"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain

 "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain".  The first  wife married to Ernest Hemingway is portrayed as gullible. and a little too easy going. 

 When we first meet Hadley Richardson, the wife, I got this Scott Fitzgerald feel from "The Great Gatsby". Here's a couple whose got money, class and a husband who puts his own needs first.  Like the scene from Gatsby where Daisy Miller is invited to parties by Nick, likewise Hadley is invited to to gatherings with Hemingway's friends.  She is ushered into a world of what seems like fun, filled with friends and talk that extends late into the night. This is a couple who can take trips to Cape Cod  drink and lolly-gag. 

 Too bad for Hemingway, he wanted to get out from under his parents thumb and his parent's old money.  He takes an opportunity to write in Paris as a foreign corespondent , working on his work of  the "The Sun Also Rises".  He takes his first wife Hadley along for the adventures.  She can support him, she receives money from her own family.  Hemingway spends most of his time in his private studio, or spends his time philandering with other women.  Getting into the social scene with other writers like Robert F. Burgess.  

 Hadley doesn't fit in well in Paris. Unlike Julia Child, she fails to find a hobby like cooking to entertain herself.  Although she does make friends, she doesn't realize these friendly women, are after her own love: Hemingway.

I liked that  McLain talked about the scenic attractions in Paris. The way she describes Paris and the cafes Hemingway frequents.  The social interaction between Hemingway and the French.  Hemingway is unafraid.  Its my belief that Mclain lacked the ability to show the wife's good characteristics and instead Hadley is shown as doughty, self-absorbed and bending to the will of Hemingway.