The Paris Wife (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Hadley Hemingway: The novel's protagonist, a woman who has not found love until she meets Hemingway and becomes his first wife. She was a spinster taking care of her parents with few prospects when she met Hemingway, who was 21 to her 28 years.
• Ernest Hemingway: Brilliant, starving artist, who would later become one of the greatest authors of the 20th century. Alternating between arrogance and self-doubt, he falls in love with Hadley.
• Pauline Pfeiffer: A woman the Hemingways become close to in Paris, who is a privately wealthy fashion editor
• Kate Smith: Childhood friend of Ernest and college friend of Hadley, later with both in Chicago, who later marries John Dos Passos.
• Lady Duff Twysden: Hemingway's flirty and iconoclastic muse for Lady Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises. First involved with Pat Guthrie, she also has an affair with Harold Loeb.
• Zelda Fitzgerald: F. Scott Fitzgerald's egocentric and alcoholic wife. Portrayed as a negative influence on Fitzgerald and his ability to write.
• F. Scott Fitzgerald: Writer, most notably of The Great Gatsby, and Zelda's devoted husband. Hemingway admires and envies him.
• Gertrude Stein: Writer; lesbian; partner of Alice B. Toklas and a supporter and early mentor of Hemingway. Bumby's godmother.
• Harold Loeb: Comedian; friend of Hem's before their falling out.
• Dorothy Shakespear: Hadley's friend while in Paris, wife of Ezra Pound.
• Sara Murphy: Married to Gerald Murphy. Together, this wealthy American couple influenced Antibes and contributed to the French Riviera becoming a popular resort destination.
• Sherwood Anderson: Author of Winesburg, Ohio; early mentor to Hemingway.
• Don Stewart: Hadley's friend in Paris.
• Marie Cocotte: Initially, she was hired by the Hemingways to cook their meals; later, she was the nanny to John "Bumby" Hemingway.
• Fonnie: Hadley's unhappily married older sister.
• Lewis Galantiere: The Hemingways' first friend in Paris and a fellow writer.
• Dorothea: Hadley's older sister who died following a tragic fire.
• Ruth Bradfield: Hadley's roommate and friend in St. Louis.
• Mike Strater: Friend of the Hemingways in Paris.
• Kitty Cannell: Hadley's divorcee friend in Paris, originally involved with Harold Loeb. Kitty introduces Pauline to Hadley and Ernest.
• Alice B. Toklas: Gertrude Stein's partner, who entertained the other writers' wives while the men visit with Gertrude
• John "Bumby" Hadley Nicanor Hemingway: Hadley and Ernest's son
• Ezra Pound: Writer and early mentor to Ernest; friends with the Hemingways in Paris. Married to Dorothy Shakespear
• Roland: Hadley's brother-in-law, Fonnie's husband.
• Bob McAlmon: Wealthy publisher of Contact Editions. Married to Annie but prefers men. Does not get along with Ernest yet publishes his work.
• Kenley Smith: Kate's brother whose Chicago apartment is where Hadley meets Ernest, a boarder there.
• Chink Dorman-Smith: Earnest's old war (WWI) friend.
• Edward O'Brien: Writer and editor and friends of the Hemingways and Pounds
• Ford Madox Ford: English poet and editor of the Transatlantic Review. Ezra Pound arranged for Ernest to be hired as deputy editor upon the Hemingways' return to Paris from Toronto.
• Bill Smith: Friend from Chicago.
• Pat Guthrie: Duff's fiance, heavy drinker

Quotes edit see section history

• “But not everyone out in a storm wants to be saved.”

  Hadley as narrator

• “And everything was very good and fine until it wasn't.”

  Hadley

• “It was terrible to feel so empty, as if I were nothing. Why couldn’t I be happy? And just what was happiness anyway? Could you fake it, as Nora Bayes insisted? Could you force it like a spring bulb in your kitchen, or rub up against it at a party in Chicago and catch it like a cold?”

  Hadley

• “Love is a beautiful liar”

  Ernest

• “That was my one brush with love. Was it love? It felt awful enough.”

  Hadley

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Paris
• Chicago: Hadley and Ernest meet in Chicago where Ernest was working as a copywriter for Firestone with aspirations of becoming a famous writer.
• Fifth Arrondissement, Paris: Old Paris populated by working-class Parisians. When Hadley and Ernest first moved to Paris, this is the only area in which they could afford to rent.
• Montreaux, Switzerland: The Hemingways vacation here after Ernest was paid for a journalism job by the Toronto Star.
• Great St. Bernard Pass: The 3rd highest road pass in Switzerland which ends in Italy. Ernest and Hadley hike the pass as a part of a trip to show Hadley areas of Italy where Ernest served in during WWI.
• Milan, Italy: During a Hemingway vacation, he interviews Benito Mussolini, Italy's new fascist leader.This was also where the wounded Hemingway was hospitalized during WWI.
• Fossalta, Italy: Where Hemingway was wounded during WWI and visited during the Hemingways vacation in Northern Italy.
• Auteuil: One of the richest areas of Paris where Hadley and Ernest visit the horse races.
• Cologne, Germany: Ernest taught Hadley how to trout fish on their first anniversary on a camping trip near Cologne.
• Pamplona, Spain: Ernest and Hadley went to Pamplona to see the bulls run and bullfights.
• Toronto: Ernest took a newspaper job in Toronto so that pregnant Hadley could have capable and trained professionals oversee her maternal care and delivery.

Organizations edit see section history

• The Lost Generation: A group of writers, mainly American ex-pats, who talked writing and frequented Paris cafes and bars in the 1920s.

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Marriage: Inside look at a deeply flawed, one sided marriage, yet one obviously built on love.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Paula McLain (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3563.C383495 P37
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Reading Group Guide

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