Martha Gellhorn: Quotes from a Courageous Woman

A legendary journalist and writer worth remembering

Are you in the mood for some gutsy quotes? In today’s edition of Literary Ladies Lite (perhaps a bit less “lite” than the usual Sunday edition), you’ll find plenty of courage, wisdom, witticism, and bit of cynicism.

Martha Gellhorn (1908 – 1998) was best known as an American war correspondent, though she was a prolific writer of fiction and memoir as well. She’s ranked among the top war journalists of the twentieth century.

Gellhorn was the third wife of iconic American author Ernest Hemingway but didn’t wish to be merely remembered as the third of his four wives. Famously, she lamented, “Why should I be a footnote to somebody else’s life?”

Indeed, she was enormously accomplished in her own right, having covered nearly every global conflict spanning the twentieth century.

Learn more about Martha Gellhorn

Is Martha Gellhorn’s courageous, adventurous life as well-remembered as it should be? I’d argue that it’s not. Here are a few highlights as an introduction to those who are unfamiliar with her.