Seven Fun Facts About Ernest Hemingway You Probably Did Not Know

Papa was an interesting man

Hemingway writing in Kenya in 1953 (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

We all know about Ernest Hemingway’s writing (whether you like it or not), and most are familiar with the public persona he so carefully cultivated. However, there are some cool facts about the great man that most people simply don’t know, which makes now the perfect time to look at some lesser-known things about the man many (correctly) consider the greatest American writer ever.

1. While it is widely known that Hemingway was married four times, few know that he dedicated a book to each one of his wives. He dedicated his first novel, The Sun Also Rises, to his first wife Hadley; Death in the Afternoon, to second wife Pauline; For Whom the Bell Tolls, to third wife Martha Gellhorn; and Across the River and Into the Trees, to his last wife, Mary. In addition, possibly his finest novel, A Farewell to Arms, was dedicated to G.A. Pfeiffer, second wife Pauline Pfeiffer’s uncle, whom Hemingway had become friends with. The marriages may not have lasted, but the books and their dedications will live forever.

2. Though Hemingway was a prolific writer, he only wrote around 500 words a day. This doesn’t seem like much, given that in his memoir On Writing Stephen King says he writes about 2,000 words per day, and writers from Jack London to Lee Child…