The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson (Gift for History Buffs)

The author takes much of the blame and onus off W.S. In this newer novel that is misleading and there is not lots of new information except to excuse a lot of her behavior. She went into this relationship willingly WITH her husbands complicit knowledge for what it could offer them . They WERE social climbers and royal hanger ons knowing first hand what they were doing . No moral values and neither did the Duke . They were ALL equally to blame but Wallis Simpson received the brunt of it back then . I’m certain that in this day and age the Duke and former short term King WOULD be diagnosed with psychological disorders. Call it what you want , Peter Pan syndrome , immaturity, selfishness and of course entitlement. In her defense ( which IS skimpy ) she did NOT want him to abdicate and tried to discourage this and he threatened to kill himself ; manipulative and almost blackmail as certainly she WOULD have taken the sole blame had he carried through with his threat and all of England would have blamed it ALL on her . She and her husband willingly went into this mess while they were married to get what they could from any social climbing and notoriety full well knowing it was very frowned upon back in the day . In defense of this author , Anna Pasternak , I believe she was extremely tired of W.S. getting most of the blame with the English Public pretty much split all the while blaming Wallis for ALL of it . No , not entirely so ! The Duke was a spoiled , entitled manipulative selfish boy ( not a man ) and a cling on to Wallises well dressed skirts , knowing full hand what he was doing and thinking , ONLY of himself and certainly not TRULY caring or thinking of Wallis Simpsons embroilment in the whole mess .Part of the blame is David’s upbringing and the coldness ( some of these Brits - very cold ) of his mother and his fathers overbearing loud mouthed selfish attitudes which could have stemmed from their parents behavior. Both of their uncaring behavior toward a little boy who deserved, as ALL children do , loving , affectionate , kind and demonstrative behavior could have certainly helped their sons so much . It bothers me so much when ANY parents are so cold and uncaring no matter what the reasons . It damaged his sense of self imho and changed who he may have been ! Which was a very clingy boy , Not a man at all who knew anything about real unselfish love . But , back to the review . MS. Pasternak gives Wallis more of a pass than she possibly should have because I think she feels W.S, was the sole scapegoat for very poor selfish behavior on all their parts . She was not and they were all equally to blame and she ( Wallis ) stepped right into the shit full well knowing right from wrong . She should have called ( “ the little mans bluff ) and let him do whatever it was to his possible demise ! And forced him to be accountable for his threatening statement to kill himself . I don’t believe he would have killed himself and would have continued to manipulate her and insinuate himself into her life anyway after his idle threats . Wallis letters to her estranged husband who she separated from seemed to show some remorse and a realization that perhaps she really Did care for Ernest but it was far too late then and Mr. Simpson who owned some of the blame no longer cared what happened to Wallis .The Kings wife , the “ Queen mother “ was a dumpy , horrid , ugly ,inside and out , a royal snob ( who appeared to be very jealous of Wallis ) exacerbated, dug , blamed and vilified Wallis EVERY chance she got and was NOT a nice person and who appeared to enjoy lording it over Wallis Simpson . She led her husband around by the nose and he was a milk toast who allowed his wife’s vile vindictive behavior , so very unbecoming to her , and MADE SURE Wallis never forgot how beneath her royal fat sss she was . SHE called all the shots and led this behavior on continually making damn sure Wallis suffered as much as possible for as long as possible and was an awful mean spirited snob of the likes that I have never seen ! No , I do NOT like her and her daughter Queen Elizabeth the 2nd was , for what it’s worth a much better kinder person which is of some significance although she was awful years later when Princess Diana died and did nothing of any note to show magnanimity and kindness for her grandsons mother ! Even if she abhorred Princess Diana she SHOULD have done the loving and right thing for her grandsons above ALL ELSE ! To sum it all up they were all a dysfunctional mess beginning way back with W. S. and the dysfunctional “ Royal family “ and still are and Pasternak attempts to SHOW you who they are beginning way back with Wallis Simpson and attempts to soften the image of Simpson , who paid a long time for her poor decisions concerning David and his overbearing behavior and personality. . She writes well and tries to redeem a woman who was all too human and I THINK Pasternak feels Wallis suffered enough with a lifelong sentence with the Duke who was really not principled, princely or a decent boy nor certainly “ kingly “ let alone a leader .

