

But she took no heed and got to know Ernest quite well in the short time she was there. Kate warned Hadley that the young man was quite a womanizer and to stay away from him.

She was taken with Ernest even though at 21, he was nearly eight years younger than she. The young, handsome Ernest Hemingway charmed her and danced with her to all hours.

Hadley had a great time the first night that she was there. She had just lost her mother to a long-term illness and she was "stuck" living in the family home with her mean-spirited sister and her husband who had taken over the house. Louis and made the trip to Chicago to get away from her life there. One of the friends staying there was budding writer Ernest Hemingway. The story begins in Chicago where Hadley had come to visit her friends Kate and Kelsey Smith (sister and brother) who had a large apartment and rented out rooms to friends. "The Paris Wife," by Paula McLain, is the story of Hadley Richardson and Ernest Hemingway during the years between 19.
