The Correspondents: Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II
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- Create Date：2021-11-09 01:18:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Judith Mackrell
- ISBN：0385547668
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Reviews
Bookreporter。com Biography & Memoir
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In THE CORRESPONDENTS， noted author Judith Mackrell has assembled and intertwined the reporting careers of six intrepid females who wrote their truths and made their mark in the chaos and carnage of World War II。Two of the women highlighted here were already well known --- Lee Miller was a fashion photographer， and Martha Gelhorn was married to widely acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway --- at the war’s early rumblings。 The others --- Virginia Cowles， Clare Hollingworth， Helen Kirkpatrick and Sigr In THE CORRESPONDENTS， noted author Judith Mackrell has assembled and intertwined the reporting careers of six intrepid females who wrote their truths and made their mark in the chaos and carnage of World War II。Two of the women highlighted here were already well known --- Lee Miller was a fashion photographer， and Martha Gelhorn was married to widely acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway --- at the war’s early rumblings。 The others --- Virginia Cowles， Clare Hollingworth， Helen Kirkpatrick and Sigrid Schultz --- were pursuing journalistic careers in the frustrating minor leagues to which women were generally confined in that era。 Each had an instinct for ferreting out relevant information， and all were in danger throughout much of the war years。 Still， they refused to hold back what they knew when they believed the world should know about it。Cowles befriended young Unity Mitford， who was an entertaining friend to Hitler when his plans for war were reaching a boiling point。 Unity confided that Hitler couldn’t stand to be bored， leaving Cowles with the disquieting sense that the fate of the world rested on “the ennui of one man。” Hollingworth’s view of the war began with her presence in Poland during its initial invasion， an experience that toughened her outwardly and increased her inner determination and detachment。 Kirkpatrick covered the early phase of the Battle of Britain， enjoined to present the horrific sights she observed in a positive light to give readers hope and heart。Miller’s writings and photographs captured the human devastation: “the child’s doll， flung onto a pile of rubble， its arms stuck up in a poignant parody of surrender。” Gelhorn visited Bergen-Belsen at the war’s end， hearing stories from women “who had lived with death too long。” Schultz experienced perhaps the most perilous assignments because she had hidden the fact of her Jewishness。 Yet her contacts and language proficiency gave her access to Goebbels， Göring and other high-ups in the Nazi pantheon of power。Mackrell， whose celebrated works on women’s accomplishments include BLOOMSBURY BALLERINA and FLAPPERS， has organized this chronology with scholarly intensity。 She brings every moment to life， serving up the women’s views of world war on all fronts --- from Europe to Africa and Asia， and later Vietnam --- with sizzling realism。 The book concludes with a satisfying epilogue to give readers an enlightening look at the later lives of these six courageous correspondents。Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott 。。。more
Maine Colonial
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I received a digital advance review copy from the publisher， via Netgalley。I’ve read books about women WW2 correspondents before， but this book is an excellent contribution to the subject。 Mackrell tells the stories of six women， including not just their work during the war， but how they came to be journalists and have the determination to do a dangerous job that they were actively discouraged from doing， and what their lives were like after going through the excitement， horror， and grind of the I received a digital advance review copy from the publisher， via Netgalley。I’ve read books about women WW2 correspondents before， but this book is an excellent contribution to the subject。 Mackrell tells the stories of six women， including not just their work during the war， but how they came to be journalists and have the determination to do a dangerous job that they were actively discouraged from doing， and what their lives were like after going through the excitement， horror， and grind of the war years。 The six women are:Martha Gellhorn， too often recognized first as being a wife of Ernest Hemingway， she outmaneuvered him to get herself in the thick of the Normandy invasion， while he “liberated” the Ritz Bar in Paris。Lee Miller， who turned her Vogue career into that of a war photographer and correspondent who took some of the most stunning pictures of the war。Sigrid Schultz， who worked her way up to first female bureau chief， reporting from Berlin， the heart of the war’s darkness。 She invented a male correspondent to avoid getting into hot water with the Nazis， which was particularly important in her case， because her mother was Jewish。Virginia Cowles， a debutante who worked as a women’s issues type of reporter in New York and Boston before leaving for Spain on her own initiative in 1936 to report on the Spanish Civil War。 She reported from all over Europe throughout the prewar and war years。 Clare Hollingworth was actually the first to report the outbreak of WW2， because she was at the Polish border at the time of Germany’s invasion。 She had a long and storied international journalism career and died in Hong Kong in 2017 at age 105。Helen Kirkpatrick， chosen by Eisenhower himself to be the first woman with full war credentials。