Dear Papa: The Letters of Patrick and Ernest Hemingway

by Ernest Hemingway, Patrick Hemingway, Brendan Hemingway (Editor)

An intimate and illuminating glimpse at Ernest Hemingway as a father, revealed through a selection of letters he and his son Patrick exchanged over the span of twenty years.

In the public imagination, Ernest Hemingway looms larger than life. But the actual person behind the legend has long remained elusive. Now, his son Patrick shares the letters they exchanged over two decades, offering a glimpse into how one of America’s most iconic writers interacted with his children. These letters reveal a father who wished for his children to share his interests—hunting, fishing, travel—and a son who was receptive to the experiences his father offered.

Edited by and including an introduction by Patrick Hemingway’s nephew Brendan Hemingway and his grandson Stephen Adams, and featuring a prologue and epilogue by Patrick reflecting on his father’s legacy, Dear Papa is a loving and collaborative family project and a nuanced, fascinating portrait of a father and son.

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

Published June 14, 2022

About the author

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.

Reviews

[Raisa Beicu · Rating 3 out of 5]

M-a bucurat timpul petrecut citind scrisorile dintre Hemingway și fiul său mijlociu, Patrick. Recunosc că am fost râcâită de numeroasele pasaje de la vânătoare - nu susțin deloc practica asta, însă tot citind despre viața lui, am început să înțeleg de unde nevoia de cruzime.

Una dintre cele mai fascinate personalități din lumea literară, Hemingway a fost un mare amator de coride, schi, pescuit, vânătoare. A iubit Cuba, alcoolul, Spania, pisicile. A supravieţuit antraxului, malariei, pneumoniei, hepatitei, cancerului de piele, diabetului, accidentelor de avion, rupturii de splină, fracturii de craniu şi de vertebre. A fost corespondent de război, s-a însurat de 4 ori, a primit Pulitzer și premiul Nobel.

În familia lui Hemingway, sinuciderile erau frecvente, probabil pentru că aproape toată familia lui suferea de depresie maniacală (tatăl, o soră și un frate și-au luat viața). Tulburarea bipolară de care suferea scriitorul îşi are rădăcinile în copilărie și l-a făcut să se refugieze în războaie şi vânători crude: „Omor aici animale şi peşti, încercând să nu mă omor pe mine”, îi scria cândva unei prietene.

Exceptând aceste pasaje din carte, peste care am sărit, am găsit o latură nouă de care eu, cel puțin, nu prea știam. Un Hemingway sensibil, cu o infinită iubire pentru copiii lui. Grijuliu, darnic, preocupat mult mai tare de ei decât de propria persoană.
Deși era multă căldură în tot ce-și scriau, am citit cu nodu-n gât uitându-mă la datarea fiecărei scrisori în parte.

Nu e nicio surpriză pentru nimeni că Hemingway s-a sinucis în 1961. Urmăream în rândurile lui motive, dislocări, cuvinte care-l dădeau de gol, semnale, regrete. Cu cât anii se apropiau de acel deadline, mi-era tot mai frică de clipa în care Patrick nu va mai avea să primească splendidele scrisori de la propriul tată.

“Scrisorile lui Patrick & Ernest Hemingway”, volum apărut la editura Nemira, mi-a amintit de cât de mult bine există în fiecare dintre noi. De cât de copleșiți pot fi oamenii buni. De cât de multă povară poate duce un om de-a lungul vieții. De cât de tare ar trebui să ne concentrăm pe a înțelege și nu pe a judeca. A iubi chiar și atunci când pare că nu mai e pe nicăieri loc de iubire 🤍

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the intimacy of reading these letters between father and son.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read so much about Hemingway, it was easy to follow along and know what he and Patrick were talking about at times. Enjoyed reading their own words, it’s obvious how much they loved one another.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

These letters are a wonderful way to get to know the relationship between Hemingway and his son. And, though I enjoyed them I found one thing that did find frustrating and that was the families use of nicknames. Most of the family is referred to by nicknames and sometimes multiple nicknames for one person. Some were easy to figure out or even obvious such as Patrick's two nicknames since all the letters were addressed to those two nicknames in the book. Others were a little more difficult and I think I spent more time trying to figure out who was who then enjoying the letters. I really wanted a list of family members and their nicknames without having to search online constantly for that information. But, besides that it was a good read and a unique look at the life of being the son of Hemingway.

[Bayneeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at an abridged collection of the letters exchange between father and son over the course of their lifetimes. A bit more hunting tales relating quantities of animals shot, but Papa always was a hunter, and his middle son, Patrick, was a big game hunter in Africa. Earned a living by leading safaris of many weeks duration. So hunting details not unexpected.

Book has a good index, but what it lacks are footnotes. Who are some of the people referred to in their letters? Papa's says he's working hard on a book, but what specific book is rarely mentioned. Maybe not an issue for most readers.

[Gratian Lascu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imprumutata de la Biblioteca Judeteana Oradea. Face parte din lotul celor 60 de carti achizitionate lunar prin parteneriat cu Librariile Humanitas.

