Dangerous Ambition: Rebecca West and Dorothy Thompson

Borninthe1890sonoppositesidesoftheAtlantic,friendsformorethanfortyyears,DorothyThompsonandRebeccaWestlivedstrikinglyparallellivesthatplacedthematthecenterofthesocialandhistoricalupheavalsofthetwentiethcentury.In"DangerousAmbition,"SusanHertogchroniclestheseparatebutintertwinedjourneysofthesetworemarkablewomenwriters,whoachievedunprecedentedfameandinfluenceattremendouspersonalcost.AmericanDorothyThompsonwasthefirstfemaleheadofaEuropeannewsbureau,acolumnistandcommentatorwithatremendousfollowingwhom"Time"magazineoncerankedalongsideEleanorRooseveltasthemostinfluentialwomaninAmerica.RebeccaWest,anEnglishwomanathomewherevergeniuswasspoken,blazedatrailforherselfasajournalist,literarycritic,novelist,andhistorian.Inaprefeministerawhenspeakingtruthtopowercouldgetanyone--ofeithergender--ostracized,blacklisted,orworse,thesetwosmart,self-madewomenwereamongthefirsttowarntheworldaboutthedangersposedbyfascism,communism,andappeasement.Buttherewasapricetobepaid,Hertogshows,foranywomanaspiringtosuchgreatness.Asmuchastheysoughtvoiceandpowerinthepublicforumofopinionandideas,andtheindependenceofmindandmoneythatcamewiththem,ThompsonandWestcravedthecomfortsofmarriageandhome.Tornbetweenconventionandtheopportunitiesofthenewpostwarglobalworld,theyweredrawntomenwhowereasambitiousandhungryforloveasthemselves:Thompsontothebrilliant,volatile,andalcoholicNobelPrizewinnerSinclairLewis;WesttoherlongtimeloverH.G.Wells,thelustyliteraryeminencewhosesexualandemotionaldemandsdoomedanychancetheymayhavehadatlove.Tragically,botharrangementsproducedtroubledsons,whoseangerandjealousyattheirmothers'iconicfameerodedtheirsenseofpersonalsuccess.Brimmingwithfreshinsightsobtainedfrompreviouslysealedarchives,thispenetratingdualbiographyisastoryoftwinnedlivescaughtupinthecrosscurrentsofworldeventsandaffairsoftheheart--andoftheuniquetrans-Atlanticfriendshipforgedbytwoofthemostcreativeandcomplexwomenoftheirtime.