Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife

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Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 461 ratings · 93 reviews

Hadley Richardson and Ernest Hemingway were the golden couple of Paris in the twenties, the center of an expatriate community boasting the likes of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, and James and Nora Joyce. In this haunting account of the young Hemingways, Gioia Diliberto explores their passionate courtship, their family life in Paris with ba...more

Paperback, 400 pages

Published September 6th 2011 by Harper Perennial (first published April 1st 1992)

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Feb 26, 2013 Anmiryam rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a bit old to be going through my lost generation phase, but I was always a slow learner. "Paris Without End" is a wonderful non-fiction account of Hadley Richardson's life, especially as it centered around Ernest Hemingway. It's written in a way that makes you root for them as a couple until their time together ends and then Gioia Diberto does a brilliant job of helping you to understand it never would have lasted and that it was the best for both of them that it ended. A wonderful book to...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading the Paris Wife I was interested in knowing more about Hadley's life particularly her life after Earnest Hemingway. The book did not disappoint.I liked her in the later years too.
The biography gave much insight into the nature of Hadley, warm and intelligent. She liked and is liked by people , did not hold a grudge and could not be sad too long. She was very good for Hemingway but was not big enough to “kill his lonesomeness”. She had a happy second marriage to Paul Mower. “Heming...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Paris without End,” is a new literary nonfiction biography of Hadley Richardson, the iconic first wife of beloved 20th century American author Ernest Hemingway. It was written by Gioia Diliberto, veteran author/journalist, who points out in her preface to the 2011 edition that once there was hardly a woman considered worthy of a biography, at all. And then, even when the lives of some outstanding women began to be studied, nobody thought, for a long time, of looking at the wives of outstanding...more “Paris without End,” is a new literary nonfiction biography of Hadley Richardson, the iconic first wife of beloved 20th century American author Ernest Hemingway. It was written by Gioia Diliberto, veteran author/journalist, who points out in her preface to the 2011 edition that once there was hardly a woman considered worthy of a biography, at all. And then, even when the lives of some outstanding women began to be studied, nobody thought, for a long time, of looking at the wives of outstanding men. Despite that familiar old adage, ‘behind every great man there’s a great woman.’ It is only now being recognized that some wives were indeed instrumental in their husbands’ successes; and it’s Diliberto’s thesis, based upon Hemingway’s copious writings, that Hadley Hemingway was one. Still, there’s no question but that Hadley would not reward study were she not Hemingway’s first, template-setting wife. And there’s no question but that this book will most interest Ernest Hemingway fans. After all, although Hadley can be credited with inspiring her husband’s writings, and creating an environment in which he could work, she never published a line.

The period after World War I, never mind that the generation that lived through that war chose to call itself the Lost Generation, was full of new developments. Suffragism — the fight for women’s rights—was in the air, as was prohibition. Flappers emerged: women cut their hair and their skirts, took up smoke and drink, and danced on the tables of their favorite speakeasies. Paris was the world center of creativity. In the art world, greatly famous painters were there: the Spanish Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro; Auguste Renoir, Marc Chagall. In the literary world, there were almost too many stars to count: Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, James and Nora Joyce, Sarah and Gerald Murphy, T.S. Eliot, John Dos Passos, Archibald MacLeish, Ford Madox Ford, and whoever: at one time Ford had a ménage a trois with his common law wife and the great 20th century female author Jean Rhys. And then there was Sylvia Beach and her book store, Shakespeare & Co. In fact, there were so many artistic and literary notables there that they kept Owen Wilson, the Woody Allen stand-in in PARIS AT MIDNIGHT quite busy.

Like so many others in the period, Hadley and Ernest expatriated themselves to Paris. And Hadley and Hem were certainly a golden couple while they were happy and poor, living on Hadley’s trust funds, and in the home she made for them, exploring Europe, and playing with their little boy, known as Bumby, when he arrived. Everyone seemed to expect that Hem was bound for literary glory. Of course, there were some problems. In an act that may have foreshadowed the future, and was heavily influential at the time, Hadley lost all copies of her husband’s first novel. And then there was the disastrous summer with the Murphys on the French Riviera. Bumby got whooping cough, had to be quarantined, and so was poor Hadley. Meanwhile, Ernest was creating a ménage a trois with another St. Louis native—Hadley was a St. Louis girl herself --Pauline Pfeiffer, editor at Paris Vogue, a woman whose name has gone down in villainy for breaking up the marriage. (Hemingway’s third wife Martha Gellhorn, a noted journalist at the time, was also a St. Louis native: it must have been something in the water of the Mississippi.)

