Characters

• Frederic Henry: The protagonist and narrator, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I. He falls in love with Catherine Barkley.
• Catherine Barkley: An English nurse who becomes Frederic's love interest. She is caring and devoted but also emotionally fragile due to losing her fiancé in the war.
• Rinaldi: An Italian surgeon and Frederic's close friend. He is charismatic and fond of women, acting as a foil to the more reserved Frederic.
• The Priest: An unnamed army chaplain who often discusses faith and morality with Frederic. He serves as a moral compass in the story.
• Helen Ferguson: A nurse and friend of Catherine. She is practical and skeptical of Frederic and Catherine's relationship.
• Miss Van Campen: The strict superintendent of nurses at the hospital in Milan. She dislikes Frederic.
• Miss Gage: A kind nurse at the Milan hospital who befriends Frederic and helps him bend the rules.
• Count Greffi: An elderly Italian nobleman Frederic encounters. He represents wisdom and civility amidst the chaos of war.
• Piani and Bonello: Ambulance drivers under Frederic's command. They represent different reactions to the pressures of war.
• Aymo: Another ambulance driver who remains loyal to Frederic during the retreat. His death highlights the senselessness of war.

Quick facts

• Hemingway wrote 47 different endings for A Farewell to Arms before settling on the final version.
• Hemingway considered more than 40 potential titles for the novel before choosing A Farewell to Arms.
• Hemingway wrote parts of the novel in Piggott, Arkansas, at the family home of his wife, Pauline.
• The character of Catherine Barkley was inspired by Agnes von Kurowsky, a real-life nurse who cared for Hemingway during World War I.
• A Farewell to Arms was serialized in Scribner's Magazine from May to October 1929 before being published as a book.
• A Farewell to Arms was banned from Boston newsstands upon initial publication due to accusations of pornographic content.
• Hemingway hand-corrected censored text in at least two first edition copies, including one given to James Joyce.
• A Farewell to Arms was banned in Italy until 1948 because the fascist regime considered it detrimental to the honor of the armed forces.
• A Farewell to Arms has been adapted for the screen multiple times, most notably the 1932 film starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
• The novel's success made Hemingway financially independent as an author for the first time.

About the author

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. His most acclaimed novels include The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Born in Illinois, Hemingway began his career as a journalist before establishing himself as a writer of short stories and novels. His experiences as an ambulance driver in World War I and as a foreign correspondent shaped not only his signature themes—adventure, war, sacrifice, loss, disillusionment, and resilience as well as love and gender dynamics—but also his writing style. He became known for his spare, understated prose.

Beyond his literary career, Hemingway was known for his larger-than-life persona as an adventurer and expatriate. He spent significant time in Paris, Spain, Cuba, and Kenya, using his experiences as inspiration for his writing. Hemingway's personal life was tumultuous, marked by four marriages and struggles with alcoholism and depression. Tragically, he died by suicide at the age of 61.