Overview

Ernest Hemingway embraced adventure and courted glamorous friends while writing articles, novels, and short stories that captivated the world. Hemingway’s personal relationships and experiences influenced the content of his fiction, while the progression of places where the author chose to live and work shaped his style and rituals of writing. Whether revisiting the Italian front in A Farewell to Arms, recounting a Pamplona bull run in The Sun Also Rises, or depicting a Cuban fishing village in The Old Man and the Sea, setting played an important part in Hemingway’s fiction. The author also drew on real people—parents, friends, and fellow writers, among others—to create memorable characters in his short stories and novels. In Influencing Hemingway: The People and Places That Shaped His Life and Work Nancy W. Sindelar introduces the reader to the individuals who played significant roles in Hemingway’s development as both a man and as an artist—as well as the environments that had a profound impact on the author’s life. In words and photos, readers will see images of Hemingway the child, the teenager, and the aspiring author—as well as the troubled legend dealing with paranoia and fear. The book begins with Hemingway’s birth and early influences in Oak Park, Illinois, followed by his first job as a reporter in Kansas City. Sindelar then recounts Hemingway’s experiences and adventures in Italy, France, Spain, Key West, Florida, and Cuba, all of which found their way into his writing. The book concludes with an analysis of the events that preceded the author’s suicide in Idaho and reflects on the influences critics had on his life and work. Though much has been written about the life and work of the Nobel prize-winning author, Influencing Hemingway is the first publication to carefully document—in photographs and letters—the individuals and locales that inspired him. Featuring more than 60 photos, many of which will be new to the general and academic reader, and unguarded statements from personal letters to and from his parents, lovers, wives, children, and friends, this unique biography allows readers to see Hemingway from a new perspective.

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9780810892910

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Reviews

Sindelar highlights the people, settings, and scenes that Hemingway immortalized in his literature. These events range from watching his father assist with childbirth at an Indian reservation, which became the short story 'Indian Camp,' to his experiences in WWI and the Spanish Civil War, which inspired A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. The book also aims to elucidate Hemingway's values and moral code. Many of the same anecdotes crop up repeatedly, such as young Ernest's declaration to his mother at age three that he was 'afraid of nothing!' Another oft-emphasized catchphrase is 'grace under pressure,' a tenant which Hemingway embraced to the point of forbidding his brother to cry at their father's funeral... [T]he book can serve as a useful resource for Hemingway fans interested in learning more about the facts behind his fiction. Publishers Weekly Sindelar was inspired by her students to write this book while teaching at Ernest Hemingway's alma mater Oak Park and River Forest High School. This short biography marches chronologically through Hemingway's entire life (1899-1961), with a focus on the places and people that influenced him and those that he in turn inspired...Sindelar nicely organizes Hemingway's life into chapters dedicated to the places he lived, providing readers with a clear vision of its stages and the people he spent his time with in each place. Accompanying photographs are well selected, plentiful, and go a long way in supporting the setting of each chapter. Readers new to Hemingway's work could enjoy a selected chapter on the region where the author lived while writing the book in question. VERDICT Recommended to Hemingway fans and those reading his writing for the first time, as well as those who enjoy biographies and American literary history. Library Journal

Sindelar highlights the people, settings, and scenes that Hemingway immortalized in his literature. These events range from watching his father assist with childbirth at an Indian reservation, which became the short story 'Indian Camp,' to his experiences in WWI and the Spanish Civil War, which inspired A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. The book also aims to elucidate Hemingway's values and moral code. Many of the same anecdotes crop up repeatedly, such as young Ernest's declaration to his mother at age three that he was 'afraid of nothing!' Another oft-emphasized catchphrase is 'grace under pressure,' a tenant which Hemingway embraced to the point of forbidding his brother to cry at their father's funeral... [T]he book can serve as a useful resource for Hemingway fans interested in learning more about the facts behind his fiction. Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Nancy W. Sindelar holds an M.A. in Literature, a C.A.S. in Educational Administration, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She has spent over 30 years in education as a teacher, administrator, university professor, and consultant and has published numerous articles and three books on educational topics. A board member of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, Sindelar has made many popular presentations about the life and work of Hemingway.

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