The Paris Wife

Hadley Richardson led a quiet and sheltered life until she met the man who would change her life, Ernest Hemingway.

Poet and novelist, Paula McLain tells the fictional story of Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson and the infamous Paris years. As people in love do, they made many promises to each other that they would not be able to keep. Told through the perspective of Hadley, McLain relates their ill-fated marriage and the rise of Hemingway from struggling artist/newspaper man to the well-known author and voice of his generation. The book is a who’s who of the “Lost Generation,” such as: Fitzgerald, Pound, and Stein.

McLain’s book is so compelling and richly detailed that I found myself forgetting that it was fiction. Although I knew how it would end, I could not help myself from rooting for the triumph of love and Hadley over fame and infidelity. However, McLain does not allow her heroine to become a victim. She acknowledges her naiveté, but never apologizes for it. In the end Hadley is better and stronger for having loved Hemingway. I highly recommend this book.