A Farewell to Arms facts for kids

A Farewell to Arms is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant (Italian: tenente) in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The novel describes a love affair between the American expatriate and an English nurse, Catherine Barkley.

Its publication ensured Hemingway's place as a modern American writer of considerable stature. The book became his first best-seller and has been called "the premier American war novel from [...] World War I". The title might be taken from a 16th‑century poem of the same name by the English dramatist George Peele.

The novel has been adapted a number of times: initially for the stage in 1930; as a film in 1932, and again in 1957; and as a three-part television miniseries in 1966. The film In Love and War, made in 1996, depicts Hemingway's life in Italy as an ambulance driver in events prior to his writing of A Farewell to Arms.

As of January 1, 2025, A Farewell to Arms is in public domain.

Characters

• Lieutenant Frederic Henry: An American serving in the Italian Army as an officer directing ambulance drivers.
• Miss Catherine Barkley: A nurse and love interest of Henry.
• Lieutenant Rinaldi: An eccentric Army surgeon serving near the front lines who takes a brotherly interest in Henry.
• The priest: An army chaplain, often has discussions about God and war with Henry.
• Helen Ferguson: A friend and fellow nurse of Miss Catherine.
• Miss Van Campen: The officious superintendent of nurses at the American hospital in Milan. She and Henry immediately dislike each other.
• Miss Gage: An unconventional nurse at the American hospital in Milan who befriends Henry.
• Major Valentini: A brisk, cheerful and competent surgeon who operates on Henry's wounded knee in Milan.
• Gino: A very likeable Italian soldier whose vocal patriotism nonetheless bothers Henry.
• Bonello: An ambulance driver under Henry's command who deserts to find safety by being captured by the enemy.
• Piani: An ambulance driver who stays with Henry out of personal loyalty.
• Passini: An ambulance driver killed in the mortar attack that wounds Henry.
• Aymo: An ambulance driver killed by straggling guards of the retreat's main line.
• Emilio: A bartender in the town of Stresa who helps them flee to Switzerland.
• Count Greffi: A ninety-four-year-old nobleman, having some past acquaintance with Henry.
• Ralph Simmons and Edgar Saunders: Two journeyman opera singers studying and performing in Italy under Italian stage names.

Background and publication history

The novel was partly based on Hemingway's own experiences serving in the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The inspiration for Catherine Barkley was Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse who cared for Hemingway in a hospital in Milan after he had been wounded. He had planned to marry her, but she spurned his love when he returned to America. Kitty Cannell, a Paris-based fashion correspondent, became Helen Ferguson. The unnamed priest was based on Don Giuseppe Bianchi, the priest of the 69th and 70th regiments of the Brigata Ancona. Although the sources for Rinaldi are unknown, the character had already appeared in In Our Time.

Much of the plot was written in correspondence with Frederic J. Agate. Agate, Hemingway's friend, had a collection of letters to his wife from his time in Italy, which were later used as inspiration.

Michael Reynolds, however, writes that Hemingway was not involved in the battles described. Because his previous novel, The Sun Also Rises, had been written as a roman à clef, readers assumed A Farewell to Arms to be autobiographical. A Farewell to Arms was begun during his time at Willis M. Spear's guest ranch in Wyoming's Bighorns. Some pieces of the novel were written in Piggott, Arkansas, at the home of his then-wife Pauline Pfeiffer, and in Mission Hills, Kansas, while she was awaiting delivery of their baby. Pauline underwent a caesarean section as Hemingway was writing the scene about Catherine Barkley's childbirth.

Hemingway struggled with the ending. By his count, he wrote 39 versions of it "before [he] was satisfied". However, a 2012 edition of the book included no fewer than 47 alternate endings.

The novel was first serialized in Scribner's Magazine in the May 1929 to October 1929 issues. The book was published in September 1929 with a first edition print-run of approximately 31,000 copies. The success of A Farewell to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.

The Hemingway Library Edition was released in July 2012, with a dust jacket facsimile of the first edition. The newly published edition presents an appendix with the many alternate endings Hemingway wrote for the novel in addition to pieces from early draft manuscripts.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Hemingway collection has two handwritten pages with possible titles for the book. Most of the titles come from The Oxford Book of English Verse. One of the possible titles Hemingway considered was In Another Country and Besides. This comes from The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe.

In other media

The novel was first adapted for the stage by Laurence Stallings in 1930, then as a film in 1932, with a 1957 remake. A three-part television miniseries was made in 1966. In December 2023, a new film adaptation was announced, with Michael Winterbottom to direct and Tom Blyth to star.

The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock, depicts Hemingway's life in Italy as an ambulance driver in the events prior to his writing of A Farewell to Arms.

A radio broadcast adaption was produced in 1937 as part of the Lux Radio Theater series starring Clark Gable and Josephine Hutchinson. In 2011, BBC Radio 4 produced a 10 episode adaptation for their 15 Minute Drama series.

See also

In Spanish: Adiós a las armas para niños