Hemingway Classics

May 07, 2022

Ernest Hemingway 

Ernest Hemingway, like Ian Fleming, was known for writing novels and other short stories based on his own life, values, and experiences. Born July 21, 1899, Hemingway was in the midst of war for most of his life, a theme consistent throughout his novels. He believed war to be a symbol of the world, full of moral ambiguities (Britannica). He began writing in high school, and instead of going to college he went to Kansas City and became a reporter for a newspaper. When World War I began he was eager to serve, but kept getting rejected because of a defective eye he had. Despite the rejections, he was able to serve by being an ambulance driver for the Italian Army in 1918. He soon became injured and returned home, but then made his way to Paris where he published his first book, In Our Time, in 1924. From this point on, his lyrical success and popularity only grew stronger. 

The Classics 

There were short stories he continued to produce throughout the years, butmany were overshadowed by his successful novels, such as A Farewell to Arms. A Farewell to Arms, Signed by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, Later Printing, in Later Dust Jacket, 1929 was recently added to our collection. This beautiful and powerfully written book tells a tale of love and war, taken from his own experiences in Italy from 1918. This novel secured Hemingway’s place as a popular American author and became his first bestselling book.

 

 

 

Hemingway's love of Spain and his numerous trips there during the Spanish Civil War led him to create For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1940, considered one of his finest and most successful novels. Our first edition of this classic novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, First Printing, in Original Dust Jacket, 1940, was first published in October of 1940 by Charles Scibner's Sons, New York, with an initial print run of 75,000 copies. The book draws inspiration from Hemingway’s time as a war correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance during the Spanish Civil War. The novel focuses on the relationship between war, death, and peace and the camaraderie that comes along with it.

The Old Man and the Sea was published in 1952, and was the novel that helped him receive the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 1953. This novel, along with A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and others, also helped him win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. What set Hemingway apart from other authors was the "intense masculinity of his writing and for his adventurous and widely publicized life" (Britannica). Many of his main characters were focused around attributes of strength and confidence, while also struggling with the tragedy of wartime experiences, leaving them sensitive and vulnerable.   

The style of Hemingway's writing left a mark on society, influencing others throughout the world into the 1930s–50s and even today. With the use of repetition and rhythm and short, simple sentences, he is able to create a fresh and natural dialogue throughout his work (Britannica). He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published after his death in 1961. Many of his works are now considered classics of American literature.

Check out a few of his classics we have available on our website here. 

Resource:  Young, Philip. "Ernest Hemingway". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Jul. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernest-Hemingway. Accessed 6 May 2022.

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