Understanding Lillian Hellman

"A concise overview of Hellman's career and major works in language and approach that is easily accessible. . . . The chapters on the memoirs are unfailingly interesting."—Theatre Research International

"Lucid, up-to-date resource on the career and writings of Lillian Hellman. . . . Clearly up to the standards already established in the Understanding Contemporary American Literature series, which offers balanced and in-depth examinations of important U.S. writers."—Choice

"Lillian Hellman is called a melodramatic playwright and a self-serving memoirist. This book lifts the tone to a level where the breezes blow more thoughtfully, and we see that the plays are richly layered and the memoirs no more self-serving than anybody else's, and in ways less so."—Austin Pendleton, actor and director

"An authoritative and concise treatment of Hellman's life and career. An indispensible guide for both scholars and students, which draws perceptively on recent scholarship in lucid, fair-minded analyses."—Carl Rollyson, author of Lillian Hellman: Her Life and Legend and Female Icons: Marilyn Monroe to Susan Sontag