Reveals hidden depths of the Hemingway mystique through the eyes of a modern writer who spent a decade immersed in the legendary author’s attic
Hemingway’s Attic offers a fresh perspective on Ernest Hemingway’s life in Cuba from 1950 to 1952, shining a new light on the years leading up to his masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea. While much has been written about Hemingway’s life, covering his childhood, sexuality, genius, strange proclivities, and flaws, this book delves into a period that remains largely unexplored—Hemingway’s two years in Cuba between his biggest failure, Across the River and into the Trees, and his greatest triumph, The Old Man and the Sea.
Set in the twilight of his career, these two years reveal Hemingway at his most destructive, tragic, and brutal. Living in an alternate world ninety miles off the coast of Florida, he abandoned Key West for a life in Cuba and navigated the consequences of a life by his own rules.
The narrative is enriched by the unique viewpoint of a modern writer who spent a decade working in Hemingway’s attic from 1998 to 2008, becoming immersed in the business and mythology of Hemingway, and even meeting two of his sons. This book captures both the roller coaster of Hemingway's life in Cuba and the legacy of one of America’s most influential literary figures.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Contents
Acknowledgments
Note to the Reader
The Kingdom of Hemingway
Prologue: Gloria Hemingway
THE ROAD TO CUBA
Chapter 1: Hemingway’s Crib 2001
Chapter 2: House of Grace 1899-1918
Chapter 3: Shell Shocked 1919
Chapter 4: A Moveable Feast 1919-1923
Chapter 5: Verboten 1923-1925
Chapter 6: Filthy Books 1925-1926
Chapter 7: The Havannah Special 1926-1934
Chapter 8: That Way Madness Lies 1934-1937
Chapter 9: Beauty and the Beast 1937-1943
Chapter 10: Machine Gunning the Sharks 1943-1947
CUBA: HEART OF DARKNESS
Chapter 11: Waiting for Across the River and into the Trees 1947-1950
Chapter 12: Across the Street and into the Grill 1950
Chapter 13: The New Mrs. Hemingway 1951
Chapter 14: From Here to Eternity 1951
Chapter 15: Writing The Old Man and the Sea 1951
Chapter 16: The Wickedness 1951
Chapter 17: Lord of the Jungle 1951
Chapter 18: The Last Circus 1951
Chapter 19: It Wasn’t So Bad Papa 1951
Chapter 20: A Clean Well Lit Place 1952
Chapter 21: Ernestine 1952
Chapter 22: The Snows of Kilimanjaro 2001
Chapter 23: The Old Man and The Sea 1952
Chapter 24: Hemingway's Attic 2001
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
