Anyone happen to see Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen's most recent (and hurrah, at last! enjoyable) film? Essentially Owen Wilson looking confused and cute and exploring his 'golden era', the historical moment that you would most like to live in. Which means drinking all night in Twenties Paris with Picasso, Matisse, Gertrude Stein, Dali, Duff Cooper, Scott Fitzgerald. But he discovers that not all those gilded free spirits are so keen to be there.
February's book also takes that golden era and flips it over. THE PARIS WIFE is the story of Hadley, aka Mrs Ernest Hemingway (the first one, the 'Paris one'), who first meets the handsome, energetic, vulnerable Nesto in Prohibition-era Chicago. Several parties, fights and a proposal later, and they find themselves penniless in the city of lights, amidst the glittering crowd of artists and writers that congregate in its cafes and bars. Ernest's career finally begins to take off, and Hadley, kept at home with their baby son, begins to be pushed further and further into the sidelines. As she watches the fault lines in her marriage crack ever wider, her desperation to hold onto her love only grows stronger...until she realises there is another ready to take her place.
Read more about the book at our book of the month page, or browse pictures of Hadley and Ernest on Paula's website
Virago are offering 50 copies of The Paris Wife to Mumsnetters. To bag your copy before they run out, please go to the book of the month page and fill in your details.
We'll post on this thread once the copies have all been sent out but if you're not lucky enough to bag a free copy, don't forget you can get your paperback or Kindle version here
We are delighted that Paula will be joining us at the end of February for the live webchat - we will confirm the exact date in the next few days. Look forward to seeing you all there, and do keep posting your thoughts and any advance questions on this thread...