The Real Wallis Simpson, Anna Pasternak
The Real Wallis Simpson, Anna Pasternak
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The Real Wallis Simpson
A New History of the American Divorcee who became the Duchess of Windsor

Author: Anna Pasternak

Narrator: Laura Kirman

Unabridged: 11 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/05/2019


Synopsis

Wallis Simpson is known as the woman at the center of the most scandalous love affair of the 20th century, but in this “unputdownable…lively and detailed” (The Times, London) biography, discover a woman wronged by history with new information revealed by the latest research and those who were close to the couple.

The story that has been told repeatedly is this: The handsome, charismatic, and popular Prince Edward was expected to marry a well-bred virgin who would one day become Queen of England when he ascended the throne. But when the prince was nearly forty, he fell in love with a divorced American woman—Wallis Simpson. No one thought the relationship would last, and when the prince did become king, everyone assumed that was the end of the affair.

But to the shock of the British establishment, the new king announced his intention to marry the American divorcée. Overnight, Wallis was accused of entrapping the prince in a seductive web in order to achieve her audacious ambition to be queen. After declaring that he could not rule without the woman he loved, the king abdicated, and his family banished him and his new wife from the country. The couple spent the rest of their days in exile, but happy in their devoted love for each other.

Now, Anna Pasternak’s The American Dutchess tells a different story: that Wallis was the victim of the abdication, not the villain. Warm, well-mannered, and witty, Wallis was flattered by Prince Edward’s attention, but like everyone else, she never expected his infatuation to last. She never anticipated his jealous, possessive nature—and his absolute refusal to let her go.

Edward’s true dark nature, however, was no secret to the royal family, the church, or the Parliament; everyone close to Edward knew that beyond his charming façade, he was utterly unfit to rule. Caught in Edward’s fierce obsession, she became the perfect scapegoat for those who wished to dethrone the troubled king.

With profound insight and evenhanded research, Pasternak pulls back the curtain on one of the darkest fairy tales in recent memory and effortlessly reveals “a host of intriguing insights into a misunderstood woman” (Kirkus Reviews).

About Anna Pasternak

Anna Pasternak is the New York Times bestselling author of Princess in Love and Lara, which revealed the true story of the love affair behind her great uncle Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. Her work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s BazaarTown & Country, Tatler, and every major British newspaper. She lives in England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Julie

The story of Wallis Simpson's infamous affair with the Prince of Wales in the 1930s that led to Edward VIII abdicating the throne after only 326 days as King of England has been told again and again. Simpson has been portrayed as everything from a gold digger to a whore to even a Nazi spy. Wallis Si......more

Goodreads review by Tammy

A couple of months ago I listened to a great History Chicks podcast about Wallis Simpson that really piqued my interest, although I’ve always been on Team George VI, myself. One of the History Chicks’ great strengths is that — although always very thorough — they are never catty about their subjects......more

Goodreads review by Simon

Pasternak is willing to strip a gear in her desire to show the Duchess of Windsor in the best possible light. It is certainly true that Mrs. Simpson did not imagine the outcome of her affair with the Prince of Wales, and that on one level she suffered because of it. On another? Well, she was happily......more