Sam Toperoff (Jimmy Dean Prepares; Queen of Desire) brings Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett back to life in Lillian & Dash. Much has been written about these two writers, playwrights, political activists, drunks and lovers, but nothing better than this novel. Toperoff does not pretend to be an earwitness to every private conversation, bit of pillow talk or fight; instead, he weaves a great story out of the public evidence that swirled around both parties.
They met in 1930, when Lilly was 24 and Dash 36, at a party given by Darryl F. Zanuck at Hollywood's Brown Derby. They were both married, but went to his place that night and were together, more or less, until Dash's death in 1961. "Lillian believed him to be the most beautiful man she had ever seen," Toperoff writes. "Hammett could not get over her sexual force and presence." They both had other affairs but always got back together again. Their attraction could not be denied for long.
Dash had been a Pinkerton man for several years, until the company's union-busting activities turned him off. He was not formally educated, having left school at 13, but he had a canny knack for reproducing the seamy side of life and seeing through hypocrisy. His first novel, Red Harvest, is a classic treatment of corruption and violence in America, and was followed by even better-known works like The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man--both the basis for classic Hollywood pictures. Lillian took on controversial themes as a playwright--a teacher accused of a lesbian attachment in The Children's Hour, anti-fascism in Watch on the Rhine and the family dispute of The Little Foxes--and made a success of them. She also wrote memoirs and screenplays, making her living with her pen all of her life. (Dash was not as successful over the years; booze often got in the way.)
They were both political activists on the left; Lillian testified before the HUAC, where she famously said, "I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions." Dash was imprisoned for five months for "advocating the overthrow of the United States government."
Toperoff has interwoven the lives of these two larger-than-life people and brought us an understanding of their wit, humor, intelligence, talent and care for each other. --Valerie Ryan
Shelf Talker: A novel that closely follows the lives of Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett during their 30 years together.