The author gives us an interesting look at all these women:” Among expatriates in literary circles, there was a prejudice against women who were merely ‘wives’—a term … that ‘applied not just to legal spouses, but to all women who attached themselves to a dominant partner.’ Many of the ‘wives’ like Stella Bowen [who lived with T.S. Eliot] and Ada MacLeish, a singer, had careers of their own. Those who didn’t have talent and ambition nevertheless often adopted the trappings of artistic freedom, the most destructive of which…’was the freedom to explore erotic and emotional relationships outside marriage.’” Hadley was a devoted mother and wife, “a conventional woman surrounded by hedonists, who…’flaunted their promiscuity and joked about their abortions and venereal disease.’”

At any rate, the Hemingways had a passionate, affectionate marriage. Hadley was always faithful to her husband, and those who knew the couple thought Hemingway was always faithful to her, until Pauline came into the picture. And, in the posthumously published A MOVEABLE FEAST, Hemingway said, “I wish I had died before I ever loved anyone but her.” The Chicago-based Diliberto frequently mentions the solid Midwestern values of Hadley and Hem. But Hadley was from St. Louis, and Hem from Chicago. Wouldn’t these be considered major urban metro areas?

The author did a great deal of research to produce this work, Scores of interviews with those who knew the prime actors, she says, including the couple’s son Jack, formerly known as Bumby, in his home in Ketchum, Idaho, Hemingway’s last home. And Hadley’s nieces Dodie Hess and Fonchen Lord; her nephew Richard Usher. Furthermore, the writer found many hours of tapes made of conversations between Hadley and her friend, musician/writer Alice Sokoloff, who published the first, timid biography of Hadley, while she was still alive. Finally, the author had first look at more than 1,000 letters written by Hadley to Hem during their intense courtship: the famous man held on to them all his life. Although sometimes the extensive quotes from these materials are repetitive, and hold up, rather than advance, the narrative. Diliberto is the author of the biographies A Useful Woman: The Early Life of Jane Addams and Debutante: The Story of Brenda Frazier, and the historical novels I Am Madame X and The Collection. I liked this book much better than Paula Mc Lain’s recent fictional THE PARIS WIFE, which was apparently inspired by it: it gives us a much deeper, more detailed picture of the woman at the center of one of the great literary storms of the 20th century. Worth reading, perhaps even for those not Hemingway fans.

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Jul 27, 2010 Annie Garvey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Oct 25, 2011 Georgette rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was really, really good. I had a difficult time getting into it at first. I believe if I had read this before Paula McClain's The Paris Wife, likely I wouldn't have had such a difficult time. McClain's book is great, this was also great, except I think I disliked Ernest Hemingway a lot more after reading this than after reading Paris Wife.
Hadley Richardson Hemingway was a strong woman who grew into her nature- meeting and marrying Hemingway brought out her life force, the only trouble was,...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Laurel-Rain rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the early 1920s, a group of artistic and literary types congregated in Paris, forming a community of expatriates.
Hadley and Ernest Hemingway were among them.

They had met in the Midwest, in Chicago, after Hadley left her childhood home in St. Louis. They were drawn to each other immediately.

For Hadley, Ernest offered a boost to her battered self-esteem, after a troubled childhood in which she was the least favored daughter. To Ernest, Hadley represented the kind of calm and inspiration which h...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, own, signed-copy

This thoroughly researched book offers a candid look at the life of Ernest Hemingway’s muse. His first wife Hadley was at his side during his most pivotal and prolific years as a young man, full of vitality and creativity. Together, Hem and Hadley experienced the boom of the Lost Generation’s self-imposed exile in Paris, where art flourished and wine flowed. Hadley was, by necessity, a constant calm in Ernest’s life as he struggled to make a name for himself. She endured his escalating success a...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading Paris Without End by Gioia Diliberto. It’s the true story of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. As a fan of Hemingway’s writing, I was very intrigued to learn more about his first wife, but what started out as an interest turned into a full blown fascination.

One of the most interesting things I learned reading this book was that Hadley was such an inspiration in Hemingway’s writing. The more I learned about Hadley, the more I recogni...more For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading Paris Without End by Gioia Diliberto. It’s the true story of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. As a fan of Hemingway’s writing, I was very intrigued to learn more about his first wife, but what started out as an interest turned into a full blown fascination.

