I'm going to recommend my own HD/range gun, a Glock 34 gen3
I got it because it's super reliable, super accurate, and super easy to use (plus I like the ergonomics), and 9mm is very respectable stopping power (especially out of a 5.35" barrel), yet in a full sized handgun it's very tame to shoot.
Basically there is nothing even remotely 'macho' about shooting a glock 34, you don't need strength or training to do well with it. But you can shoot it very fast and very accurately.
I don't know if it's worth mentioning that I am a girl, because I stand half a head taller than Brienne of Tarth, so strength is really a non-issue for me. But seriously, a glock 34 gen3 has some advantages:
1) trigger pull is very manageable, it's just 3.5lbs (target versions of guns are always a dream to shoot)
2) the recoil spring is pretty easy to overcome (for racking the slide). It's a flat spring, once broken in, it's about as gentle a slide resistance as you'll get in an automatic.
3) the slide release and magazine release controls are slightly beefed up vs. a regular glock 17 (easier to use these with weak or short fingers).
4) the longer sight radius makes it easier to shoot very accurately
5) the recoil is so mild it's almost disheartening, but quick follow up shots are a breeze.
6) less muzzle flash/blast than a shorter barrel would have
I STRONGLY recommend you get 3 modifications to the stock glock 34 though. - First, get some good novak style sights.
- Second, for a gen3, get a 3.5oz brass weight plug which fits securely inside the backstrap of the gun (this tames recoil down to nill, and adds enough weight to the polymer frame to make it much harder to "limp wrist").
- optional 3rd mod: A $10 pachmayr grip sleeve (I did mention NILL recoil right?)
my final weight unloaded is like 28oz, which is just enough to make 9mm as tame as a kitten with it's eyes barely open, while not really being heavy enough to cause arm fatigue with prolonged shooting (good for very weak people, or very prolonged shooting for normal people).
Now, I didn't get mine to be a gentle pussycat of a gun. But the things that make a competition race gun 'good' are many of the same things that make a gun easier to use for a weaker, less trained person.
oh, parting thought... but I get the impression that if your wife fired a gun indoors without hearing protection, she might drop it on the first shot. In a hallway or something, gunfire is truly devastatingly loud. For someone who doesn't train with guns much, there can be a pretty strong reflex to just want to get away from the painful jolt of sound. I mean, it will be doing permanent hearing damage. That in itself is almost an argument to go class 3 and get a silencer for HD.