The first is the shorter of the two. This one can easily be read over a long weekend. It's a cleaver book and if you are a Hemingway fan (as I am) and if you love to read books set in "horse country" then you should add this one to your list:
The author has decided that Hemingway fakes his death and instead of killing himself in Idaho in 1961, he works to hide his true identity and moves to Ireland, hence the setting in "horse country." It's a cleaver idea and it's a fun read.
Here is more information from Amazon:
"It was with some pleasure I
joined Hemingway on his literary and sporting tour of Ireland circa
1960. He meets all the greats from the very grand Knight of Glin who was
his guide, philosopher and friend. They meet all the great literary
figures of the day including John B. Keane in Listowel, where they take
in a days racing. They go on to meet Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney and a
host of others. To cap it off, the greatest horse trainer of his
generation, Vincent O'Brien, meets them and they hunt with the iconic
White Heather Harriers. All in all a great read, particularly for
Hibernophiles."
-Dickie Power,
Correspondent, The Irish Field
(The Voice of the Irish Equine Industry)
"On July 2, 1961 the world was not ready to let go of Ernest Hemingway. In his debut novel Hemingway's Retreat J. M. Moriarty proposes what if the world did not have to. The novel follows a defeated but not destroyed writer hiding and trying to find remnants of his former self. It is a unique and engrossing tale, which unfolds in castles, pubs and the beautiful rolling hills of Ireland."
-Raul Villarreal,
coauthor of Hemingway's Cuban Son
The life of action and fame has finally caught up to Ernest Hemingway, prompting him to contemplate whether he can go on living. Now as he faces the age-old question of whether to live or to die, Ernest makes a life-altering decision to choose both.
After he fakes his demise, Hemingway is pronounced dead on July 2, 1961. While the world learns of his death, EMH transforms into Matt Fitzgerald. With the help of his friend, President Kennedy, he moves to Ireland to live in a castle with a cousin of the president. As his new life begins, Fitzgerald travels through Ireland, learning about its people and history. Even as he searches for peace, it is only a beginning for him. Although his will to live is still there, his ambition has been tempered. As Fitzgerald's need to understand returns as a goal, his desire to tell basic stories becomes a driving force. Now the real question is whether his new life will keep him going or whether he will once again plunge into the darkness of depression.
Hemingway's Retreat shares an imaginative account of what would have happened if the famous writer had faked his own death.
-Dickie Power,
Correspondent, The Irish Field
(The Voice of the Irish Equine Industry)
"On July 2, 1961 the world was not ready to let go of Ernest Hemingway. In his debut novel Hemingway's Retreat J. M. Moriarty proposes what if the world did not have to. The novel follows a defeated but not destroyed writer hiding and trying to find remnants of his former self. It is a unique and engrossing tale, which unfolds in castles, pubs and the beautiful rolling hills of Ireland."
-Raul Villarreal,
coauthor of Hemingway's Cuban Son
The life of action and fame has finally caught up to Ernest Hemingway, prompting him to contemplate whether he can go on living. Now as he faces the age-old question of whether to live or to die, Ernest makes a life-altering decision to choose both.
After he fakes his demise, Hemingway is pronounced dead on July 2, 1961. While the world learns of his death, EMH transforms into Matt Fitzgerald. With the help of his friend, President Kennedy, he moves to Ireland to live in a castle with a cousin of the president. As his new life begins, Fitzgerald travels through Ireland, learning about its people and history. Even as he searches for peace, it is only a beginning for him. Although his will to live is still there, his ambition has been tempered. As Fitzgerald's need to understand returns as a goal, his desire to tell basic stories becomes a driving force. Now the real question is whether his new life will keep him going or whether he will once again plunge into the darkness of depression.
Hemingway's Retreat shares an imaginative account of what would have happened if the famous writer had faked his own death.
The second book is a more ambitious project to read, it's much longer and quite detailed.
Here is the overview from Amazon:
Daisy Bacon, the opinionated, autocratic and complex editor of Love Story Magazine
from 1928 to 1947, chose the stories that would be read by hundreds of
thousands of readers each week. The first weekly periodical devoted to
romance fiction and the biggest-selling pulp fiction magazine in the
early days of the Great Depression, Love Story sparked a wave of imitators that dominated newsstands for more than twenty years.
Disparaged as a "love pulp," the magazine actually championed the
"modern girl," bringing its heroines out of the shadows of Victorian
poverty and into the 20th century. With Love Story's success,
Bacon became a national spokesperson, declaring that the modern woman
could have it all--in love, in marriage and in the business worldYet Bacon herself struggled to achieve that ideal, especially in her own romantic life, built around a long-term affair with a married man. Drawing on exclusive access to her personal papers, this first-ever biography tells the story behind the woman who influenced millions of others to pursue independence in their careers and in their relationships.
It's a very detailed book with lots of pictures and it will take you a bit to get through it but it's very good and well-written. To be honest, I knew nothing about her or this era in literary history.
Happy reading! Books make great gifts!
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