Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Dalya Alberge

‘Generous and reflective’: letters show other sides to macho Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, in a slightly wrinkled shirt and wearing a leather-strapped watch – his beard dark and long and with grey streaks – holds his hand near his face and smiles slightly
Ernest Hemingway in the 15 July 1944 issue of the Picture Post entitled ‘Hemingway Looks at the War in Europe’. Photograph: Kurt Hutton/Getty Images

He cultivated a hard-drinking macho image, with a taste for big-game hunting and a love of bullfighting, but Ernest Hemingway had a generous and thoughtful side that is revealed in previously unpublished letters.

In the decade after he made his name with A Farewell to Arms, his 1929 war novel, his correspondence shows that he repeatedly offered advice and encouragement – as well as insights into his own craft – to aspiring young novelists.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.