Review: ‘Mrs Hemingway’ by Naomi Wood

I recently finished ‘Mrs Hemingway’ by Namoi Wood. It’s a fascinating look at the four wives of Ernest Hemingway, discussing their relationships and their own work, too.

Each section of this book is narrated from the perspective of a different wife – and it also takes a look at Ernest Hemingway’s life throughout the years.

In this blog post, I’ve put together my thoughts on ‘Mrs Hemingway’ by Naomi Wood, discussing each wife separately.

Hadley – Wife Number 1

The novel begins with the story of Hadley, Ernest’s first wife and a woman who clearly meant a lot to him.

Hadley and Ernest were seen as the ultimate power couple but, as becomes clear throughout the first section of the novel, Hadley is much more reserved than Ernest.

In the 1920s world of parties, she is soon forgotten by her husband in favour of younger women.

Hadley comes across as a genuinely nice person but, as with Hemingway’s other wives, it seems she loved and revered him too much. Because of this, she turns a blind eye to his affairs.

I thought it was really interesting to see how Hadley invited Ernest’s latest mistress, Pauline, to spend their holiday together. She clearly knew how to test Ernest, showing a great understanding of her husband.

I loved the research Wood put into the novel, and the fact that I knew this was based on true events made the book all the more interesting.

Personally, I love it when authors use non-fiction events from history and make them into fiction novels. It means the reader can actually understand the thoughts and feelings of real people in history, rather than simply reading facts in a history book!

Pauline Pfeiffer – Wife Number 2

Pauline was a difficult character to like. She let Hemingway get away with anything!

I loved the sections about all the parties Pauline and Ernest attended – and they described famous faces like F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Roaring 20s is such an interesting time period – and I thought Wood captured the era perfectly.

I loved reading about famous figures through the eyes of the characters, such as the famous Fitzgerald. I also loved the passages about Pauline’s dresses – and Pauline’s feather dress sounds amazing.

The thing that made Pauline unlikeable was her desperation to be with Hemingway. She lets him ruin her life.

Ultimately, like his other wives, Pauline clearly felt she would rather live with Ernest as a cheater than without him. It was sad to see what happened to Pauline – and I felt sorry for her throughout the book.

Martha – Wife Number 3

I really liked Martha, and I thought she was the strongest of the four wives.

She was also the most interesting. As a famous travel writer in her own right, she had a fascinating life outside of her marriage to Hemingway.

I loved the way that she played Ernest at his own game, and he clearly under-estimated her own independence.

Martha wasn’t like his other wives – she didn’t just give Hemingway his own way all the time, and she knew her own mind.

The only trouble with Martha’s section was that it was shorter than the others – but I guess that’s because she wasn’t married to Ernest as long!

Mary – Wife Number 4

Mary’s character is very sweet. Hemingway seems like a nicer person with her – perhaps because he was older.

I thought this was a very heartfelt section of the book, and I learned a lot about the final years of Ernest Hemingway‘s life.

I really liked how there were certain historical references throughout this section – such as Hemingway’s writing for Kennedy.

My Thoughts on ‘Mrs Hemingway’ by Naomi Wood

For a history nerd, the blend of fiction and historical fact kept me engaged with ‘Mrs Hemingway.’ Naomi Wood made these women come alive!

I really enjoyed this book. For me, my favourite thing was the great amount of research that went into this book.

I bet it was so much fun to explore all of Hemingway’s old haunts in Paris, and it really brought everything to life for the reader.

Ernest Hemingway is portrayed as a ‘tortured genius’ that took himself too seriously, and he mistreated his wives a lot.

However, there were other sides to him that Wood tried to bring out, particularly in the last section from Mary’s point of view, where he appeared as a much gentler, older character.

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What did you think of my review of ‘Mrs Hemingway’ by Naomi Wood? Would you consider trying this book? Do you know anything about Ernest Hemingway?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x