Lillian Hellman

Hellman, Lillian (1905–84), U.S. playwright, screenwriter, and autobiographer. A mordant social critic, she wrote plays, such as The Children's Hour (1934), The Little Foxes (1939), and Watch on the Rhine (1941), that studied the evil effects of ruthless ambition and exploitation in personal, social, and political situations. Her books of reminiscences, such as An Unfinished Woman (1969), for which she won a National Book Award, 1970) and Scoundrel Time (1976), are fascinating for their portraits of famous people and events.