Love and Ruin: A Novel

by Paula McLain

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful novel of the stormy marriage between Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, a fiercely independent woman who became one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century—from the author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark

“Romance, infidelity, war—Paula McLain’s powerhouse novel has it all.”—Glamour

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • New York Public Library • Bloomberg • Real Simple

In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. There she also finds herself unexpectedly—and unwillingly—falling in love with Ernest Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.

On the eve of World War II, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must forge a path as her own woman and writer.

Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101967393
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/15/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	169,796
Product dimensions:	5.21(w) x 7.93(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

Paula McLain is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Love and Ruin, Circling the Sun, The Paris Wife, and A Ticket to Ride, the memoir Like Family: Growing Up in Other People’s Houses, and two collections of poetry. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, O: The Oprah Magazine, Town & Country, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere. She lives in Ohio with her family.

Read an Excerpt

Near dawn on July 13, 1936, as three assassins scaled a high garden wall in Tenerife hoping to catch the band of armed guards unaware, I was asleep in a tiny room in Stuttgart, waiting for my life to begin.
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "Love and Ruin"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Paula McLain.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Editorial Reviews

In this heart-tugging follow-up [to The Paris Wife], we meet Martha Gellhorn, a correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, who was the third—and perhaps most intriguing—of [Hemingway's] wives. The title says it all.”—People

“Propulsive . . . highly engaging . . . McLain does an excellent job portraying a woman with dreams who isn’t afraid to make them real, showing [Gellhorn’s] bravery in what was very much a man’s world. Her work around the world . . . is presented in meticulous, hair-raising passages. . . . The book is fueled by her questing spirit, which asks, Why must a woman decide between being a war correspondent and a wife in her husband’s bed?”—The New York Times Book Review

“[The] scenes of professional rivalry and seesawing imbalance are some of McLain’s best. . . . McLain’s legions of fans will relish the inspiration of a gutsy woman who discovers she doesn’t need a man at her side, after all.”—The Boston Globe

“McLain successfully turns Martha’s story into a romantic quest and Martha into a romantic heroine—though not a traditional one.”—The Washington Post

“Romance, infidelity, war—Paula McLain’s powerhouse novel has it all.”—Glamour

“If you loved McLain’s 2011 blockbuster The Paris Wife, you’re sure to adore her new novel, which is just as good, if not better.”—AARP

“McLain’s strengths as a novelist are formidable, especially her ability to evoke a strong sense of time and place. . . . This novel is important not only as historical fiction but also as a reminder of the challenges that faced career-minded women such as Gellhorn in the mid-twentieth century. . . . McLain is also a master at ending chapters that make you want to turn the page and see what happens next.”—Houston Chronicle

“If love and war are two of the greatest themes in literature, they’re both here. . . . McLain’s dialogue, is, as Hem might say, good and true. She captures the passion Gellhorn and Hemingway feel for each other, and the slow erosion of trust on both sides.”—USA Today

“McLain takes another successful trip into historical fiction. . . . Readers will have to remind themselves that this is fiction as McLain draws a finely detailed portrait of the chaos and destruction spreading across Spain.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Engrossing . . . [Love and Ruin] spotlights a woman ahead of her time—a fearless reporter who covered the major conflicts of the twentieth century.”—Real Simple

“McLain’s ability to base a work of fiction on real people is nothing short of superb.”—BookPage

“Wonderfully evocative . . . This is historical fiction at its best, and today’s female readers will be encouraged by Martha, who refuses to be silenced or limited in a time that was harshly repressive for women.”—Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 03/15/2018
Best-selling novelist McLain (The Paris Wife) returns to Ernest Hemingway and his marriages in this wonderfully evocative portrayal of his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, a noted novelist, travel writer, and journalist. McLain brings Martha alive, as she first meets Hemingway when she is only 28 and he is already a legendary writer a decade older. Readers experience their romance during the Spanish Civil War and an idyllic time during the early 1940s, as they write together, then marry, and through the bitter breakdown of their relationship as Hemingway feels threatened by his talented and strong-willed wife. The characters are believable and sympathetic. Scenes depicting Spain in violent turmoil and London in World War II vividly convey the atmosphere of the time. McLain's fans will not be disappointed; this is historical fiction at its best, and today's female readers will be encouraged by Martha, who refuses to be silenced or limited in a time that was harshly repressive for women. VERDICT A must-have for all public libraries that should be a book group favorite, especially when paired with Gellhorn's own writings such as A Stricken Field or The Face of War. [See Prepub Alert, 12/4/17.]—Elizabeth Safford, Boxford Town Lib., MA

Library Journal