(European readers can find it here...)
'A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.'
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.'
I thought you might like this one... I couldn't put it down... xv
Just received this book for Christmas. Can't wait to read it now.
ReplyDeletesounds like perfect winter read - thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteVicki, I think Paris Wife was my favorite book of 2012! I couldn't put it down either! We went Spain a couple months ago and I revisited The Sun Also Rises while we were there and then went back to the Paris wife. It's really interesting to read them together. Happy page turning!
ReplyDeleteI have just finished reading this. I chose it as we were spending Christmas in Paris. I also took and read first, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13327539-almost-french which I enjoyed more than A Paris Wife. However both were nice to read whilst I was in the city.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I am now reading my book group read,
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/432660.The_Unfortunates
some of which is also set in Paris. This wasn't my choice, so that's 3 Paris set books in a month.
It was interesting to learn about some of Ernest Hemmingway's early married life, so many women of that generation just put up with so much crap.
Kathy the sane
http://outsideasylummusings.wordpress.com/wp-admin/
I read it a few months ago and I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI love books set in Paris.
That era seems so rich and stylish, the pictures show such an elegant life style.
Saw the Author at a book signing in Seattle. She said Hadley's family liked and approved of the book. They say she had his best years. It was an animated discussion with my book group-a great read indeed.
ReplyDeletesounds interesting and would probably never have noticed or found out if it weren't for your blog..merci!!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds fascinating!
ReplyDeleteIn my literature reading hayday, I would have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It seems over the course of the last 5 years, I have slowly stopped reading books...I blame it on blogging...
ReplyDeleteMandy
It does sound fascinating....love some of your French reads in your previous blogs too. Some I've read and some yet too so thank you for posting xo
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds like an interesting read. Not my usual style of book, but I've been wanting to try something new...
ReplyDeleteI read it when it came out. As others have said--LOVED it. Am SO glad to have that perception of 'Papa'.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post, Vicki. In the last few months and after touring the Key West home of Hemingway, the family name keeps appearing in my life...time to take the time to read more about this fascinating American and his life and loves...and turmoil. Funny that the KW home, uses Hadley's first name, Elizabeth...
ReplyDeleteI love your book recommendations...
Fun! I've had this on my goodreads list for a while, looking forward to making time for it, Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI am also reading this and loving it! I particularly like the way they entertained themselves so simply and so passionately.
ReplyDeleteI'm purchasing it tomorrow...on summer hols here..... just finished a book and ready to start a new one.
ReplyDeleteWarm regards
I'm just reading this now also, and am so enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteIts actually one of the many books on my nightstand waiting its turn! I read A Moveable Feast and highly recommend it...have heard mixed reviews on The Paris wife but am interested to read it. Happy reading Vicki!
ReplyDeleteSounds like just the book for a rainy afternoon in England...will check out my amazon right now!
ReplyDeleteRead it before seeing Midnight in Paris...perfect timing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend Vicki!
Jeannexx
I'm on it, thank you Vicki. I recently re-read A Moveable Feast wherein it was clear their meeting and marrying was a true love affair -- until everything fell apart.
ReplyDeletexo,
Tish
Oh, yes.... Poor, dutiful Hadley. I duly went through the review copy when that book (which is a very fun book) and considered that, if nothing else, at least she had the good sense and sufficient self-restraint to not (unlike T.S. Eliot's first wife) spend her post-divorce years showing up at every one of her ex-husband's public appearances....sitting in the front row with a large placard hung around her neck, which read " I AM THE WIFE HE ABANDONED!".
ReplyDeleteOf course, "The Paris Wife" is quite like "The Confessions of Nat Turner" in regard to its narrative tack (so to speak).
I like both books a lot....but, then, I've always been fascinated (perhaps unedifyingly so) by the obvious success of such transparently manipulative texts.
Level Best as Ever,
david Terry
www.davidterryart.com
After a recommendation from my aunt in Sydney, I read "The Paris Wife" and enjoyed it immensely. Seeing "Midnight in Paris" afterwards gave me a big kick as well. I'm trying to find time to see the Gertrude Stein exhibition in Paris now.
ReplyDeletethe way you describe this book...
ReplyDeletei need to read it.
it is right up my ally.
love, betrayal, Paris, and the artistic personality.
xxx
I received The Paris Wife as a gift at Christmas. I have long been a fan of A Moveable Feast and so this book of the early years of the Hemingway's will be interesting I am sure.