Strict pentru pasionatii de Hemingway sau pentru cei care vor sa vada relatia tata-fiu cum evolueaza de-a lungul anilor (timp de 30 de ani). Totodata, nu incepeti daca sunteti iubitori de animale (in special de cele salbatice) deoarece familia Hemingway era compusa din vanatori duri si pescari mânati de orgoliu. Foarte multe scrisori prezinta modul in care vaneaza Patrick in Africa (ex. elefanti cu fildesi de 30 KG) si explica in amanunt cum momeste leii pentru a obtine trofee. Toate aceste lucruri se intampla in anii ‘60 cand nu era reglementata vanatoarea in Tanzania / Kenya / Africa de Est. Dar daca vreti sa vedeti dragoste parinteasca, apreciere si dedicare pentru relatia tata-fiu sau sinceritatea unui Ernest care stie ca nu a fost “tot timpul acolo”, atunci aceasta carte este pentru voi.

[C. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s difficult to express my feelings without dissolving into a pool of teary-eyed hyperbole. Their letters snapshot a tender & loving parent-child bond.

““Please excuse all this self justification. I think we have always been good friends, and I think we both have one thing very much in common, that we go on doing something that really does not appeal to us at all because we don’t want to do any thing wrong, and then we really blow up.
Much love,
Mouse
(.) (.) (.)
[author/Patrick Hemingway]”


““you were the only brother I had among my sons; [-Papa]”


[in regard to Hemingway’s youngest who was estranged]

“Mr. Gigi [is] wonderful but always strange and then gone like a burned out fire cracker. Maybe he will come back. I hope so always. But I wish never to see him.”


““I love you always and am very proud of you.
Papa”

[Connie Schepers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did the audio version. It was sweet, listening to the written letters between the father and son. I’ve always been interested in Hemingway and this was way to learn about him. It was hard to maintain my interest at times that’s why I gave it three stars.but I did enjoy the detail the sharing and the intimacy that was shared

[Liana Sabău · Rating 4 out of 5]

E.H. către P.H.: "Dă-ți toată silința la studii, fiindcă oricum ăsta e singurul motiv pentru care să investești în școală. Se spune că școala și facultatea sunt locurile în care îi întâlnești pe minunații prieteni care o să te însoțească de-a lungul vieții; deja cunoaștem câțiva tipi faini și din afara școlii."

[nickoli :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it was still interesting. Almost every letter was about hunting in some way, shape, or form, but the inner details gave amazing insight into Hemingways location and mindset as he was writing certain books.

[Nanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inside look at the loving father/son relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his son Patrick as seen through correspondence over the years. No matter what country they were in or what the world was going through, they continued to write each other.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A closer glimpse into the life of an American icon of his time through correspondence with his sons. These letters takes us by into a time capsule of a by gone era.

[Suzie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronological collection of letters from/to Ernest Hemingway and his son Patrick.

[Morgan]

For thinking Hemingway was the OG fuck boy, I sure do read a lot of his canon.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The love between Ernest and Patrick Hemingway shines through in this collection of letters. So sad Patrick lost his father so early in his life.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mostly reads as an effort by Patrick to gain some notoriety from his association with his father. Much of his prose goes into frankly, quite vile detail about hunting - particularly as a “Great White Hunter” guide in Africa, in which he demises the loss of wild bounty of the country with each “butcher load” he boasts about. Gross. Most interesting was the insight the letters gave to Ernest’s state of mind and health as he approached his final days.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the letters between Ernest Hemingway and his son Patrick Hemingway. Reading this allowed me to think of Ernest as a father rather than just the author. I particularly liked the epilogue by Patrick.

[Chris Pereira]

Initially thought this would only be enjoyable for hardcore Hemingway fans, but I found enough to really dig into, reminiscent in a way of The Education of Henry Adams. Patrick’s letters are rough to get through initially due to spelling and grammar (including in hs, which makes you assume his getting into Stanford and Harvard was on a Varsity Blues scheme rather than his merits) but by college his letters smooth out. Plenty of interesting tidbits about contemporary society (L.Ron Hubbard, a dig at his dad’s rival Thomas Wolfe…) and Ernest’s letters provide some insight into his state of mind before writing Trees and while writing Islands, Old Man, and the works that would eventually be Moveable Feast and Dangerous Summer (including some opinions on the characters from the latter). Sadly, especially in the letters from the WW2 period onward, you also see some of the confusion and incoherence that must be due to his successive head injuries and concussions, and that would eventually lead to his suicide. The last 4-5 years of letters from Ernest make his decline fairly apparent, especially as you already know the ending. All in all, essential reading for Hemingway fans, but also enjoyable glimpse into the sporting set of the mid 20th century, a snapshot of history of the locales frequented by the Hemingways (Cuba, East Africa, Spain).

[Debbie Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the engaging, entertaining, and enthralling letters between Patrick and Ernest Hemingway. Read the highly recommended, and riveting portrayal of the closeness of Ernest Hemingway and his son, Patrick, and the relationship of the love between a father and his three sons.