A Farewell to Arms is a book written by American author Ernest Hemingway. It takes place during the Italian campaign of World War I. Published in 1929, the story is told from the perspective of an American soldier, Frederic Henry, who works as a lieutenant (Italian: tenente) in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The novel follows the relationship between Frederic Henry and an English nurse named Catherine Barkley.

The book's release helped establish Hemingway as an important American writer. It became his first widely read book and is often called "the most important American war novel from World War I." The title may come from a 16th-century poem with the same name by the English writer George Peele.

The story has been adapted many times: first for the stage in 1930, then as a film in 1932 and again in 1957, and as a three-part TV series in 1966. A 1996 film titled In Love and War shows Hemingway's experiences as an ambulance driver in Italy before he wrote A Farewell to Arms.

Since 2025, A Farewell to Arms has been freely available to the public.

Characters

• Lieutenant Frederic Henry: An American working as an officer in the Italian Army, directing ambulance drivers.
• Miss Catherine Barkley: A nurse and romantic interest of Henry.
• Lieutenant Rinaldi: A quirky Army surgeon near the front lines who shows brotherly care for Henry.
• The priest: An army chaplain who frequently discusses religion and war with Henry.
• Helen Ferguson: A friend and fellow nurse of Miss Catherine.
• Miss Van Campen: A bossy nurse supervisor at the American hospital in Milan who dislikes Henry.
• Miss Gage: A different-minded nurse at the American hospital in Milan who becomes friends with Henry.
• Major Valentini: A quick and cheerful surgeon who treats Henry’s injured knee in Milan.
• Gino: A friendly Italian soldier whose strong patriotism upsets Henry.
• Bonello: An ambulance driver under Henry’s command who leaves his post to be captured by the enemy.
• Piani: An ambulance driver who stays with Henry because of personal loyalty.
• Passini: An ambulance driver killed during a mortar attack that injures Henry.
• Aymo: An ambulance driver killed by scattered guards during a retreat.
• Emilio: A bartender in the town of Stresa who helps Henry and others escape to Switzerland.
• Count Greffi: A 94-year-old nobleman who knew Henry from the past.
• Ralph Simmons and Edgar Saunders: Two opera singers learning and performing in Italy using Italian names.

Plot summary

The novel is divided into five sections, or "books." Frederic Henry tells the story from his own perspective.

Lieutenant Frederic Henry is an American medic in the Italian Army who speaks Italian. The story begins during World War I. It is winter, and a cholera outbreak causes many soldiers to die. Frederic visits Gorizia, where he meets other soldiers and a priest. He notices two brothels—one for officers and one for soldiers of lower rank. When he returns, he shares his experiences with his friend, Surgeon Rinaldi, who is about the same age as Frederic.

Rinaldi enjoys the company of beautiful women. He is in love with an English nurse named Catherine Barkley, though not deeply. Rinaldi takes Frederic to a British hospital, where Frederic meets Catherine and becomes interested in her. Catherine tells Frederic about her fiancé, who died in battle, and about her discomfort in the rain. Frederic tries to kiss her, but she refuses and slaps him. She later apologizes and kisses him.

Frederic and his fellow ambulance drivers (Passini, Manera, Gordini, and Gavuzzi) travel toward the front line. Passini is killed in a mortar attack. Frederic is seriously wounded in the knee on the Italian front and sent to the hospital.

