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December 20, 2007 10:08 AM

THURSDAY TRAILBLAZER: Martha Gellhorn

Martha Gellhorn is considered to be one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century.

Born in 1908, Gellhorn was ahead of her time. While women's rights were being fought, and the idea of a female journalist - let alone a female war reporter - was unusual to say the least, Gellhorn forged an admirable career that spans sixty-years.

In addition to extensive journalism, Gellhorn published novels,novellas, short stories, and collections of her travel writing.

She was the third wife of Ernest Hemingway, although when Hemingway sent her a telegram: 'Are you a war correspondent or my wife in bed?' She cut the ties between them and carried on with her adventures.

Aged 81, Gellhorn travelled to Panama to write about the US invasion. Aged 89, suffering from cancer and almost blind, Martha commited suicide with poison. In death, as in life, she commanded things on her own terms.

For more on Gellhorn's extraordinary life, I recommend Caroline Moorehead's marvellous biography.

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Posted by Sarah Painter on December 20, 2007 in American Authors, Thursday Trailblazer | Permalink

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