Autumn in Venice: Ernest Hemingway and His Last Muse

Detailed biography of Hemingway’s final decade, chronicling his love of Venice and infatuation with the young Venetian countess Adriana Ivancich. Di Robilant begins with Hemingway’s 1946 marriage to fourth wife Mary Welsh and then moves into an account of the author’s intimate, though apparently platonic, relationship with Ivancich following their initial 1948 meeting at a duck shoot in Venice. Covers Ivancich’s role as the model for Renata of Across the River and into the Trees and inspiration behind The Old Man and the Sea. Di Robilant’s portrait depicts the author’s dedication to writing as well as his struggles with alcoholism and depression. Concludes with Ivancich’s struggles with negative publicity stemming from their relationship, depression, and eventual suicide. Frequent references to Hemingway’s writings throughout, including A Farewell to Arms, Across the River and into the Trees, The Old Man and the Sea, and Islands in the Stream. Draws on existing biographies, journals, memoirs, and unpublished correspondence. Features a dozen black-and-white photographs, endnotes, critical bibliography, and index