[Scoundrel Time] is the story of the 67 minutes that [Lillian Hellman] spent before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in Washington in May 1952, of what preceded the hearing, and what its consequences were. (p. 656)

It is a moving story that she tells, but it must be said that, with all her skill in writing, it is not very easy reading. She assumes too much knowledge in the reader, and there is too much vagueness about dates and places. She is equally vague on her connection with communism: 'Whether I signed a party card or didn't was of little importance to me.'…

[The] abiding impression that remains is of the warmth and endurance of Lillian Hellman in her ordeal, and the splendour of her declaration of faith: 'I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions.' (p. 657)

David Hunt, "Clean Conscience," in The...