While many male correspondents trained their focus on military maneuvers and interviewing political and military men， these women didn’t limit themselves that way。 They also paid close attention to civilians and how war and politics affected their lives。 It struck me early on how that focus meant that these women were immediately strongly critical of Chamberlain’s Munich deal with Hitler。 Nearly all correspondents fell into Chamberlain’s characterization of the deal as “peace with honor，” but the women knew that this deal would be a tragedy for the Czechs and would only delay war。 And a couple of them didn’t hesitate to let Chamberlain—and readers—know it。Despite active discouragement， these women put themselves in the same danger as male war reporters—and they often had to fight off unwelcome advances too。 Before the Battle of the Bulge， the Supreme HQ of the Allied Expeditionary Forces （SHAEF）， decided that unlike male correspondents， women shouldn’t be allowed to report from the front。 The men were provided transportation and billets， while the women had to sneak around and make their own arrangements， sometimes by hitching rides with jeeps heading down roads attacked by snipers and air attacks。 They were actually put in more danger by SHAEF’s misplaced solicitude than if they just been credentialed the way their male compatriots were。Some of the stories are already known， but Mackrell’s giving us full context adds interest。 For example， knowing more about Martha Gellhorn’s life and her struggles with her marriage to Hemingway makes it even more satisfying to read about her D-Day landing。 And have you ever seen the famous photo of Lee Miller taking a bath in Hitler’s tub？ It’s fun to read the full story of how that happened。Reading about the postwar lives of these women was illuminating。 Each one suffered from PTSD， especially those who were there when the concentration and death camps were liberated。 Each one struggled with personal relationships。 But they all knew the importance of the work they’d done and never regretted it， despite the personal costs。This is a fascinating， sobering and yet inspiring book。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Six intrepid women cut through convention to report on WWII。 Two of the women， Martha and Virginia， I was familiar with， but not the other four。 I thought the writing was compelling and it kept my interest。 I liked how the author followed through with the rest of，the women’s lives after WWII。 It’s a worthy addition to the growing canon of women’s history and their importance in the media。 Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday books for the advance copy。
Natalie
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****I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley。 This is an honest review。“In the reports they filed， in the memoirs， diaries and letters they kept， Sigrid， Martha， Virginia， Clare， Helen and Lee were not only writing history， at the moment it was being made; they were also writing a version of history that was theirs， a version that was shaped by the realities of being a woman， and was inflected by a female voice。”~I love learning about women in history， and The Correspondents was ****I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley。 This is an honest review。“In the reports they filed， in the memoirs， diaries and letters they kept， Sigrid， Martha， Virginia， Clare， Helen and Lee were not only writing history， at the moment it was being made; they were also writing a version of history that was theirs， a version that was shaped by the realities of being a woman， and was inflected by a female voice。”~I love learning about women in history， and The Correspondents was a fascinating read for sure！ While there certainly were female war correspondents prior to the world wars， there weren’t many。 But during WWII， the sheer scale of the war increased the demand for reporters， and as many as 250 were allowed in the field。 That gain was not without its obstacles; the British war office had strict policies about where they were allowed to go， they were often treated as second fiddle to “real” （male） reporters， and as many of the women in this book did， they often had to carve their own way into the war and employ creative and sometimes risky strategies， even if it meant skirting or even breaking the rules。 The Correspondents follow 6 of these women: Lee Miller， Helen Kirkpatrick， Martha Gellhorn， Sigrid Schultz， and Virginia Cowles。 If you’re not a big nonfiction person， it reads like a story， even the parts giving background information on war events！ Each of the women lived fascinating lives and I enjoyed seeing how each of them approached the war and developed their own writing style—-and often， their ideology and sense of identity as well。 Their stories also intertwine， as they were contemporaries of one another， and chapters will often switch between them， efficiently comparing and contrasting their war， reporting， and personal experiences without being super confusing。 Their stories are woven together expertly， and Mackrell really brings them to life。 The only major flaw to me is that I would have liked to hear more about Sigrid Schultz， a Jewish reporter。 We heard about her more at the beginning of the war， as she witnessed the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Regime in Berlin （and totally bashed him in the press while writing under a secret pseudonym！） but as the book went on she didn’t appear very much。 Overall I enjoyed it a lot， did a lot of annotating， and definitely want a copy when it comes out in the fall！ If you love learning about military/war history， women’s history， or the lives of writers， mark your calendars！ THE CORRESPONDENTS releases Nov。2。 。。。more
Mary Lee
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