The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, short story by Ernest Hemingway, first published in Cosmopolitan in 1936, collected in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories (1938). Set on an African safari, the story contains some of the author’s recurrent themes—“grace under pressure” and adherence to a manly code of behaviour. It is also known for its ambiguous depiction of emotions and motivations. The character Francis Macomber, a wealthy American, and his wife,...