Book Review: THE PARIS WIFE

"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain

"Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quite twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness - 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 Pond, 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.
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley."

I absolutely love this book!!! The author brings in many things we may not have thought about, like the lifestyle of the era in Paris. Many parts of this book also fascinated me. He was from the Chicago area. There is reference of 'corn' and 'Indiana'. They lived on $3000 a year, which translates to about $33(ish) now. They had sherry and biscuits for breakfast and alcohol every meal and then some. They had a 'practically' full time nanny that did so many things. Heck she was their housekeeper before Bumby, the son, was born. I understand that this is a fiction book, based on facts gathered. I love it and it really has peeked my interest in "The Sun Also Rises". I believe I will read that one.... which will be my first Hemingway book. His name is well known; however I often wonder how many of the people that 'knows the name' has read one of the books from this author.