, ‘I wish to die.’

Gellhorn and Hemingway meeting officials, China, 1941. Image: wikipedia.org

Gellhorn and Hemingway meeting officials, China, 1941. Image: wikipedia.org

I admired Gellhorn throughout the book, and particularly in the long section detailing her travels, this time recreational, in Africa, in 1962. In the penultimate year of her second marriage, Gellhorn took herself off to Africa to try and discover the real place hidden behind news reports. In both West and East Africa she meets a huge cast of diverse characters, including many “whites” who have lived in Africa for varying lengths of time. She found that even those who had lived there for more than a decade (including one married to an African and with mixed race children) still claimed to not at all understand the “blacks” and declared them to be “lower” in several ways than themselves. While Gellhorn herself finds many cultural and social differences between herself and the African people, she is not outright racist towards them and seems to be made uncomfortable by those who express such views. More than once she wonders if so-called “white civilisation” is any better than half-naked tribes in mud huts. She concludes the African people would most likely be better off if they were left to live without the influence of Europeans and Americans. That said, she views many of the African communities she visits to have gone largely unchanged in hundreds of years and does not credit them to have invented on their own, over time, any of the “white” modern inventions that colonialism has brought them, such as electricity and cars. I wasn’t sure what to make of this – but concluded that in general Gellhorn had a better attitude towards the African people than most other white people she meets, and at least respected their ways of doing things.

Travels With Myself and Another also covers “horror journeys” to the Caribbean during WW2, as well as Russia and Israel in later years, and Bali in March 1946 for the surrender of the Japanese troops stationed there – each fruitful in their own ways and described with lashings of sardonic Gellhorn humour and world-weariness. I liked Martha Gellhorn immensely throughout the course of this travel book/travelogue – whatever it may be defined as – and have decided to explore more of her writing, both fiction (five novels, fourteen novellas and two collections of short stories) as well as anthologies of her journalism. Her author bio in this book ends with:

She was a woman of strong opinions and incredible energy. Though she turned down reporting on the Bosnian war in her 80s, saying she wasn’t nimble enough, she flew to Brazil at the age of eighty-seven to research and write an article about the murder of street children. Touch-typing although she could barely see, she was driven by a compassion for the powerless and a curiosity undimmed by age.

What a woman.

*

Travels With Myself and Another was originally published by Allen Lane in 1978, by Eland in 1982, and reprinted (also by Eland) in 2002 and 2007.