<P> A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I . The book, published in 1929, is a first - person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant ("tenente") in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army . The title is taken from a poem by 16th - century English dramatist George Peele . </P> <P> A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley against the backdrop of the First World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations . The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway's stature as a modern American writer, became his first best - seller, and is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as "the premier American war novel from that debacle World War I ." </P> <P> The novel has been adapted for the stage, initially in 1930 and subsequently, for film in 1932 and 1957, and as a television miniseries in 1966 . The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock, depicts Hemingway's life in Italy as an ambulance driver in the events prior to his writing of A Farewell to Arms . </P> <P> The novel is divided into five books . In the first book, Frederic Henry, an American paramedic serving in the Italian Army is introduced to Catherine Barkley, an English nurse, by his good friend and roommate, Rinaldi, a surgeon . Frederic attempts to seduce her, and their relationship begins . Frederic doesn't want a serious relationship, but his feelings for Catherine slowly start to grow . On the Italian front, Frederic is wounded in the knee by a mortar and sent to a hospital in Milan, where Catherine is also sent . </P>

Where does a farewell to arms take place