Book Returned To Greenwich Library After 56 Years

GREENWICH, CT — After 56 years, an overdue book has been returned to Greenwich Library.

According to a video posted by the library on Facebook, "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway was sent back earlier this month with a letter tucked inside. The most recent return date on the inside of the book was April 15, 1969.

"I was born and raised in Greenwich - my family moved to upstate New York in 1980," the sender wrote in the letter dated Jan. 7, 2025. "I was recently going through some old boxes and found this book. I re-read it and am now returning it - 56 years late. I am enclosing a check that I hope will cover the cost of replacing the book."

The returned copy is no longer available in the library's circulating collection, but newer copies are available in a variety of formats.

"Receiving a long-overdue book with a thoughtful note was a delightful surprise," Greenwich Library Executive Director Joe Williams said in an emailed statement to Patch. "It's a testament to the caring nature of our patrons. It's moments like these that remind us of the generosity and responsibility of our community. Fortunately, for the patron, we ended our overdue fines policy a few years ago."

First published in 1926 by Scribner's, "The Sun Also Rises" was Hemingway's first novel. The book follows a group of American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid-1920s.

"The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style," a description of the book says on Amazon. "The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century."