Speaking in 1957, Evelyn Waugh commented that Hemingway was "really at heart a Catholic author." In this groundbreaking study, Matthew Nickel explores Hemingway's Catholic faith through close scrutiny of his fiction and other writings. Using previously unpublished Hemingway letters, Nickel reveals how Hemingway's profound sacramental sense of ritual, pilgrimage and sacrifice informed his work ... and his life. "Matthew Nickel is a thorough and careful scholar. He has delved beneath the surface and has found a treasure trove of meaning. This book will enrich every reader's understanding of Hemingway, the man and his work." - Valerie Hemingway, author of Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways "Nickel's scholarship is impeccable, thoroughgoing and perspicacious. ... A cutting-edge study of the most urgent concerns of one of our greatest writers." - H.R. Stoneback, Distinguished Professor English, SUNY New Paltz "Nickel has written a very strong Catholic reading of all of Hemingway, grounded in lucid textuality and exhaustive research." - Allen Josephs, past president of the Hemingway Foundation and Society, author of Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida