
The Paris Wife
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Carrington MacDuffie
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By:
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Paula McLain
About this listen
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 28-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 onto 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.
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Editorial reviews
If what they say is true that behind every great man there’s a great woman then Hadley Richardson is the woman behind Ernest Hemingway. In the novel The Paris Wife, Paula McLain traces their relationship from its frowned-upon beginnings in Chicago to its painful end in Paris six years later, and narrator Carrington MacDuffie brings a cast of historical characters out of the required reading list and brightly to life.
Hemingway was a journalist and aspiring novelist when he met Hadley in 1920, and after they married, they moved together to Paris at the urging of author Sherwood Anderson, who told them it was the place to be for writers. Over the next half-decade except for one brief stint in Toronto after the birth of their son the Hemingways lived, loved, and drank with everyone from James Joyce and Gertrude Stein to Ezra Pound and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (all of whom MacDuffie voices captivatingly). But though their relationship seemed rock-solid to even the closest members of their inner circle, outside forces slowly chipped away at the life they’d built together.
Hemingway spent the whole of his marriage to Hadley working on his novels including some early drafts of the Nick Adams stories and the piece that would become The Sun Also Rises and The Paris Wife lets the twin plots of his career and their marriage unfold. Hadley, who narrates much of the book, is a reliable and relatable character, and MacDuffie gives her the range of maturity, emotion, and strength that she undoubtedly had. The Hemingway connection may draw in curious fans and avid literature buffs, but her gentle voice and easy manner will keep listeners hooked. Blythe Copeland
Critic reviews
“McLain smartly explores Hadley's ambivalence about her role as supportive wife to a budding genius.... Women and book groups are going to eat up this novel.” (USA Today)
“By making the ordinary come to life, McLain has written a beautiful portrait of being in Paris in the glittering 1920s - as a wife and one's own woman.... McLain's vivid, clear-voiced novel is a conjecture, an act of imaginary autobiography on the part of the author. Yet her biographical and geographical research is so deep, and her empathy for the real Hadley Richardson so forthright (without being intrusively femme partisan), that the account reads as very real indeed.” (Entertainment Weekly)
“Written much in the style of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank ... Paula McLain's fictional account of Hemingway's first marriage beautifully captures the sense of despair and faint hope that pervaded the era and their marriage.” (Associated Press)
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- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1937, 28-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It's the adventure she's been looking for and her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. But she also finds herself unexpectedly - and uncontrollably - falling in love with Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend. In the shadow of the impending Second World War, Martha and Ernest's relationship and their professional careers ignite.
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Over-dramatic lamenting
- By Liz on 08-17-18
By: Paula McLain
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A Mind of Her Own
- By: Paula McLain
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Marie Sklodowska, 25, is studying science at the Sorbonne—one of the only universities in the world that has begun to admit women. A thousand miles from her native Poland, with no money and the odds stacked against any woman daring to pursue a career in such a rigorous field, Marie throws herself into her studies. She’s certain that to succeed in a man’s world, she will have to go it alone.
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Based on a true story
- By Kingsley on 03-01-19
By: Paula McLain
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Paris
- The Novel
- By: Edward Rutherfurd
- Narrated by: Jean Gilpin
- Length: 38 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Internationally best-selling author Edward Rutherfurd has enchanted millions of readers with his sweeping, multigenerational dramas that illuminate the great achievements and travails throughout history. In this breathtaking saga of love, war, art, and intrigue, Rutherfurd has set his sights on the most magnificent city in the world: Paris. Moving back and forth in time across centuries, the story unfolds through intimate and vivid tales of self-discovery, divided loyalties, passion, and long-kept secrets of characters both fictional and real, all set against the backdrop of the glorious city.
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Paris: The Novel (is that helpful?)
- By Mel on 05-07-13
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The Wife
- A Novel
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The moment Joan Castleman decides to leave her husband, they are 35,000 feet above the ocean on a flight to Helsinki. Joan's husband, Joseph, is one of America's preeminent novelists, about to receive a prestigious international award, and Joan, who has spent 40 years subjugating her own literary talents to fan the flames of his career, has finally decided to stop.
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A bit of a downer
- By Jody Cox on 08-01-18
By: Meg Wolitzer
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The Paris Library
- A Novel
- By: Janet Skeslien Charles
- Narrated by: Nicky Diss, Sarah Feathers, Esther Wane, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet seems to have the perfect life with her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into the city, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books.
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Calling all lovers of libraries around the world
- By MelSA on 02-15-21
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The Paris Novel
- By: Ruth Reichl
- Narrated by: Kiiri Sandy
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. But when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.
