The Duchess of Windsor: Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson - Hardcover

Greg King

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1854106260 ISBN 13: 9781854106261

Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

Popular biographer Greg King revisits the love story of the century with sympathy in this story about the romantic marriage between King Edward VIII and Wallis Warfield Simpson, a twice-divorced American. of photos.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

This readable, thoroughly researched biography of the much maligned duchess convincingly lays to rest much of the negative gossipincluding reports of her sexual eccentricitiesthat swirled around the duchess and her husband in the nearly 40 years they were married. King (The Last Empress, not reviewed, etc.) set out to write ``a fair and favorable'' biography of Wallis Warfield Simpson, the twice-divorced woman whose last husband, King Edward VIII of England, abdicated his throne in order to marry her. King has succeeded for the most part, illuminating details of Wallis's dramatic life from her birth near Baltimore in 1896 to her lonely death in Paris nearly 90 years later. Outlining a privileged, although not affluent, upbringing in Baltimore society, the author describes her subjects first marriage to a US Navy flier who was verbally and physically abusive; and her second marriage to Ernest Simpson, who brought her to live in London, where she met the then prince of Wales, soon to become king. Although Wallis was neither beautiful or brilliant, Edward (called David by intimates) ``seemed bewitched,'' showering her with attention and jewels. Her appeal lay in her southern charm and ability to focus completely on the man she loved, asserts King. Once she was married, Wallis's commitment to decorating houses, visiting couturiers, and creating for her husband a life appropriate to the former king of England was relieved by the Windsors' service in the Bahamas during WWII. Wallis worked long and arduous days to improve health and education facilities for the poor of the Bahamas. Throughout the Windsors' marriage, the British royal family remained intransigent over extending any recognition to Wallis; the couple remained exiles from England, riding the social circuit between France and the US. It still seems a shallow and self-indulgent lifestyle, despite King's efforts to give it heft. Still, an intriguing slice of history with its centerpiece a royal romance nearly as riveting as the saga of Charles and Diana. (24 pages photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

It may not be the greatest story ever told, but the tale of the duke and duchess of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII of Britain and Wallis Warfield Simpson of Baltimore) is certainly one of the most perennial stories ever told. King, author of The Last Empress (1994), about the consort of Nicholas II of Russia, and The Man Who Killed Rasputin (1995), the story of the murder of the monk who obsessed the last czar and his wife, now throws another biography of the duchess of Windsor into the ring. It is not exactly a whitewash, but it is the author's intention to cast a good light on his subject. The duchess certainly was no villain, and although King seems a little naive in places when it comes to explaining her actions and reasoning, he is right on target when insisting that the royal family did much to damage the duchess' image by undermining her at every possible turn, even long after the abdication. For comprehensive collections of royal history. Brad Hooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1854106260
• ISBN 13: 9781854106261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 538