17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History - Softcover

Morton, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1455583979 ISBN 13: 9781455583973

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

For fans of the Netflix series The Crown, a meticulously researched historical tour de force about the secret ties among Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, and Adolf Hitler before, during, and after World War II.

Andrew Morton tells the story of the feckless Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, his American wife, Wallis Simpson, the bizarre wartime Nazi plot to make him a puppet king after the invasion of Britain, and the attempted cover-up by Churchill, General Eisenhower, and King George VI of the duke's relations with Hitler. From the alleged affair between Simpson and the German foreign minister to the discovery of top secret correspondence about the man dubbed "the traitor king" and the Nazi high command, this is a saga of intrigue, betrayal, and deception suffused with a heady aroma of sex and suspicion.

For the first time, Morton reveals the full story behind the cover-up of those damning letters and diagrams: the daring heist ordered by King George VI, the smooth duplicity of a Soviet spy as well as the bitter rows and recriminations among the British and American diplomats, politicians, and academics. Drawing on FBI documents, exclusive pictures, and material from the German, Russian, and British royal archives, as well as the personal correspondence of Churchill, Eisenhower, and the Windsors themselves, 17 CARNATIONS is a dazzling historical drama, full of adventure, intrigue, and startling revelations, written by a master of the genre.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Morton is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking biography, Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica's Story, a portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House; and Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. He is the winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club.

Review

''Morton, author of the eye-opening Diana: Her True Story, has good storytelling credentials. His tale of the trouble cooked up by the duke and his edgy wife during WWII reads like a good spy thriller...After the war, the British royal family and the government tried to suppress evidence of the cozy relations between Hitler and the duke, and it is this sordid situation that Morton brings to exciting life.'' --Booklist

''This tale of British history, cover-ups, and surprising connections to the Nazi party truly intrigues. It provides a closer look into the world of royals during the first half of the twentieth century when there was still so much being kept secret.'' --Library Journal

''Morton offers a nuanced, intimate, and psychologically incisive understanding of a troubling royal, and arguably, his even more troubling wife. Sorting through myths and conspiracy theories with great skill, he explores their relationship to Hitler and the Nazis. Morton is fearless in his observations and convincing in his conclusions. He vividly illuminates a dark corner of royal history, exposing events which Churchill, Eisenhower, and others tried to conceal.'' --Jonathan Petropoulos, author of Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany

Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1455583979
• ISBN 13: 9781455583973
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 401