Scatter Brained

LILLIAN HELLMAN VERSUS MARY MCCARTHY
The Rivals:
 Lillian Hellman (1905–1984), famous for her 
plays (
Toys in the Attic
), her relationship with detective novel-
ist Dashiell Hammett, and for hating Mary McCarthy, and 
Mary McCarthy (1912–1989), famous for her novel 
Th
 e Group
 
and for hating Lillian Hellman
How It Started:
 Hellman made a dismissive comment about 
the American author John Dos Passos, which McCarthy 
found off ensive. Th
  e root of their feud was political: McCar-
thy felt Hellman was a Stalinist; Hellman felt McCarthy was 
a jerk.
Highlights:
 On 
Th
  e Dick Cavett Show
 (where apparently all 
great literary feuds got aired), McCarthy said of Hellman, “Ev-
ery word she writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the.’ ” Hellman 
responded with a $2.25 million lawsuit, which dragged on for 
decades, until both Hellman and McCarthy were dead.
The Conclusion:
 Both are now best remembered not for their 
work but for their feud. However, Hellman’s second-to-last 
play, 
Pentimento,
 is still highly regarded by critics. And speak-
ing of second-to-lasts . . .