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Mary Churchill's War: The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter
by Emma SoamesA unique portrait of war -- and a charming coming-of-age story -- from the private diaries of Winston Churchill's youngest daughter, Mary.'I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person's life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life - or rather the life of a girl in her youth, upon whom life has shone very brightly, who has had every opportunity of education, interest, travel and pleasure and excitement, and who at the beginning of this war found herself on the threshold of womanhood'In 1939 seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of the Second World War and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would be Prime Minister.The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries -- most of which have never been published -- provide a front-row view of the great events of war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father. But they also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime. An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammelled by hindsight or self-censorship or nostalgia.From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the ATS, from cocktail parties with presidents and royals to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips, Mary's wartime diaries are full of colour, rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill.Compiled and edited by Mary's daughter, Emma Soames, in collaboration with The Churchill Archives Centre.(P) 2021 John Murray Audio
Mary Churchill's War: The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter
by Emma Soames'A fascinating and intimate insight into the iconic Prime Minister's family life' TELEGRAPH 'I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person's life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life'In 1939 seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of the Second World War and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would be Prime Minister.The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries -- most of which have never been published -- provide a front-row view of the great events of war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father. But they also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime. An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammelled by hindsight or self-censorship or nostalgia.From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the ATS, from cocktail parties with presidents and royals to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips, Mary's wartime diaries are full of colour, rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill.Compiled and edited by Mary's daughter, Emma Soames, in collaboration with The Churchill Archives Centre.
Mary Churchill's War: The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter
by Emma Soames'It wasn't easy being a Churchill child - and only Mary managed it with serenity and aplomb, as her diary of wartime ATS service shows' ANNE DE COURCY, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Mary's affectionately intimate and emotionally volatile diaries [...] are an informal record that perfectly complements Churchill's own six authoritative volumes of memoirs of the second world war ... This is a happy book' SPECTATOR'A fascinating and intimate insight into the iconic Prime Minister's family life' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'I am not a great or important personage, but this will be the diary of an ordinary person's life in war time. Though I may never live to read it again, perhaps it may not prove altogether uninteresting as a record of my life'In 1939 seventeen-year-old Mary found herself in an extraordinary position at an extraordinary time: it was the outbreak of the Second World War and her father, Winston Churchill, had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; within months he would be Prime Minister.The young Mary Churchill was uniquely placed to observe this remarkable historical moment, and her diaries -- most of which have never been published -- provide a front-row view of the great events of war, as well as exchanges and intimate moments with her father. But they also capture what it was like to be a young woman during wartime. An impulsive and spirited writer, full of coming-of-age self-consciousness and joie de vivre, Mary's diaries are untrammelled by hindsight or self-censorship or nostalgia.From aid raid sirens at 10 Downing Street to seeing action with the ATS, from cocktail parties with presidents and royals to accompanying her father on key diplomatic trips, Mary's wartime diaries are full of colour, rich in historical insight, and a charming and intimate portrait of life alongside Winston Churchill.Compiled and edited by Mary's daughter, Emma Soames, in collaboration with The Churchill Archives Centre.
Mary Douglas (Anthropology's Ancestors #4)
by Paul Richards Perri 6This handy, concise book covers the life of Mary Douglas, one of the most important anthropologists of the second half of the 20th century. Her work focused on how human groups classify one another, and how they resolve the anomalies that then arise. Classification, she argued, emerges from practices of social life, and is a factor in all deep and intractable human disputes. This biography offers an introduction to how her distinctive approach developed across a long and productive career and how it applies to current pressing issues of social conflict and planetary survival. From the Preface: The influence of Professor Dame Mary Douglas (1921-2007) upon each of the social sciences and many of the disciplines in the humanities is vast. The list of her works is also vast, and this presents a problem of choice for the many readers who want to get a general idea of what she wrote and its significance, but who are somewhat baffled about where to begin. Our book offers a short overview and suggests why her key writings remain significant today.
Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age
by Kathleen Waters Sander&“[A] richly detailed biography of a formidable nineteenth-century woman who worked in a man&’s world to help women attain education, suffrage, and equality.&” —Journal of American History As youngest child and only daughter to B&O Railroad mogul John Work Garrett, Mary was bright and capable, well suited to become her father&’s heir apparent. But social convention prohibited her from following in his footsteps, a source of great frustration for the brilliant and strong-willed woman. Mary turned her attention instead to promoting women&’s rights, using her status and massive wealth to advance her uncompromising vision for women&’s place in the expanding United States. She contributed the endowment to establish the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with two unprecedented conditions: that women be admitted on the same terms as men and that the school be graduate level, thereby forcing revolutionary policy changes at the male-run institution. Believing that advanced education was the key to women&’s betterment, she helped found and sustain the prestigious girls&’ preparatory school in Baltimore, the Bryn Mawr School. Her philanthropic gifts to Bryn Mawr College helped transform the modest Quaker school into a renowned women&’s college. She was also a great supporter of women&’s suffrage. Kathleen Waters Sander recounts in impressive detail the life and times of this remarkable woman, through the turbulent years of the Civil War to the early twentieth century. At once a captivating biography of Garrett and an epic account of the rise of commerce, railroading, and women&’s rights, Sander&’s work is the first to recognize her monumental contributions to America while also reexamining the great social and political movements of the age.
Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age
by Kathleen Waters SanderA captivating look at the remarkable life of this nineteenth-century suffragist, philanthropist, and reformer.Mary Elizabeth Garrett was one of the most influential philanthropists and women activists of the Gilded Age. With Mary's legacy all but forgotten, Kathleen Waters Sander recounts in impressive detail the life and times of this remarkable woman, through the turbulent years of the Civil War to the early twentieth century. At once a captivating biography of Garrett and an epic account of the rise of commerce, railroading, and women's rights, Sander's work reexamines the great social and political movements of the age.As the youngest child and only daughter of the B&O Railroad mogul John Work Garrett, Mary was bright and capable, well suited to become her father's heir apparent. But social convention prohibited her from following in his footsteps, a source of great frustration for the brilliant and strong-willed woman. Mary turned her attention instead to promoting women's rights, using her status and massive wealth to advance her uncompromising vision for women's place in the expanding United States. She contributed the endowment to establish the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with two unprecedented conditions: that women be admitted on the same terms as men and that the school be graduate level, thereby forcing revolutionary policy changes at the male-run institution. Believing that advanced education was the key to women's betterment, she helped found and sustain the prestigious girls' preparatory school in Baltimore, the Bryn Mawr School. Her philanthropic gifts to Bryn Mawr College helped transform the modest Quaker school into a renowned women's college. Mary was also a great supporter of women's suffrage, working tirelessly to gain equal rights for women.Suffragist, friend of charitable causes, and champion of women's education, Mary Elizabeth Garrett both improved the status of women and ushered in modern standards of American medicine and philanthropy. Sander's thoughtful and informed study of this pioneering philanthropist is the first to recognize Garrett and her monumental contributions to equality in America.
Mary I
by Sarah DuncanThis book explores the gender politics of the reign of Mary I of England from her coronation to her funeral and examines the ways in which the queen and her supporters used language, royal ceremonies, and images to bolster her right to rule and define her image as queen.
Mary I: England's Catholic Queen
by John EdwardsThe lifestory of Mary I--daughter of Henry VIII and his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon--is often distilled to a few dramatic episodes: her victory over the attempted coup by Lady Jane Grey, the imprisonment of her half-sister Elizabeth, the bloody burning of Protestants, her short marriage to Philip of Spain. This original and deeply researched biography paints a far more detailed portrait of Mary and offers a fresh understanding of her religious faith and policies as well as her historical significance in England and beyond. John Edwards, a leading scholar of English and Spanish history, is the first to make full use of Continental archives in this context, especially Spanish ones, to demonstrate how Mary's culture, Catholic faith, and politics were thoroughly Spanish. Edwards begins with Mary's origins, follows her as she battles her increasingly erratic father, and focuses particular attention on her notorious religious policies, some of which went horribly wrong from her point of view. The book concludes with a consideration of Mary's five-year reign and the frustrations that plagued her final years. Childless, ill, deserted by her husband, Mary died in the full knowledge that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth would undo her religious work and, without acknowledging her sister, would reap the benefits of Mary's achievements in government.