Surgeon Rinaldi visits Frederic in the hospital and praises him for his bravery, but Frederic denies being heroic. Rinaldi tells Frederic he will be moved to a hospital in Milan for better treatment. Frederic asks Rinaldi to have Catherine work there as a nurse. The priest visits and listens as Frederic expresses his dislike for war. Meanwhile, America declares war on Germany, and the Italian army prepares for battle against Austria. Frederic arrives at an American hospital in Milan, where he is cared for by Miss Gage, Mrs. Walker, and their supervisor, Miss Van Campen. Miss Gage gives him wine. Catherine arrives, and Frederic feels strong love and passion for her. They share their first kiss. A doctor named Valentini examines Frederic’s injury and takes X-rays. This section shows Frederic and Catherine’s growing relationship over the summer. They enjoy boating and horse races. Frederic meets Helen Ferguson, a nurse who works with Catherine. After Frederic’s knee heals, he is diagnosed with jaundice. He is given three weeks of time off to recover. Miss Van Campen finds empty bottles of alcohol in Frederic’s room and believes his illness is caused by drinking. She concludes Frederic is pretending to be sick to avoid returning to the war. She reports this, and Frederic is sent back to the front. Catherine tells Frederic she is three months pregnant. They promise to reunite and marry after the war. Frederic asks her to care for their child, whom he calls "Little Catherine."

Frederic returns to Gorizia. Rinaldi checks on Frederic’s injured leg and asks if they have married. The priest notices a change in Frederic and predicts the war will end soon. Frederic travels to Bainsizza, where he meets Gino, who tells him about powerful Austrian artillery. Frederic realizes the Italians may not escape an attack. Heavy rain begins, and bombing starts. Frederic sees soldiers’ morale drop. Soon after, the Austro-Hungarians attack the Italian lines in the Battle of Caporetto, and the Italians retreat. People leave their homes, and women and children are loaded onto trucks. At a villa, Frederic finds Rinaldi has gone to the hospital, and others have left. The retreat is chaotic, and Frederic decides to take a different path to avoid enemy planes. He and his men get lost, and their cars become stuck in mud. Frederic orders two engineers to help but is refused. He shoots one of them, and the other runs away. A driver named Aymo is later killed, and another, Bonello, surrenders to the Austrians. Frederic and his companion, Piani, join the main retreat across the Tagliamento River. After crossing the bridge, Frederic is taken by military police and accused of treason for the Italian defeat. He escapes by jumping into the river. He walks through the plains and boards a train to Milan to find Catherine.

In Milan, Frederic learns Catherine has gone to Stresa. He visits Ralph Simmons, an opera singer he met earlier, and asks about traveling to Switzerland. Ralph helps Frederic by giving him civilian clothes. Frederic feels uncomfortable in the clothes as people stare at him. He takes a train to Stresa and goes to the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées. A bartender named Emilio tells Frederic two English nurses are staying at a nearby hotel. Frederic meets Catherine and Helen Ferguson there. He also meets Count Greffi, an old nobleman he had met before. Frederic avoids talking about the war and feels guilty for deserting. Emilio tells Frederic the Italian police are looking for him. Catherine and Frederic plan to escape to Switzerland. Emilio arranges for a boat to take them. A storm makes the water rough. Frederic rows the boat all night, and Catherine helps. They finally reach Switzerland. Guards check their identities and give them temporary visas.

Frederic and Catherine live quietly in the mountains. They move to a wooden house near Montreux. They meet Mr. and Mrs. Guttingen. Sometimes, Catherine worries about their unborn child’s health. They move to Lausanne to be closer to a hospital. Later, Catherine goes into labor and is taken to the hospital. The doctor suggests a C-section. Catherine suffers greatly and gives birth to a stillborn baby boy. A nurse later tells Frederic Catherine is bleeding heavily. He is terrified and runs to see her. She dies with him by her side. He leaves the hospital and walks through the rain to his hotel.

Background and publication history

The novel was partly based on Hemingway's real-life experiences during the Italian campaigns in World War I. The character Catherine Barkley was inspired by Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse who cared for Hemingway in a hospital in Milan after he was wounded. Hemingway planned to marry her, but she rejected his proposal when he returned to America. The character Helen Ferguson was based on Kitty Cannell, a fashion writer in Paris. The unnamed priest in the story was inspired by Don Giuseppe Bianchi, a priest who served with the 69th and 70th regiments of the Brigata Ancona. Although the source for Rinaldi is unknown, this character had appeared earlier in Hemingway's work In Our Time.