One of the most interesting things I learned reading this book was that Hadley was such an inspiration in Hemingway’s writing. The more I learned about Hadley, the more I recognized her in some of his most famous female characters. In so many ways, Hadley represented the perfect woman to Hemingway- her naturalness, her strength of character, and her complete devotion to him. The life they created together was so beautiful, so full of love and joy. When they were together, it seemed as if they were one person instead of two and Hemingway drew extensively from that to create some of his most romantic couples. Hadley not only inspired him, she encouraged his writing and supported them both financially for the first years of their marriage. She never minded being poor, as long as Hemingway was writing, and write Hemingway did. Some of his best work, and certainly the work that defined his voice, was written while he was married to Hadley.

Sadly, their relationship dissolved. Hemingway fell in love with another woman, cheated on Hadley, and then left her and their son Bumby (Jack). It was very difficult for me to read these parts. Not only because of the heartbreak Ifelt for Hadley (she "loved" him through all of it), but also because I felt complete disdain for one of my favorite authors. Reconciling feelings I had because of his actions with the brilliance of his work was difficult. At some points, I never wanted to read Hemingway again (Gee, that would show him!). But, that’s certainly not what Hadley would want. She always loved him and supported him, even after their divorce, and for his part, Hemingway always regretted leaving Hadley and if you have read A Moveable Feast, it’s obvious how much he loved and idolized Hadley as well.

It was illuminating to learn more about Hadley and it gave me so much more insight into Hemingway’s writing. Diliberto's writing is, at times, a bit on the dry side, however, she tells a pretty amazing story of Paris in the 20′s with the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and the Hemingways. (less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Edward rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was going to read THE PARIS WIFE, recommended by several friends, when I saw this recent biography and decided to read it instead. It reads like a novel and now I’m wondering if there’s any point in reading the fictional PARIS WIFE which I understand hews closely to the facts.

I say it reads like a novel because hanging over every detail, especially the early ones when Hemingway was an unknown midwesterner, full of doubt about his future, is the reader’s knowledge of whom he became – one of the...more I was going to read THE PARIS WIFE, recommended by several friends, when I saw this recent biography and decided to read it instead. It reads like a novel and now I’m wondering if there’s any point in reading the fictional PARIS WIFE which I understand hews closely to the facts.

I say it reads like a novel because hanging over every detail, especially the early ones when Hemingway was an unknown midwesterner, full of doubt about his future, is the reader’s knowledge of whom he became – one of the 20th century’s great writers. Hadley Richardson, a St. Louis native, eight years older than Hemingway, and the woman he would marry, is an inseparable part of the life he would grow into as a writer and it could be convincingly argued, as this biography does, that without her, he would not have succeeded.

Interestingly, their courtship was carried on mainly through letters, as she was living in St. Louis and Hemingway in Chicago. That kind of a relationship, one that today would exist on the internet, allowed each of them to appeal to the other’s idealistic self, one made up of verbalized dreams and ambitions. Diliberto points out that Hemingway lied about “ the hard facts of his life. Indeed, he lied to her about many things” such as why he hadn’t gone to college and his war experiences. It didn’t matter because she saw his better side, but it was a predictor of some of the events that would later break up their marriage, particularly his lying about another woman in his life.

The author stresses that Hadley was always more in love with her husband than he was with her. “She would live throughout her marriage in the shadow of his personality, but in the winter of l921, there was little hint of dissonance, only the hope, as she wrote Ernest, of ‘everything lovely and wonderful that is to come.’ ”

And “wonderful things” did come. The couple moved to Paris, both to escape what each felt was a stultifying family, and as an adventure in living as outsiders, as artists. It was a struggle at first, and the couple wouldn’t have made it without Hadley’s income from trust funds, so she supported him both financially and morally. Paris was exhilarating for a writer in the 20’s – Hemingway’s friends and acquaintances sounds like a who’s who of American literature, Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, John Dos Passos, to name a few. Hemingway persevered, first having some short stories and poetry published, and then with his first novel, THE SUN ALSO RISES.

Dilberto concludes her biography by commenting that “All his major novels are fundamentally love stories, centering on a couple who are so close that they are almost one. Ernest believed that love is life’s great redeeming force, the only “alliance” against inevitable death. When he wrote about the passions – some of the greatest romances in modern American literature, he was celebrating the power of true love, the love he’d had with Hadley.”