Mary I: The Daughter of Time (Penguin Monarchs)
by John EdwardsThe elder daughter of Henry VIII, Mary I (1553-58) became England's ruler on the unexpected death of her brother Edward VI. Her short reign is one of the great potential turning points in the country's history. As a convinced Catholic and the wife of Philip II, king of Spain and the most powerful of all European monarchs, Mary could have completely changed her country's orbit, making it a province of the Habsburg Empire and obedient again to Rome. These extraordinary possibilities are fully dramatized in John Edward's superb short biography. The real Mary I has almost disappeared under the great mass of Protestant propaganda that buried her reputation during her younger sister, Elizabeth I's reign. But what if she had succeeded?
Mary I: Queen of Sorrows
by Alison WeirSunday Times bestselling novelist Alison Weir returns with the spellbinding story of Mary I.A DESTINY REWRITTEN. A ROYAL HEART DIVIDED.Adored only child of Henry VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary is raised in the golden splendour of her father's court. But the King wants a son and heir.With her parents' marriage, and England, in crisis, Mary's perfect world begins to fall apart. Exiled from the court and her beloved mother, she seeks solace in her faith, praying for her father to bring her home. But when the King does promise to restore her to favour, his love comes with a condition.The choice Mary faces will haunt her for years to come - in her allegiances, her marriage and her own fight for the crown. Can she become the queen she was born to be?MARY I. HER STORY.Alison Weir's new Tudor novel is the tale, full of drama and tragedy, of how a princess with such promise, loved by all who knew her, became the infamous Bloody Mary.---PRAISE FOR ALISON WEIR'S TUDOR FICTION'History has the best stories and they should all be told like this' Conn Iggulden'As always, Alison Weir is ahead of the curve - and at the top of her game' Sarah Gristwood'Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life' Guardian'Profoundly moving... lingers long after the last page' Elizabeth Fremantle(P)2024 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Mary I: Queen of Sorrows
by Alison Weir'A must for Tudor fans everywhere' Tracy Borman'Thrilling, captivating . . . unforgettable' Kate Williams'A gripping story that's underpinned by a wealth of research . . . this is Alison Weir at her best' Nicola TallisSunday Times bestselling novelist Alison Weir returns with the spellbinding story of Mary I.A DESTINY REWRITTEN. A ROYAL HEART DIVIDED.Adored only child of Henry VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary is raised in the golden splendour of her father's court. But the King wants a son and heir.With her parents' marriage, and England, in crisis, Mary's perfect world begins to fall apart. Exiled from the court and her beloved mother, she seeks solace in her faith, praying for her father to bring her home. But when the King does promise to restore her to favour, his love comes with a condition.The choice Mary faces will haunt her for years to come - in her allegiances, her marriage and her own fight for the crown. Can she become the queen she was born to be?MARY I. HER STORY.Alison Weir's new Tudor novel is the tale, full of drama and tragedy, of how a princess with such promise, loved by all who knew her, became the infamous Bloody Mary.---PRAISE FOR ALISON WEIR'S TUDOR FICTION'Alison Weir gives us her most compelling heroine yet... This is where the story of the Tudors begins' Tracy Borman'History has the best stories and they should all be told like this' Conn Iggulden'As always, Alison Weir is ahead of the curve - and at the top of her game' Sarah Gristwood'Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life' Guardian'Profoundly moving... lingers long after the last page' Elizabeth Fremantle
Mary King: The Autobiography
by Mary KingA no-holds-barred story of what it takes to reach the top, and stay there, in the world's most dangerous sport - three day eventing.At the age of forty-seven Mary King won a Team Bronze at the Beijing Olympics. In the two 'Cavaliers' - 'Call Again Cavalier' and 'Imperial Cavalier' - she has two of the very best event horses in the world. Mary King's success in the world of eventing (now officially classed as the most dangerous sport in the world) has been hard won. She does not come from a privileged background - her father a verger and a long-term invalid so money was very tight. Her first pony was the ancient 'cast off' from the local vicar's children - and success with this pony gave her an iron will to succeed. And succeeded she has. To support herself in the early days she had a variety of unglamorous jobs (this included butcher delivery rounds and cleaning out toilets in the local campsite). Her talent was apparent from very early on and she first competed at Badminton in 1985, had her first win there on King William in 1992 and her second on Star Appeal in 2000. Just when everything seemed to be going well she suffered a terrible fall in 2001 and broke her neck but she was back competing at the very top level the following year.Fully updated for the paperback with the 2010 season, including Team GB's gold medal-winning performance at the World Equestrian Games, this is a fascinating account from inside the world's most dangerous sport.