Much of the story was written through letters exchanged with Frederic J. Agate, a friend of Hemingway. Agate had kept letters he wrote to his wife during his time in Italy, which Hemingway later used for inspiration.

Michael Reynolds notes that Hemingway did not participate in the battles described in the novel. Because his earlier book, The Sun Also Rises, was a roman à clef (a story based on real people and events), readers assumed A Farewell to Arms was also autobiographical. Hemingway began writing the novel while staying at Willis M. Spear's guest ranch in Wyoming's Bighorns. Other parts of the novel were written in Piggott, Arkansas, at the home of his wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, and in Mission Hills, Kansas, while Pauline was waiting for the birth of their child. Pauline had a cesarean section during the time Hemingway was writing the scene about Catherine Barkley's childbirth.

Hemingway had difficulty writing the ending of the novel. He wrote 39 versions of it before being satisfied. A 2012 edition of the book included as many as 47 alternate endings.

The novel was first published in Scribner's Magazine from May 1929 to October 1929. The book was released in September 1929 with a first print run of about 31,000 copies. The success of A Farewell to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.

The Hemingway Library Edition was published in July 2012. It included a copy of the original book's dust jacket and an appendix with the alternate endings Hemingway wrote, as well as excerpts from early drafts.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum holds two handwritten pages with possible titles Hemingway considered for the book. Many of these titles came from The Oxford Book of English Verse. One possible title, In Another Country and Besides, was taken from Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta. This phrase also appears in T. S. Eliot's poem Portrait of a Lady. Hemingway's personal library included works by both Eliot and Marlowe.

When A Farewell to Arms was first published in Scribner's Magazine, some words were censored, and parts of the story were removed for brevity. The 1929 novel version restored these passages, but adult language remained censored. At least two copies of the first edition had Hemingway's handwritten corrections to the censored text. One was given to Maurice Coindreau, the other to James Joyce. Hemingway's corrected text was finally included in a 2025 edition of the novel, and some audiobook versions are uncensored.

The novel was banned in the Irish Free State. It could not be published in Italy until 1948 because the Fascist government believed the book harmed the reputation of the military, particularly in its description of the Battle of Caporetto and its anti-militarist themes. Some biographers suggest that personal dislike between Hemingway and Benito Mussolini also influenced the censorship. Hemingway had written an article in the Toronto Star in 1923, shortly after Mussolini seized power, in which he harshly criticized Mussolini, calling him "the biggest bluff in Europe." Mussolini reportedly disliked the article, as Hemingway described him pretending to read intently while secretly holding a French-English dictionary upside down. An illegal Italian translation of the novel was prepared in 1943 by Fernanda Pivano, leading to her arrest in Turin.

Critical reception

A Farewell to Arms received good reviews and is considered one of Hemingway's most important books. Gore Vidal described the work as showing Hemingway's early use of a unique and careful writing style that became a hallmark of his work. The 1929 New York Times review ended with the line: "It is a moving and beautiful book."

Baker noted that after ten years of thinking and reflecting on his experiences, Hemingway created a book that is not just about war, nor only a story about love and death during war.

However, since its publication, A Farewell to Arms has also faced controversy. When it was published in Scribner's Magazine, it was banned from Boston newsstands because some people accused it of being pornographic. Hemingway intentionally avoided including detailed descriptions of sex, using the technique of leaving out information as a writing method.

In other media

The novel was first adapted for the stage by Laurence Stallings in 1930. It was then made into a film in 1932, with a remake in 1957. A three-part television miniseries was produced in 1966. In December 2023, a new film version was announced, with Michael Winterbottom as the director and Tom Blyth as the lead actor.

The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock, shows Hemingway's experiences in Italy as an ambulance driver before he wrote A Farewell to Arms.

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

In season 19, episode 6 of Family Guy, titled "Meg's Wedding," Peter Griffin is told about his current physical condition by Dr. Hartman, who holds up a large copy of A Farewell to Arms to reference Peter's loss of both arms.