What went wrong with their marriage, given Hadley’s unquestioning support of Hemingway’s talent? A lot of things – Hemingway was full of self-doubt about his own worth, he had a compulsive need to be superior to everyone , leading to a corrosive anger which cost him friends, he drank far too much, his head was turned by women as he achieved a reputation, and he often felt frustrated by the domestic demands of marriage. All of this made him a hard person to live with, and yet Hadley could see past these faults to his virtues of sensitivity and generosity which emerge in his best writing. Hemingway at some level knew that no woman would ever match Hadley, and he profoundly appreciated her, even though their marriage didn’t last, and he went on to three more marriages. Hadley’role in this this tension and interplay between Hemingway’s creativity and his lurches toward self- destructive impulses (ones that led to his suicide in l961) is what makes the book compelling reading.
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Nov 01, 2011 Dvora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: france, biography-history

I tend to find the artists and writers who lived in Paris in the 1920s endlessly fascinating. Although I am not a Hemingway fan, I did like his (Fiesta) The Sun Also Rises as well as The Moveable Feast, which I just read recently. He writes so longingly for his first wife Hadley in that book that I was curious to know more about her. If your curiosity is piqued as well, you will probably enjoy this book, as I did. The writing is good enough although some of the dates are out of order, and if you...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Maggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ebook, nonfiction, library-book

I read The Paris Wife about a year ago, after several recommendations from friends, and I hated it. I thought Hadley was an annoying, high-maintenance, deeply troubled martyr and I still can't believe I finished the book. I was curious how closely the novelized version of Hadley's life followed Hadley's actual life and I'm happy to say, after reading Paris Without End, that although the path was the same, the outcome was quite different. I very much enjoyed this story of Hadley's life and came a...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Jill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Why should we, as readers, be the slightest bit interested in Hadley Richardson, Hemingway’s first wife?

One might make a convincing case – and Gioia Diliberto certainly does – that Hadley is the archetype for all the women in Hemingway’s literature: Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises, Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms, and Maria in For Whom The Bell Tolls. Hadley is the idealized Hemingway woman – stoic, smart, unpretentious, intelligent, devoted, romantic, and wounded.

Many of us received...more Why should we, as readers, be the slightest bit interested in Hadley Richardson, Hemingway’s first wife?

One might make a convincing case – and Gioia Diliberto certainly does – that Hadley is the archetype for all the women in Hemingway’s literature: Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises, Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms, and Maria in For Whom The Bell Tolls. Hadley is the idealized Hemingway woman – stoic, smart, unpretentious, intelligent, devoted, romantic, and wounded.

Many of us received a tantalizing glimpse of her in Paula McLain’s fictional book, The Paris Wife. Ms. Diliberto takes the portrait much further through her exhaustive research into their thrilling and doomed relationship.

In a finely-detailed depiction – to borrow Hemingway’s phrase, one of the “truest” deconstructions of Hadley around, focusing strongly on “innocence lost” – Hadley emerges from the shadows of her far more famous ex-husband and reveals herself to be a fascinating person in her own right.

Ms. Diliberto reveals Hadley’s dysfunctional upbringing, living with her anti-male, strong-willed, manipulative mother and sister, and exploring the commonalities that “twinned” Ernest and Hadley together – the desire to break free of domineering mothers, the fraternal suicides that haunted them, the bouts with depression, the lack of sexual experience, and the overriding love of art.

The author had access to more than one thousand pages of Hadley’s letters to Ernest – as she reveals in her preface – and it shows. This book is not just interpretative but also a revelation of Hadley in her own words – from their separated courtship, their adventures in Paris at the center of the literary expatriates, their baby Bumby, and ultimately, the dissolution of their union as a result of Hemingway’s self-destructive cheating.

“I would never have written any of them In Our Time, Torrents, or The Sun if I had not married you and had your loyal and self sacrificing and always stimulating and loving,” Ernest wrote to Hadley after he left, calling her “the best and truest and loveliest person that I have ever known.” The mind boggles in thinking what he could have created if he had remained with her. Hemingway himself realized it: ‘I wish I had died before I ever loved anyone but her.”