Mary Kitagawa: A Nikkei Canadian Life (Asian America)
by Karen M. InouyeThis book tells the story of Japanese Canadian activist Mary Kitagawa. In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing, Mary was one of roughly 22,000 Nikkei uprooted from their homes on the Pacific coast and forbidden to return to western British Columbia until long after World War II had officially ended. In the decades that followed, Mary and her family navigated financial precarity and ostracism, but also found ways to pursue both economic stability and political engagement. Beginning with Mary's grandparents, who were among the earliest immigrants to Canada from Japan, this book tracks the family's experiences—and those of the larger Nikkei Canadian community—from the late 1800s to the present. Concentrating on the interpersonal and intergenerational bonds that shaped Kitagawa, Karen M. Inouye describes the increasingly activist sensibilities that arose from transformative relationships—with family members, other members of the Nikkei Canadian community, Doukhobors, First Nations peoples, and white allies—as well as in response to the anti-Asian racism that Kitagawa encountered in many forms throughout her life. Inouye presents the Nikkei Canadian experience not as a linear triumph over a single adversity, but as a continual process of identity formation in relation to obstacles and opportunities, suffering and joy, isolation and connection.
Mary Königin der Schotten
by Stephan Remberg Laurel A. RockefellerKönigin Mary Stuart war eine der beliebtesten und kontroversesten Frauen in der schottischen Geschichte. Als Enkelin von König James IV. und seiner Frau Margaret Tudor, legte Marys Status als rechtmäßige Erbin des englischen Throns, in Kombination mit der Gewalttätigkeit der schottischen Reformation, den Grundstein für eines der dramatischsten und am wenigsten verstandenen Leben des 16. Jahrhunderts. Mary Königin der Schotten, erzählt ihre wahre Geschichte und legt dabei sein Hauptaugenmerk auf ihre Herrschaft als Königin von Schottland. Indem es mehr ihr Leben, als ihren Tod, in den Fokus rückt, zeigt es uns allen, warum sie wahrlich ihrer Zeit voraus war. Eine schöpferische nicht-fiktive Biografie aus der Reihe Legendäre Frauen der Weltgeschichte. Enthält vier historische Lieder.
Mary Lincoln: Southern Girl, Northern Woman (Routledge Historical Americans)
by Stacy Pratt McDermottOne of America’s most compelling First Ladies, Mary Lincoln possessed a unique vantage point on the events of her time, even as her experiences of the constraints of gender roles and the upheaval of the Civil War reflected those of many other women. The story of her life presents a microcosm through which we can understand the complex and dramatic events of the nineteenth century in the United States, including vital issues of gender, war, and the divisions between North and South. The daughter of a southern, slave-holding family, Mary Lincoln had close ties to people on both sides of the war. Her life shows how the North and South were interconnected, even as the country was riven by sectional strife. In this concise narrative, Stacy Pratt McDermott presents an evenhanded account of this complex, intelligent woman and her times. Supported by primary documents and a robust companion website, this biography introduces students to the world of nineteenth-century America, and the firsthand experiences of Americans during the Civil War.
Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage
by Ruth RandallMary Todd Lincoln is probably one of the most maligned women in history. Some biographers claim that she was insane--she had tremendous griefs in her life. She did have a serious problem about spending money--addicted to shopping--and always afraid of poverty. The book gives us a good sense of the time in which Mary lived--a southerner whose sympathies were with the north and with the abolitionist movement.
Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary History
by Jason EmersonIn 1875 Mary Lincoln, the widow of a revered president, was committed to an insane asylum by her son, Robert. The trial that preceded her internment was a subject of keen national interest. The focus of public attention since Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, Mary Lincoln had attracted plentiful criticism and visible scorn from much of the public, who perceived her as spoiled, a spendthrift, and even too much of a Southern sympathizer. Widespread scrutiny only increased following her husband's assassination in 1865 and her son Tad's death six years later, after which her overwhelming grief led to the increasingly erratic behavior that led to her being committed to a sanitarium. A second trial a year later resulted in her release, but the stigma of insanity stuck. In the years since, questions emerged with new force, as the populace and historians debated whether she had been truly insane and subsequently cured, or if she was the victim of family maneuvering. In this volume, noted Lincoln scholar Jason Emerson provides a documentary history of Mary Lincoln's mental illness and insanity case, evenhandedly presenting every possible primary source on the subject to enable a clearer view of the facts. Beginning with documents from the immediate aftermath of her husband's assassination and ending with reminiscences by friends and family in the mid-twentieth century, Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary History compiles more than one hundred letters, dozens of newspaper articles, editorials, and legal documents, and the daily patient progress reports from Bellevue Place Sanitarium during Mary Lincoln's incarceration. Including many materials that have never been previously published, Emerson also collects multiple reminiscences, interviews, and diaries of people who knew Mary Lincoln or were involved in the case, including the first-hand recollection of one of the jurors in the 1875 insanity trial. Suggesting neither accusation nor exoneration of the embattled First Lady, Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary History gives scholars and history enthusiasts incomparable access to the documents and information crucial to understanding this vexing chapter in American history.
Mary Lou: Creating an Olympic Champion
by John Powers Bela Karolyi Mary Lou RettonIn the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, a nation watched Mary Lou Retton flip, somersault and tumble her way to a gold medal. She became an over-night sensation. But how did she get there? How did this small-girl from a West Virginia mining town get to the Olympics? How did Bela Karolyi, the Romanian coach who trained Nadia Comeneci in Romania and later to train other Olympic champions get the opprotunity to train Retton? In alternating chapters, this tells the story of Mary Lou Retton and how Bela Karolyi became her coach.
Mary Lou McDonald: A Republican Riddle
by Shane RossA biography of the Sinn Fé in leader, and Taoiseach in waiting, Mary Lou McDonald.Mary Lou McDonald is the bookies' favourite to be Ireland's next Taoiseach. She would be the first woman to reach the office, and the first Sinn Fé in leader ever to enter government in the Republic of Ireland. But how did a quintessentially bourgeois woman end up as the leader of a political party with such a recent terrorist past? And was her change of allegiance from Fianna Fá il to Sinn Fé in ideological or opportunistic?Shane Ross's scrupulously fair and balanced biography illuminates McDonald's political awakening, her relationship with the hard men of the IRA, and the evolution and future of Sinn Fé in.
Mary Magdalen: Truth and Myth
by Susan HaskinsA dramatic, thought-provoking portrait of one of the most compelling figures in early Christianity which explores two thousand years of history, art, and literature to provide a close-up look at Mary Magdalen and her significance in religious and cultural thought.
Mary Magdalene
by Bruce ChiltonAfter 2,000 years of flawed history, here at last is a magnificent new biography of Mary Magdalene that draws her out of the shadows of history and restores her to her rightful place of importance in Christianity. Throughout history, Mary Magdalene has been both revered and reviled, a woman who has taken on many forms—witch, whore, the incarnation of the eternal feminine, the devoted companion (and perhaps even the wife) of Jesus. In this brilliant new biography, Bruce Chilton, a renowned biblical scholar, offers the first complete and authoritative portrait of this fascinating woman. Through groundbreaking interpretations of ancient texts, Chilton shows that Mary played a central role in Jesus’ ministry and was a seminal figure in the creation of Christianity. Chilton traces the evolving images of Mary Magdalene and the legends surrounding her. He explains why, despite her prominence, the Gospels actually say so little about her and why the Catholic Church for thousands of years has sought to marginalize her importance. In a probing look at the Church’s attitudes toward women, he investigates Christian misogyny in the ancient world, including the suppression of women priests who patterned their activities on Mary’s; explores the impact of Gnostic ambivalence toward women on its depictions of Mary; and shows that these traditions still influence modern portrayals of her. Chilton’s descriptions of who Mary Magdalene was and what she did challenge the male-dominated history of Christianity familiar to most readers. Placing Mary within the traditions of Jewish female savants, Chilton presents a visionary figure who was fully immersed in the mystical teachings that shaped Jesus’ own teachings and a woman who was a religious master in her own right. From the Hardcover edition.
Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception
by Adriana Valerio“Brilliant . . . Essential reading for anyone who cares about Church history and gender equality. . . . speaks to our times with impressive relevance.” —Reading in TranslationFrom one of Italy’s most renowned historians of religion, an exciting new portrait of one of Christianity’s most complex—and most misunderstood—figures: Mary MagdaleneJesus’ favorite and most devoted disciple? A prostitute shunned from her community? A symbol of female leadership and independence? Who really was Mary Magdalene, and how does her story fit within the history of Christianity, and that of female emancipation?In this meticulously researched, highly engaging book, Adriana Valerio looks at history, art, and literature to show how centuries of misinterpretation and willful distortion—aimed at establishing and preserving gender hierarchies—have stripped this historical figure of her complexity and relevance.By revealing both the benign and the pernicious misrepresentations of Mary Magdalene, this thought-provoking essay reaffirms the central role played by women in the origins of Christianity and their essential contribution to one of the founding experiences of Western thought and society.“Persuasive. . . . Academics working in Christianity should get much from this well-argued study.” —Publishers Weekly“A masterful work.” —Osservatore Romano“A short and readable yet sweeping and well-researched essay that stands out for its intellectual honesty [ . . . ] We are all Mary Magdalene.” —Cultura al femminile
Mary McCarthy's Collected Memoirs: Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, How I Grew, and Intellectual Memoirs
by Mary McCarthyThree candid, affecting memoirs by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Group, including a National Book Award finalist. In Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, Mary McCarthy begins with her recollections of a happy childhood cut tragically short by the death of her parents during the influenza epidemic of 1918. Tempering memory with invention, McCarthy describes how, orphaned at six, she spent much of her childhood shuttled between two sets of grandparents and three religions—Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish. Early on, McCarthy lets the reader in on her secret: The chapter you just read may not be wholly reliable—facts have been distilled through the hazy lens of time and distance.How I Grew is McCarthy&’s intensely personal autobiography of her life from age thirteen to twenty-one. With detail driven by an almost astonishing memory recall, the author gives us a masterful account of these formative years. From her wild adolescence—including losing her virginity at fourteen—through her eventual escape to Vassar, the bestselling novelist, essayist, and critic chronicles her relationships with family, friends, lovers, and the teachers who would influence her writing career. And Intellectual Memoirs opens with McCarthy as a married twenty-four-year-old Communist and critic. She&’s disciplined, dedicated, and sexually experimental: At one point she realizes that in twenty-four hours she &“had slept with three different men.&” Over the course of three years, she will have had two husbands, the second being the esteemed, much older critic Edmund Wilson. It is Wilson who becomes McCarthy&’s mentor and muse, urging her to try her hand at fiction. Intellectual Memoirs is a vivid snapshot of a distinctive place and time—New York in the late 1930s—and the forces that shaped Mary McCarthy&’s life as a woman and a writer.
Mary McGrory
by John NorrisA wildly entertaining biography of the trailblazing Washington columnist and the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for commentary Before there was Maureen Dowd or Gail Collins or Molly Ivins, there was Mary McGrory. She was a trailblazing columnist who achieved national syndication and reported from the front lines of American politics for five decades. From her first assignment reporting on the Army-McCarthy hearings to her Pulitzer-winning coverage of Watergate and controversial observations of President Bush after September 11, McGrory humanized the players on the great national stage while establishing herself as a uniquely influential voice. Behind the scenes she flirted, drank, cajoled, and jousted with the most important figures in American life, breaking all the rules in the journalism textbook. Her writing was admired and feared by such notables as Lyndon Johnson (who also tried to seduce her) and her friend Bobby Kennedy who observed, "Mary is so gentle--until she gets behind a typewriter." Her soirees, filled with Supreme Court justices, senators, interns, and copy boys alike, were legendary. As the red-hot center of the Beltway in a time when the newsrooms were dominated by men, McGrory makes for a powerfully engrossing subject. Laced with juicy gossip and McGrory's own acerbic wit, John Norris's colorful biography reads like an insider's view of latter-day American history--and one of its most enduring characters.
Mary McLeod Bethune
by Andrea BroadwaterTraces the life and achievements of the black educator who fought bigotry and sought equality for blacks in the areas of education and political rights. Includes bibliographical references and index.