The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is a classic short story by Ernest Hemingway. It tells the story of Francis Macomber, a wealthy American on safari in Africa with his wife, Margot, and their guide, Robert Wilson. The story begins with Francis and Margot on a hunting trip in the African bush. Francis is a coward and a poor hunter, and Margot is unimpressed with his lack of courage. After a failed attempt to hunt a lion, Francis finds the courage to stand up to a charging buffalo, and kills it. This newfound courage impresses Margot, and the two of them become closer. However, their newfound closeness is short-lived. Later that night, Margot and Wilson have a heated argument, and Margot reveals that she and Wilson have been having an affair. Francis is devastated, and the next morning he goes out hunting alone. He is successful in killing a rhinoceros, but is then shot and killed by Wilson, who claims it was an accident. The story ends with Margot and Wilson leaving Africa, and Francis' body being buried in the African bush. The story is a tragic tale of a man who found courage too late, and of a marriage that was destroyed by infidelity.
By Ernest Hemingway · First published 1925 · Genre: Modernist Literature, Realism, Adventure Fiction