As fascinating as fiction – but so much more powerful because it’s fact – Paris Without End is riveting reading for anyone who wants true insight into Hemingway’s psychodynamics and the female characters he creates. Hadley Richardson is as stunning as any character in fiction, including Hemingway’s own.
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Mar 15, 2012 Pamela rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was originally published in 1992 under the title HADLEY, then republished under the current title in 2011, probably gaining impetous from THE PARIS WIFE. The years of research, especially interviews, are obvious throughout the book as the author matches events and people from the Hemingways' life in Paris to Hemingway's novels and short stories. The story of their young years together, though, is the story of a love that lasted a lifetime, even if the marriage did not. This is a must r...more

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May 30, 2012 Pam P rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read "The Paris Wife" and became fascinated with knowing more about Hadley Hemingway. This biography is so much better than the fiction!

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Jul 23, 2012 Irenic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very interesting, well researched biography of Hadley, and of course, Hemingway. I especially appreciated all the photos and the references to the other expats in Paris who became celebrated and famous. The actual letters from Hadley to Hem were full of the lingo of the day, and that was a real hoot. I've not read much of Hemingway's work, but I bet those who have really enjoyed the insight into his early work. It's very clear that "The Paris Wife" relied heavily on this book as a source. It get...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, biography, non-fiction

I really enjoyed this book. Earlier this year, I read Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and was introduced to Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife. A Moveable Feast tells of Ernest, Hadley, and their son (called Bumby) living in Paris as ex-pats. The book was published posthumously and gives a very positive picture of the Hemingways' marriage and time among the literary elite in the salons of Paris.

This book covers Hadley's entire life from growing up in St. Louis to her courtship with a...more I really enjoyed this book. Earlier this year, I read Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and was introduced to Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife. A Moveable Feast tells of Ernest, Hadley, and their son (called Bumby) living in Paris as ex-pats. The book was published posthumously and gives a very positive picture of the Hemingways' marriage and time among the literary elite in the salons of Paris.

This book covers Hadley's entire life from growing up in St. Louis to her courtship with a handsome, young Hemingway to marriage and the birth of her son to Hemingway's infidelity to their divorce to the rest of her life. There was so much going on during this time period with regard to women and their role that it was really fascinating to learn more about this women who was right there as her husband wrote some of his great works. Hadley is of course fascinating in her own right and it was very interesting to see where she came from and why she was the way that she was.

The honest truth is had Hadley not married Hemingway, she would probably not have been worthy of study. But she was married to this formidable writer and sometimes we can't reach our whole potential without having a great support system and Hadley was that for Hemingway as Paris Without End shows. She really pushed him to write and to be involved with the literary world. She also inspired some of his works and characters. This isn't to say that Hemingway would not have become a great writer if Hadley hadn't been behind him but it is way more difficult to reach an already difficult goal if you don't have someone supporting you and cheering you on as Hadley did for Ernest.

Diliberto does a great job of pulling the reader into Hadley's story. The book is very accessible and often reads like fiction for those that don't like to venture into non-fiction or biographies very often. Hemingway fans will definitely appreciate this book but even if you aren't really a die hard Hemingway fan, this is still a great biography of one of the women behind one of the most well known and beloved American writers of all time.

Bottom line: History buffs, Hemingway lovers, and biography fans will all find much to love about this book!
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Feb 22, 2013 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

An interesting biography that reads well and tells a fantastic story. Diliberto is obviously so on Hadley's side, though, that it's hard to not feel the influence of her bias. I don't quite buy Diliberto's take: That Hadley was the supportive "right" wife for Hemingway who was inspired his best writing. It felt, at least to me, that sometimes Hadley did a good job of putting up a front in her letters, too, and the side of herself that she wanted others to see.

The narrative is almost overly weig...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Becky Loader rated it 4 of 5 stars

I knew nothing about Hemingway's first marriage when I started reading Diliberto's book. She starts with Hadley's family and gives a vivid description of a life that started in the Victorian era and came to a head in the Roaring 20's. Hadley meets Ernest through friends, and they have chemistry from the first moment on. I found it fascinating to read about a relationship that developed through letters that depended on the fast delivery of the U.S. Postal System. They did not need e-mail. Hadley...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Dan Chance rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

On the one hand Hemingway rescued Hadley from the depressing life she lived with her mother who absolutely despised all men. It is really surprising that Hadley was conceived and had siblings. On the other hand Hadley rescued Hemingway from a wasted life of total disolution. She kept the home organized - clean clothes, regular meals, etc. He was NOTHING without Hadley who adored him and his talent. Hemingway was gallant and courteous to Hadley at times but selfish and totally self absorbed at ot...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like many other readers, I read Hadley after enjoying The Paris Wife so much. I was happy to read how true-to-life The Paris Wife had been written, as many scenes were so similar to the biography. The Paris Wife pretty much ended after Hadley's divorce, but Hadley gave great additional anecdotes from Hadley's early life (really fleshed out how unfortunate her childhood had been)and her post-Ernest life. Although I did study 20th century American Literature and developed a fondness for Hemingway,...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Nancy (NE) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bio-memoir

