Paula McLain is drawn to strong female characters and
Martha Gellhorn's affair with
Ernest Hemingway with a backdrop of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War lends itself to a fascinating story. Love and Ruin begins when Martha Gellhorn was 28 years old in 1937. She met Ernest Hemingway and he encouraged her to become a war correspondent. The
Spanish Civil War hasn't been a historical time that I was familiar with, although I knew Ernest Hemingway was in Spain and somewhat involved. Love and Ruin gives a good birds eye view of the war between the Republicans and Nationalists seen through the eyes of
Martha Gellhorn, a journalist who went on to become one of the greatest war correspondents.