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Magical, but read the actual book do not listen
- By Gina DiMartino on 04-25-24
By: Ruth Reichl
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Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
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ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
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Mrs. Hemingway
- By: Naomi Wood
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Summer, 1926. Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley, take refuge from the blazing heat of Paris in a villa in the south of France. They swim and play bridge, and drink gin with abandon. But wherever they go they are accompanied by the glamorous and irrepressible Fife. Fife is Hadley's best friend. She is also Ernest's lover. Hadley is the first Mrs. Hemingway, but neither she nor Fife will be the last. Each Mrs. Hemingway thought their love would last forever; each one was wrong.
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Only for the great man’s biggest fans
- By Songsmith on 08-12-19
By: Naomi Wood
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Landline
- By: Rainbow Rowell
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply-but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles.
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Relationships are hard
- By Valeria on 01-26-15
By: Rainbow Rowell
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A Moveable Feast
- The Restored Edition
- By: Ernest Hemingway
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ernest Hemingway died in 1961 he had nearly completed A Moveable Feast, which eventually was published posthumously in 1964 and edited by his widow Mary Hemingway. This new special edition of Hemingway's classic memoir of his early years in Paris in the 1920's presents the original manuscript as the author intended it to be published at the time of his death.
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Perfect complement-Paris Wife & Midnight in Paris
- By Julie on 06-09-12
By: Ernest Hemingway
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The Sun Also Rises
- By: Ernest Hemingway, Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: William Hurt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, The Sun Also Rises introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. In his first great literary masterpiece, Hemingway portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.
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Great actor, terrible reader, kills classic
- By Kerry on 09-14-14
By: Ernest Hemingway, and others
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The Other Einstein
- By: Marie Benedict
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Mitza Maric has always been a little different from other girls. Most 20-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. And then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.
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Re writing history
- By PJ Goetz on 11-08-19
By: Marie Benedict
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The Paris Deception
- By: Bryn Turnbull
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Sophie Dix fled Stuttgart with her brother as the Nazi regime gained power in Germany. Now, with her brother gone and her adopted home city of Paris conquered by the Reich, Sophie reluctantly accepts a position restoring damaged art at the Jeu de Paume museum under the supervision of the ERR—a German art commission using the museum as a repository for art they’ve looted from Jewish families.
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Fascinating Page Turner with Heart
- By Syd Young on 06-03-23
By: Bryn Turnbull
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The Paris Daughter
- By: Kristin Harmel
- Narrated by: Madeleine Maby, Kristin Harmel
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change. When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves.
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I hate giving any review but a perfect one but I can’t this time
- By paula wright on 06-17-23
By: Kristin Harmel
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The Little Paris Bookshop
- A Novel
- By: Nina George
- Narrated by: Steve West, Emma Bering, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.
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Feels like a debut novel
- By Molly-o on 09-25-15
By: Nina George
A delight for Hemmingway fans
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Great story for Hemmingway lovers
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Tugs on heart strings!
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I felt that I learned much about Ernest Hemingway and the writers of that era.
this is a novel that reads like a memoir
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great story
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Interesting story but read like the nightly news
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Enjoyable perspective of Hemingway's time
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Any additional comments?
The story of Hemmingway as told through the voice of his first wife, Hadley. I felt I was going to learn a lot about a great American author whom I knew little about and whose work I was not very familiar with. I learned Hemingway is not a likeable man - A womanizer to the point where he expected his wife to move in with him and his lover and enjoy the 'conveniences' of the threesome. An alcoholic - every event every day is described in terms of the drink that accompanied it - champagne breakfasts, absinthe with friends etc etc. I reserve judgement on his novels as I am about to start The sun also rises.The Paris Wife limps along from one scene to the next showing Hemingway indulging in wine, women and song. We move from one town to the next to explore which women he was lusting after and which drinks he was partaking of. I marveled at the patience of his wife, grew irritated at him and his faults, and wished the book would come to an end.
Wine women and song = page after page
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Would you recommend The Paris Wife to your friends? Why or why not?
I wouldn't recommend it. I read Circling the Sun by Paula McLain first and I really enjoyed it but I can't say the same about this book.How did the narrator detract from the book?
I listen to many audible books and this narrator was by far the worst that I have encountered. I was going to return it after a few chapters but decided to finish it. The narrator's voice was grating. She made me hate the character of Hadley. It's one of a few books that I would have preferred to read. I would never listen to anything else read by this narrator.So-So book with an horrible narrator
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Excellent
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