I very much enjoyed Diliberto's non-fiction book about Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife. She does a very thorough, well-documented job of fleshing out the person who served as muse to much of Hemingway's writing, right up until his death, at which time he was working on A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition. There were parts in the beginning of their marriage, where their combined identity of bohemian starving artist and priviliege European travelers living off trust funds was j...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-book-challenge-160-books, kindle, nonfiction

I've taught Hemingway and had read the Baker biography years ago. Of all his wives, I always liked Hadley the most...It may have been the amazing Paris they found themselves in, sitting at the feet of Stein, drinking with Fitzgerald and the rest. Oh my, the atmosphere takes my breath away.

Recently read THE PARIS WIFE, a biographical novel by Paula McLain, written in Hadley's voice. When I saw this one, I wanted more.

Exhaustively researched, Diliberto uses quotes throughout, from books and conve...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Chrissie marked it as maybe

Shelves: bio, france, kindle, usa, sample-b

Which is best to read ? A Moveable Feast or Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife or this. I cannot say any of them grab be to 100%.

Different pov, different authors, different styles, fiction or non-fiction ......

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Sep 18, 2012 Briana rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't know much about Hadley, other than she was Hemingway's first wife, so I was curious to read this biography. It definitely reads very smoothly as reviewers have said and I felt more like a friend was filling me in on the story vs an obviously heavily researched tome where the subject really comes across as a science experiment. That's probably the charm of the book, you really get to know Hadley through her own words and conversations with friends. It also places Hemingway himself in a l...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Michele Weiner added it

This is really the end of my Hemingway exploration. It is the story of Hadley Richardson, who became Ernest Hemingway's first wife and life-long preoccupation. The twists and turns of their relationship were fascinating. Why did the spinster from St. Louis marry this aspiring but unproven young man? How could she have lost his entire portfolio of work on a train? Why did she let him go so easily? I still don't know, but now I know what the details were!

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May 15, 2013 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this as a complement to The Paris Wife, which my book club was reading and I had already read when it was first published.

This book is a true biography and provided a lot of interesting detail about Hadley and Ernest Hemingway prior to, during and after their marriage. I found it particularly interesting, however, to read about Hadley's early life, family influences, etc., as well as her long and happy marriage to Paul Mowrer. The book is carefully researched and comprehensive, and a fac...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Ami rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think I would give this 3 1/2 stars if given the option. It's a very in depth look at Ernest Hemingway's first marriage. The author uses letters from Hadley and Ernest Hemingway, audio recordings from Hadley and interviews of family members to draw a very detailed picture. This would be a great book for anyone who wants to know more about Ernest Hemingway's early life. I enjoyed the book, but finished with contempt for Hemingway himself and his shallow, selfish ways.

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Jul 09, 2012 Camille Vanhouten rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I read and really liked "The Paris Wife", and wanted to know more about the real Hadley. I liked "Paris Without End" even more. I thought it was well researched, using some of Hadley's own thoughts and memories of her time in Paris with Hemingway. It made me want to read "A Movable Feast", Hemingway's memory of that time, written toward the end of his life.

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Dec 14, 2011 Maureen M rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: france, non-fiction, biography

This biography puts flesh on the figure of Hadley Richardson Hemingway sketched in Ernest Hemingway's "A Movable Feast." We meet a woman born in the Victorian era who rescues herself once through her love for Hemingway and rescues herself again by bringing their marriage to an end. The story does a good job of describing what each brought to their union and how both contributed to its failure, even as they maintained their love for each other.

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Apr 09, 2013 Irene Waters rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was an interesting book. I now want to read Z the new book about Zelda Fitzgerald and I want to read some Ernest Hemmingway with my new knowledge. The book was well researched and kept my interest. I can't say that I particularly liked any of the characters although Hadley was portrayed very sympathetically and seemed to be a basically nice person.

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About Gioia Diliberto

Gioia Diliberto is the author of five books – two historical novels and three non-fiction. She specializes in writing about women’s lives and has been a contributor to many publications, including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, Town & Country, and Vanity Fair. She first got the idea of writing about Hadley Richardson while reading A Moveable Feast...more

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title link	preview: Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife
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Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife

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