Janet Somerville on Martha Gellhorn

Join us as we welcome Janet Somerville, author of Yours, for Probably Always, for a fascinating discussion about Martha Gellhorn.

Gellhorn is most often remembered and depicted as Ernest Hemingway's third wife, but she was also a novelist, war correspondent, activist, and iconoclast. Somerville guides us through the life of this trailblazer: her childhood in St. Louis, a close relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, that notorious first encounter with Hemingway in a Key West bar, her tumultuous life during and after her marriage to Hemingway, and her formidable writing career. 

Listen for clips from the audio book of Yours, for Probably Always, with readings performed by Emmy and Tony-winning actress Ellen Barkin.  

So pull up a chair at Sloppy Joe's and enjoy the show! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction (with Ellen Barkin reading a letter from Gellhorn)
• 2:58 Writing about Martha Gellhorn
• 7:46 Gellhorn's childhood in St. Louis
• 11:04 Gellhorn as a writer
• 18:24 The beginning of Gellhorn's relationship with Hemingway
• 28:26 And the years before their marriage
• 32:08 From doting letters to the breaking point
• 41:35 Ellen Barkin reads a letter from Gellhorn to Hemingway
• 43:47 Gellhorn, Hemingway, and the Roosevelts
• 49:38 Gellhorn's legacy