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Book Review of The Paris Wife

The Paris Wife
The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Hardcover
Tesstarosa avatar reviewed on + 151 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


At age 28, Hadley Richardson is not likely to get married. But she travels to Chicago and meets 21 year-old Ernest Hemingway. A courtship begins via letter, they eventually marry and then move to Paris so that Ernest can pursue focus on his writing.

This story is told from the point-of-view of Hadley, Hemingways first wife, and what their life in Paris during the 1920s was like. While in Paris, they meet and befriend Gertrude Stein and her lover, Alice Toklas, Ezra Pound and F Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, among others.

Hemingway is fairly controlling but Hadley grew up with a controlling mother and had been living with her sister, who was like her mother and very controlling with her husband. Neither had happy marriages and Hadley did not want her marriage to be like either of theirs.

Hadley is supportive of Hemingway throughout the marriage and their life is Paris is not easy. They dont have a lot of money and Hemingway often has trouble writing. Then, Hadley becomes pregnant while they were on vacation and she had forgotten her birth control.

It would appear they will get through these struggles until Hadley befriends Pauline, a friend of one of Hadleys childhood friends who is in Paris. Pauline is the first of Hadleys friends that Ernest can tolerate and she starts to join the Hemingways at their home and on vacations. Until Hadley cannot handle the arrangement and demands a divorce.

I enjoyed this book. The writing is beautiful and the story is well-told.