This was a work of fiction about Hadley Richardson, the first wife of Ernest Hemingway. It could have been a little shorter for me because it was a little slow reading, but overall it was an interesting story. Makes me want to read Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises since both books are based loosely on his life while married to Hadley.
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I tried to start a Ray with this book, but had only one interested BCer. I'm sending it along to her for her reading pleasure.

Received this book yesterday! It's written so beautifully. I'll probably finish it by the end of the week!

I really liked this book, I loved the way it was written. I agree with Valpete, it is a bit slow moving, it's really great in the beginning then it sort of halts somewhere in the middle and doesn't pick back up. The only reason I rated it so high is because I love the way it was written, I think the author wrote very beautifully.

I've never really picked up an Ernest Hemingway book, I must rummage through my husband's massive book collection and find some to read! (:

It's on its way to Kally93 by the end of the week if the traffic at the post office isn't too crazy! (:

I sent this book to Kally93 about 2-3 weeks ago! For some reason I thought I made a JE entry for this book! I mailed out a ton of books in a 2 week period so I must have missed this one. Hope it gets to you soon and safe! Thanks valpete for setting this up! (:

The book arrived in the mail today! Thank you for sending it to me, emmmersss, and thank you valpete, for sharing.

Sorry, I am late with sending this book on. Like everyone else I got bogged down in the middle of the story. On top of that I was sent two other bookring books around the same time. Anyway, I thought the story ended very well and it was interesting to learn about Hemingway and his first wife. It seems in the end she may have had the happier life of the two.

Thanks for sharing. I will send this out as soon as I get a response from the next person.

I have been slow sending out my books/boxes lately, so I still haven't sent Imawinn2's Historical Bookbox. Since I still have the box I decided to add this book. The box will go out today.

Taking from imawinn2's Historical Fiction Bookbox. Thanks!

Sending to Booksandmusic in Seattle, WA. Selected from the ABC VBB. Enjoy!

Arrived safely today, thank you very much!

Excellent in so many ways; I feel like the author did a superb job of capturing time, place and characters. I think you could pick this book up knowing nothing of Ernest Hemingway and Hadley and come away with a strong understanding of who they were; I also think you could be an aficionado of Ernest Hemingway and still fall deeply into this book. So many books are lifeless, words on a page. This book is a world, it breathes, the love and the pain are captured, but not pinned to the page dead, they are captured alive for a brief look at the stunning, fluttering beauty of Ernest and Hadley's relationship and the time, place and people of their world. Gorgeous book.

I am offering this book in the ABC VBB

I am disappointed that this book did not get chosen in the ABC VBB.

I am going to try offering this in the Books I've Read VBB.

Selected from the Books I've Read VBB by perryfran. It will be mailed this week.

Mailed to perryfran

Thanks for sending this one back my way. I'll put this one on my short list of books to read and hopefully get to it this time. :-)

This novel tells the story of Hadley Richardson and her marriage to Ernest Hemingway during the 1920s. Hadley, at 28, meets a much younger 21-year-old Hemingway in Chicago which ends up in a whirlwind romance and marriage. At the urging of the novelist, Sherwood Anderson, the couple moves to Paris and become part of the "lost generation" of artists and writers living there. While in Paris, they meet and befriend Gertrude Stein and her lover, Alice B. Toklas, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, among others. Hadley is supportive of Hemingway and travels with him and his group around Europe including a trip to Spain where Hemingway fell in love with bull fighting and which became the basis of his novel The Sun Also Rises. But Hemingway was Hemingway and could not stay satisfied with being content as a married man. The marriage tragically falls apart when Hadley befriends Pauline Pfeiffer who becomes Hemingway's lover and second wife.

This was a very well written novel that draws you into life in Paris of the 20s and the world of Hemingway and the other ex-patriots living there at the time. I enjoyed it a lot and will now probably read more about Hemingway and some of his novels that I have never gotten around to. I read The Sun Also Rises as part of a college literature class many years ago and remember it being mostly boring but I should probably give it another try. I also have a copy of A Moveable Feast, Hemingway's memoir about his years in Paris, that I should also read. And McLain has written another novel about Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gelhorn, called Love and Ruin that I'll also be keeping an eye out for.

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