A. E. Hotchner Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-MS-ms056

Staff Only

The A.E. Hotchner Papers includes manuscript and editorial material toward Papa Hemingway (1966), Treasure (1970), King of the Hill (1970), The Man Who Lived at the Ritz (1981), Looking for Miracles (1975), Choice People (1984), Louisiana Purchase (1996) and Hemingway in Love (2015). Also included are Hotchner’s adaptations of Hemingway materials for television and original plays for television and the stage.The Hotchner Papers also contain photocopied correspondence with Hemingway; photographs and other memorabilia of Hotchner’s time at Washington University; photographs of Hemingway, Newman, Hotchner, and others; and many materials related to Hotchner’s long-running charity production of the Hemingway story-cycle “The World of Nick Adams.”

Dates

Creation: 1930-2018

Creator

Hotchner, A. E. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Some restrictions. Please contact Modern Literature Curator for more details.

Conditions Governing Use

Some restrictions. Please contact Modern Literature Curator for more details.

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

79.00 boxes

Additional Description

Biographical Information

Aaron Edward "A. E." Hotchner (June 28, 1917 - February 15, 2020) is an American memoirist, novelist, playwright and biographer. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Hotchner graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with degrees in both history and law. He briefly practiced law, then served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Because of his experience writing plays and musicals in college, the Air Corps assigned him to write a musical for the benefit of war widows, before going into officer training school, and then anti-submarine command, where he was eventually assigned to make a film about the command. When the war was over, he decided to forgo the law and pursue a career in writing.

In 1948, Hotchner was sent on assignment to solicit articles from many well-known writers, including Ernest Hemingway, who invited Hotchner to meet, and the two became close friends until Hemingway's death in 1961. Hotchner is well-known for Papa Hemingway, his 1966 memoir/biography of Hemingway, whose work he exclusively had adapted for plays and television. His play Sweet Prince was produced off-Broadway in 1982 at the Theater Off-Park. King of the Hill, Hotchner's evocative memoir of his childhood in St. Louis during the Great Depression, was made into a film in 1993, by director Steven Soderbergh.

Over the years, Hotchner also wrote biographies of Doris Day and Sophia Loren, as well as many novels, memoirs, nonfiction books, stage plays and teleplays. He founded Newman's Own, Inc., with his friend and neighbor, actor Paul Newman, in 1982, and has remained active with the corporation, which donates 100% of its profits to charities.