This, perhaps Hemingway's most famous novel, was published in 1929 and is based on his experiences as a volunteer in World War I. When he wrote it, he was thirty years old, and the novel was celebrated as the best book about this war. It established his worldwide fame. "A Farewell to Arms" tells the story of American ambulance driver Frederic Henry on the Isonzo Front and his passion for the beautiful but sensitive English nurse Catherine Barkley—a love that can only end in catastrophe given the circumstances under which it thrives. The novel is distinguished by its masterful narrative ability to intertwine the brutality of war with the delicate dance of a budding romance in a disturbingly compelling way. This results in a drama of nearly superhuman tragedy, free from any sentimentality.