ReplyDeleteI found Paula McLain's Prologue set the stage for the 'times' and the impact they had on people's lives. Could their lives had turned out differently if lived at a different time?
I must get a copy of this one.......soon! Sounds like a great read. My daughter was just in Key West and toured the Hemingway house.....with all those cats!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading Vicki - any chance we will see a new book from you soon?
My mother sent this to me. She's the reader. I'm the looker. Looking forward to losing myself in what sounds like a fascinating story. Good to know you are loving it too!
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful Sunday Vicki.
xo Lisa
I, too, enjoyed -- what an interesting time to be in Paris, and what a complex relationship!
ReplyDeleteI, too, enjoyed -- what an interesting time to be in Paris, and what a complex relationship!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm on my way to Amazon. xoxo Mary
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed he book too! xxoo
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks for this recommendation, Vicki! I'm nearly finished rereading Donna Tart's The Secret History, and I was just pondering this morning what I should read next. Now I know! xo Gigi
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous! WIll have to find it.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the movie "Midnight in Paris" that has been out for a few months? Similar to this but certainly not realistic. I loved it. Not usually a fan of Woody Allen, but really think this was a fun movie.
Have a nice week, Vicki.
Tereas
xoxo
Thanks for your opinion - I wasn't sure if I should buy it. Now I will!
ReplyDeleteI loved this book Vicki! Couldn't put it down either! It was nice to follow up after the book with the movie "Midnight in Paris." Then, I went to see Gertude Stein's art at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It all just seemed to go together. But the book was the most enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteHello Vicki, thanks for the tip. I shall add it to my Good Reads. It has a beautiful cover, that’s for sure! As another poster said, the movie Midnight In Paris was wonderful and the Ernest Hemingway character was my favourite (helped by the fact he looked like Johnny Depp). Happy New Year to you and your family. I can’t believe we are nearly half-way through January. xx
ReplyDeleteI'm going to read this one, Vicki ~ thanks so much for recommending it. Midnight in Paris piqued my interest in finding out more about the key players back in that era, and this sounds like a great place to start.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Vicki! Thank you for the suggestion - will get a copy of "The Paris Wife". Also as other readers have noted, "A Moveable Feast" is wonderful - you can wander the streets of Paris with a copy in your hand, re-visiting many of the scenes from the book and having a meal, coffee or "un verre" at the places he dined and drank at. A bit like Clive James, who (I'm told) when he first moved to London wandered the streets and underground with a volume of TS Eliot exploring the multi-layered references in "The Waste Land" and other poems -still evocative today. "Midnight in Paris" is great fun, saw it for the second time last week and enjoyed it just as much, it's Woody's (and our own) love affair with Paris and the past lives and relationships of its wonderful inhabitants. It's like the froth on a cappucino, but such delightful froth!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Midnight in Paris, I want to learn more about Ernest Hemingway. I think I will read this book next! Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteHello!Do you read the blog "LOST IN ARLES"?You two must get together for a Kir Royal or some good chit chat!I think you live not far from each other.She has a beautiful dog too named BEN!Perhaps, a doggie play date is in your future......wish I could be there too.I have red that book........we are on the same page when it comes to books!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh....that one has been on my Kindle "download next" list for a brief time; you just reminded me :)
ReplyDeleteGreat timing Vicki!
ReplyDeleteSince the Movie Midnight in Paris just came out on dvd I would love to read this.....Loves Hemingway's writing....So he watched the movie three nights in a row....This sounds like a good read..Thanks for the heads up!Maryanne xo
I loved, loved, loved this book. It haunted me long after I was done with it.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't finish it -- I was overcome by the urge to slap some sense into her!
ReplyDeleteI loved that book. I was lucky enough to hear the author talk about the book as well as have my copy signed. She is a wonderful speaker if you ever have the opportunity to hear her. I blogged about it back in October. It was fun to read a new version of Hemingway. By the way, I found your blog this past year.. I like the variety of topics you cover. Always enjoyable.- P
ReplyDeleteOooh! Thanks for the tip. Just ordering it online now :-)
ReplyDelete~ Clare x
I downloaded this book to my iPad before the holidays ... and now you've inspired me to actually read it. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteAlso just downloaded to my iPad, think I am going to read it on my flight to Paris Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteOoh you have got me Vicki I am off to drop the girls at the Lagoon & oh no its Australia Day cannot go to shops they will be closed will have to be the weekend I am going to get the book it sounds like a great read thanks :)
ReplyDelete