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Summary
Summary
For fans of the Netflix series The Crown and from the author of the New York Times bestseller 17 Carnations comes a captivating biography of Wallis Simpson, the notorious woman for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne.
"You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance." -- Wallis Simpson
Before she became known as the woman who enticed a king from his throne and birthright, Bessie Wallis Warfield was a prudish and particular girl from Baltimore. At turns imaginative, ambitious, and spoiled, Wallis's first words as recalled by her family were "me, me." From that young age, she was in want of nothing but stability, status, and social acceptance as she fought to climb the social ladder and take her place in London society. As irony would have it, she would gain the love and devotion of a king, but only at the cost of his throne and her reputation.
In Wallis in Love , acclaimed biographer Andrew Morton offers a fresh portrait of Wallis Simpson in all her vibrancy and brazenness as she transformed from a hard-nosed gold-digger to charming chatelaine. Using diary entries, letters, and other never-before-seen records, Morton takes us through Wallis's romantic adventures in Washington, China, and her entrance into the strange wonderland that is London society. During her journey, we meet an extraordinary array of characters, many of whom smoothed the way for her dalliance with the king of England, Edward VIII.
Wallis in Love goes beyond Wallis's infamous persona and reveals a complex, domineering woman striving to determine her own fate and grapple with matters of the heart.
Author Notes
Andrew Morton studied history at the University of Sussex, England, with a focus on aristocracy and the 1930s. Morton has written biographies featuring the British Royal Family as well as celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and Madonna. His bestselling biography of Princess Diana, Diana: Her True Story , met with international acclaim as "the closest we will ever come to her autobiography."
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this strenuously gossipy work, veteran biographer Morton (Diana: Her True Story) turns his sights on Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced American socialite for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne. At the time, many contemporaries vilified Simpson for causing the abdication; some later authors and filmmakers have interpreted her tale as a great love story. As Morton makes clear, neither impression is accurate: Simpson never wanted abdication at all; the Prince was charming but also foolish and weak; and the subsequent marriage was a disaster. The shunned, continuously bickering couple's vagabond existence included an especially ill-advised stint as honored guests of Hitler's Germany in 1937. Tracing Simpson from her impoverished roots in Baltimore; to her first marriage to a charming but violently alcoholic Navy airman; to her second marriage to a shipping executive, which brought her to England, Morton creates a somewhat confused portrait. While showing flashes of sympathy for this ambitious woman with few outlets for self-expression, more often Morton's version of Simpson verges on caricature, as he emphasizes, and almost seems to relish, her scheming, self-absorbed, peevish nature. His approach may initially titillate, but it feels empty by the end. Agent: Steve Troha, Folio Literary Management. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The royal and celebrity biographer rehashes the tale of Wallis Simpson (1896-1986) and King Edward VIII (1894-1972), offering just a few new tidbits.A young woman sets her cap for a man who can give her everything she wants. When he gives up the very thing she wants, she's stuck with him. Morton (17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History, 2015, etc.) does his best to spice up the familiar story, accepting Wallis' suggestion that her first two marriages were never consummated. She had a well-known difficulty sticking to the truth. If that were the case, in the days when divorce was not accepted, both marriages would have been eligible for annulment. In his thorough yet frothy narrative, Morton digs into the diaries, letters, and news accounts of friends whose words easily refute Wallis' self-portrait. His best sources are Katherine and Herman Rogers, friends of the king; Wallis depended on them to back her up, to hide her, and to help lick her mostly self-inflicted wounds. Truer friends could not be found, and she used them as she used everyone she knew. Wallis was seemingly the world's biggest tease, jealous, possessive, needy, and vindictive; she had a sharp tongue, wild temper, and cruel streak that dominated every man she met. The author effectively shows the king's true colors. He was a man who never wanted to reign, a playboy puppy who trailed after Wallis begging for affection. The best part of the book deals with the aftermath of the abdication. Wallis never got her grand wedding, and Edward was cut off from pretty much everything and everyone British. One can easily project what sort of life they lived and the pathetic ends they met.Interesting tittle-tattle for royal watchers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Bessie Wallis Warfield, known as Wallis Simpson (1896-1986), has been labeled a one-dimensional villainess; an American divorcée whose marriage to Edward VIII led him to abdicate the throne in 1936. Morton (Diana: In her Own Words) seeks to flesh out a woman who preferred a veneer of well-honed lies to the stark truth. This book dives deep into Simpson's childhood in Pennsylvania and the romantic relationships that shaped her life; revealing a complex, insecure, and immensely unhappy person who loved the royal title far more than her husband did, and who often used and cast aside friends. Morton strives to point out Simpson's redeeming qualities, specifically how she wholeheartedly tried to prevent Edward VIII from abdicating, knowing what it would cost them both. Afterward, she was universally maligned, suffered death threats, and lived with ulcers for much of her life. VERDICT A satisfying read about a woman of layered intent and the love of her life whom she never fully obtained. With frequent mentions of tantrums and pettiness, social climbing and backstabbing, this is a worthwhile account for all interested in the era.-Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. ix |
| 1 "All Is Love" | p. 1 |
| 2 I Married a Sadist | p. 29 |
| 3 He Was Simply Irresistible | p. 51 |
| 4 "The World's Biggest Tease" | p. 70 |
| 5 Wallis Stole My Man | p. 91 |
| 6 "This Weird Royal Obsession" | p. 108 |
| 7 "Mission Accomplished" | p. 121 |
| 8 A Shortlist of One | p. 140 |
| 9 A Bounder, a Libertine, and a Spy | p. 161 |
| 10 "Wally for Queen!" | p. 184 |
| 11 "You God-damned Fool" | p. 208 |
| 12 I Want Your Baby | p. 229 |
| 13 "Only One Woman Exists for Him" | p. 250 |
| 14 "A Whole Nation Against One Woman" | p. 265 |
| 15 "The Only Man I've Ever Loved" | p. 282 |
| 16 "Ice Runs Through Their Veins" | p. 309 |
| 17 "Wallis, Wallis, Wallis, Wallis" | p. 326 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 335 |
| Source Notes | p. 343 |
| Select Bibliography | p. 371 |
| Index | p. 377 |