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Title details for The Duchess by Wendy Holden - Wait list

The Duchess

A Novel of Wallis Simpson

by Wendy Holden
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It was a love so strong, a king renounced his kingdom—all for that woman. Or was she just an escape route for a monarch who never wanted to rule? Bestselling author Wendy Holden takes an intimate look at one of the most notorious scandals of the 20th century.
 
1928. A middle-aged foreigner comes to London with average looks, no money and no connections. Wallis’s first months in the city are lonely, dull and depressing. With no friends of her own she follows the glamorous set in magazines and goes to watch society weddings. Her stuffy husband Ernest’s idea of fun, meanwhile, is touring historic monuments.

When an unexpected encounter leads to a house party with the Prince of Wales, Wallis’s star begins to rise. Her secret weapon is her American pep and honesty. For the prince she is a breath of fresh air. As her friendship with him grows, their relationship deepens into love. Wallis is plunged into a world of unimaginable luxury and privilege, enjoying weekends together at his private palace on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
 
Wallis knows the fun and excitement can’t last. The prince will have to marry and she will return to Ernest. The sudden death of George V seems to make this inevitable; the Prince of Wales is now King Edward VIII. When, to her shock and amazement, he refuses to give her up—or recognize that they are facing impossible odds—her fairy tale becomes a nightmare. The royal family close ranks to shut her out and Ernest gives an ultimatum.
 
Wallis finds herself trapped when Edward insists on abdicating his throne. She can’t escape the overwhelming public outrage and villainized, she becomes the woman everyone blames—the face of the most dramatic royal scandal of the twentieth century.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 28, 2021

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780593200377

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780593200377
      • File size: 3170 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      September 1, 2021
      The duchess of Windsor, formerly the American Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson, was famous (many would say infamous) for changing the course of British history when King Edward VIII abdicated to marry her. In her second woman-centric historical novel, following The Royal Governess (2020), Holden begins with Wallis en route to England for her third husband's funeral, then travels back in time to her arrival in England in 1928. Thereafter the story alternates between an account of her and Edward's love and her last visit to England. It's a colorful and dramatic narrative, packed with descriptions of clothing and jewels, townhouses and country estates, society affairs and intrigue, and the duchess' emotional turmoil. One of the delights of historical fiction is the what-if factor, and Holden poses a whopper: What if Edward never really wanted to be king and pursued Wallis, whom he knew he couldn't marry as monarch, to avoid the throne? We'll never know, but fans of biographical fiction and British royalty will thoroughly enjoy this sparkling tale of love and loss.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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