While vacationing in the Florida Keys recently, my family and I visited the Key West home of Ernest Hemingway, one of the most famous and influential American writers of our time. He received the Nobel Prize for literature and won a Pulitzer Prize. He wrote The Sun Also Rises at age 27, followed shortly by A Farewell to Arms. As my younger brother and I toured his former house, we teased each other, “Now why didn’t one of US think to write the great American novel while we were in our twenties?”
movies based on Hemingway novels
Hemingway and I have a lot in common. 🙂 Ok–a few things. We both began our lives in Oak Park, Illinois. We both wrote novels. We both loved cats, and have owned (or been owned by) a six-toed cat. Coincidentally, my intern Anna, who blogged for me last time, mentioned Ernest Hemingway in her post, saying: Ernest Hemingway hunted lions in Africa and fought bulls in Spain, but when asked about the most frightening thing he had ever faced, he answered, “A blank sheet of paper.” Starting a new novel is challenging for me as well.
That’s where the similarities between us end. I realize I will never experience the fame of Ernest Hemingway and that’s ok with me. More than ok. For all Hemingway’s success, he was not happy. He suffered from depression and mental illness for years before taking his own life. Sadly, his legacy of dysfunction seems to have been passed down to several of his descendants. I would gladly forego wealth and fame for a reasonably happy and healthy family. Wouldn’t you?
Hemingway’s home & office
In any case, what I liked best about touring the house was seeing Hemingway’s office and imagining the former “cat walk” that linked his second-floor veranda to his office across the backyard (until a storm blew down the connector). How handy to be able to slip away to an writing retreat in a quiet, separate building without having to put on shoes.
My sons were not too impressed with the house itself, but the 40-50 resident six-toed cats were a hit with everyone—especially my nieces. The cats are named for famous people, like Tennessee Williams, Billie Holiday, Betty Grable, and Hairy Truman. Visitors are allowed to pet the cats, but not pick them up. The story is that Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain years ago, and the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat. (In writing this post, I learned that six-toed cats were common ship’s cats both here and in England and were considered good luck. I will have to include one in a future book!)
Six-toed cat beside Hemingway’s typewriter. credit: www.hemingwayhome.com/cats/
Until his disappearance two years ago, we were the proud owners of a six-fingered cat named Skittles, a stray we adopted. Perhaps extra-digit or “polydactyl” felines are drawn to the homes of authors? Here’s a photo of him showing our kitten Mojo who was boss.
Mojo & Mr. Skittles
All in all, it was interesting to visit the home-turned-museum of an acclaimed author. Have you ever visited a similar place? Or had a cat with six toes?
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The cat I had as a child also had six toes. Her name was Butterscotch and she had dozens of six-toed kittens. Maybe there really is a link between six-toed cats and authors!
I would love to see the home hemmingway had in Cuba. One in Florida looks nice.
This was so interesting, Julie! I found photos of Ernest Hemingway serving as an ambulance driver in WW1 when I was doing research for my next book, A Refuge at Highland Hall. His handsome face is the cover image for my WW1 Pinterest board. : )
When we do something special with our family, no matter what it is the memory of that time stays with us the rest of our lives. Not only that our children also remember the occasion as well.
I didn’t know there was such a thing as a ‘six toed cat’. How interesting! I owned two cats when I first started writing. Maybe — unbeknownst to me — that’s WHY I started writing. Have cats. Must write. ? 🙂
I have visited the Stephen Foster homeplace and museum
Yes, I’ve had a six toed cat. She was a female orange tabby. Very nice cat. And no I am not a Twitter.
I was adopted by one tortoiseshell calico with mitten toes. I’m don’t know whether or not that’s the same thing. If it isn’t, what she had was, in essence, 5-1/2 toes on the front.
She’s the only one I remember with that condition and we had a lot of cats (I grew up on a farm).
The visit to Hemingway’s home is interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve never read any of his books, but my husband and I watch To Have and Have Not frequently enough that my curiosity about the book as been piqued, if only to see how close the movie and book are.
As far as visiting historic places, my tastes run more toward horses than writers. I’ve been to Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) and Keeneland Race Course. I’ve taken farm tours and seen some famous stallions living in luxury. Of all the places I’ve been, Kentucky is the place I most love returning to. It’s as if it’s my true home. Not Michigan, where I grew up, or Kansas, where I now live.
Interesting post and sad for Hemingway. And yes I had a six-toed cat only for about a day (My dad wasn’t into cats). It was so cute. And here I am getting finished with my novel. lol
You might think with ALL the cats I’ve had over the years (and continue to have) 😉 that one of them would be a six-toed. But so far I’ve not had a six-toed kitty – – maybe one day. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this with us today, Julie.
I’ve never owned a 6-toed cat, but my RA at my college dorm housesat an amazing mansion for the actor Burgess Meredith in Pomona, New York, and when I visited her there, the actor’s cat (Hypatia…I still remember her name!) had just given birth to several 6-toed kittens. They were darling, and seemed extra playful with those huge paws to bat each other with. Thanks for bringing back that fun memory, Julie! (My husband WON’T thank you because I’ve been bugging him about getting a cat! 🙂 )
My husband and I visited Key West many years ago. What did you think about the salt water pool? We also visited the Audubon House, the local cemetery, Sloppy Joe’s, the Curry House, etc.
We have several six toed cats in our horse barn. They love their job of keeping the mice at bay and entertaining our riding students. They cats are an endless source of conversation among adults who are aware of those belonging to Hemingway. Apparently they were quite prolific in populating Key West. The adults refer to ours as Hemingway cats, creating the opening to the first conversation about Hemingway for most of the children. They will probably ever more remember him as the man with the 6 toed cats as opposed to the author of the great American novel! One cat, Princes,has six toes on both front paws. (She lives up to her name). The other has six toes on each of his 4 paws. He’s aptly named 24!