What is the author's style in The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain?

Most of the chapters in "The Paris Wife" are written in the first-person narrative and the past tense. Hadley Richardson is the main narrator of the book, which tells of her love affair with and marriage to Ernest Hemingway and its ultimate disastrous ending. The book departs from this point of view in several key chapters. In Chapter 18, the perspective cleverly switches to third person narrative, present tense, to explain Hemingway's assignment as a reporter in worn-torn Turkey. It was the first time, according to this book, that he committed adultery.

"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain is separated into forty-seven small to medium-length chapters. Preceding the book, is a prologue in which the author presents a kind whimsical image of Paris and the era in which the book takes place. It sets the stage for the story of Hadley Richardson and her life as Mrs. Ernest Hemingway in Paris in the 1920s.

The book is a novel inspired by true events and people and it spans the period of time in which Hadley was married to Hemingway—roughly covering the years 1920 through 1927. Most of the book is written in chronological order although there are some flashback sequences that help to explain the story and add depth to the characters.