Another book about Wallis and Edward? Haven't they published every known occurrence in their shallow, selfish lives?Anna Pasternak, whose great-uncle was Russian writer Boris Pasternak, wrote a lovely book about his great love, Lara, which I loved. But she knew her information through family and friends of the family. Can anyone who knew the Windsors still be alive? Evidently, yes.Yes, it is a re-hash of everything we have read before in numerous books over the years. There are a few tidbits I didn't know about that were revealed, but certainly nothing earthshattering.It is what she didn't say that worries me. She writes about the war between the Queen Mother (Queen Elizabeth II's mother) and Wallis Simpson, but she leaves out an incident which poisoned the possibility of there ever being a truce between the two women that happened one day at Fort Belvedere. As Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Windsor walked into a room unannounced, she overheard Wallis doing a spot-on impersonation of her voice to a gaggle of guests. She stopped in her tracks, gave Wallis a frosty stare, and left. Did this happen? It is written about in numerous books.When I was living and working in London in the late 60s and early 70s, I dated someone whose family knew the Duke & Duchess well. He brought it up casually one afternoon as we walked through Hyde Park. "I can assure you, there won't be a marriage between one of the royals and an American for some time. Perhaps never" he said. Well, 50 years later there was such a union. A royal prince to a divorced American woman with a ditzy family and a D-List acting background! I could hear Wallis cackling her head off as the two were wed. I call Meghan, 'Wallis's Revenge'! Sadly, she is going to have a tough row to hoe throughout her marriage to Prince Harry. He may have to abdicate his position in order to live a happy life with her and their family. I can see them living outside the royal family doing their own thing on their own. Surely this idea has not skipped Her Majesty's thoughts, as well. History repeating itself.Ms. Pasternak also mentions the TV series, Edward & Mrs. Simpson, which I have watched over and over through the years. She speaks about what a wonderful job actor Edward Fox did playing the Duke, but fails to mention the incredible job Cynthia Harris does as Wallis. I can't understand how she omitted this, as the book is about her, as well. For me, Ms. Harris WAS Wallis Simpson. No one has come close to capturing her look and voice and probably never will.Back to my English friend, Patrick. During our walk he told me that he knew, as gospel, the truth about Wallis Simpson will never, ever see the light of day. "My dear, you have NO idea who and what this woman really was! Thank God she came along and stole our King before Hitler could get a hold of him! Had she not, we would be speaking German today!" D. J. Taylor wrote a novel about Wallis dying just before they wed and what Edward's life would have been like as a single King. Entitled The Windsor Factor, it is well worth reading. Taylor has a breathtaking way with words.If you were to stop one of the high school students who go to school next door to my building and ask them who Wallis and Edward were, not one of them would know who you were talking about. Ms. Pasternak's readership for this book is probably aged 60+. My own daughter, aged 45 wouldn't know who they were, nor would she care' I foolishly titled my review of Andrew Morton's book, 'The Sun Finally Sets On The Windsors.' I should have waited until this book came out.While I enjoyed hearing the story over again, I think about what Patrick said so many decades ago that the truth will never, ever be revealed about both of them. I did not know that Edward was rendered sterile by mumps as a child or that she had a delicate sexual condition that made it impossible for her to have children. This was never mentioned in previous books. A perfect match, then, isn't it?I closed the book tonight at 11 having spent most of the day reading it from cover-to-cover. Do these two people truly merit our interest after all these years? Not really. Most of what has been written is a fabrication by the authors to perpetuate a Disney movie scenario for the ages. The price they paid for their folly was beyond any sacrifice for love anyone has ever endured. Perhaps that is why their 'love story' endures.

If you love history and biography, this is a must read for two reasons. First, the reader has totally changed my opinion of the role of Wallis Warfield Simpson in the abdication through her (the author's) meticulous research of the contemporaneous written record (mainly, letters by the King, Wallis and many others), plus interviews with their friends, family members, personal staff, and others who knew them well. Like most people, I swallowed the royal family's line that she was largely responsible for the abdication. Their position is that Wallis was a shameless social climber and golddigger who pressured the King to abdicate when his prime minister refused to allow her to marry the King. Nothing can be further from the truth: the author's evidence clearly shows that Wallis was horrified at the thought of his quitting, and repeatedly begged him not to do so. In fact, in the weeks right before the abdication, she suffered a nervous breakdown after receiving multiple death threats. Rocks were thrown at her house, and eventually she fled to the south of France where she pleaded with him, by phone and letter, NOT to abdicate. His response: if she refused to marry him, he would cut his throat! Fact is, long before meeting Wallis, Edward knew that he didn't want to be king. Had his father (George V) lived longer, there is ample evidence that he intended to give up his place in the line of succession in favor of his younger brother, Bertie, father of our current queen. Thus, Wallis became the fall gal for an abdication that was always inevitable. Second reason I loved this book: the author is a very gifted storyteller, operating at the top of her game. In sum, I haven't a single criticism of this book, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of "The Crown", the Netflix hit about Elizabeth II.

This is a most succinct account of the abdication of former King Edward V111 and his marriage to Wallis Simpson. I have read most accounts of the abdication and so found this book interesting in that Wallis Simpson is very much brought to the fore; she deserves it.I did not find anything new in this book other than accounts of Wallis Simpson from those who knew her in her lifetime. She comes across as a warmer and more integrated personality than in other accounts.This book is very good as a readable, succinct and fair account of a much demonised woman; a woman who did not deserve her demonisation. It is a sad enough story.

Nothing new here, compared to previous biographies. If you have a genuine interest in The Duchess of Windsor, read 'The Heart has it's Reasons" (her own account, although glossing over certain parts of her life), "Duchess" by Stephen Birmingham (excellent) and even 'That Woman' by Anne Sebba. Far more detail in their accounts.

I couldn't put this book down. Everything I have ever believed about the Windsors is reflected in Anna Pasternak's compassionate and well-researched account of their lives. Although I have read every book published about the Windsors, the author touches on the real human side of these much-maligned people who, despite the cruel rejection and trials that faced them simply because of the times and royal pomp, retained their humour, dignity and integrity to the very end. I am full of admiration for the Duke whose only crime was to fall in love and who made the difficult and brave decision to abdicate. The poor Duchess faced so much vitriol by society’s holier-than-thou, yet in modern times she would have had no such experience. To those who knew them best, the Duke and Duchess were kind and sincere, and did much good for others when they were allowed to. I truly hope that this book will go some way to enlighten and soften the views of even the most hardened Windsor-haters out there, lest you have hearts of steel.

I thought this was a really good book. Well researched and a pretty accurate summary of Wallis character. She was tough and acquisitive, to a pretty disgusting level, particularly when there was so much poverty in the 1930s and then war. Overall, though I think Wallis was a decent person, fairly intelligent, witty and an easy person to chat with and have a laugh. She didn't want to marry the Prince of Wales but he was adamant. The book shows the Queen Mother in a very bad light, cold and vindictive she was behind Wallis not getting the HRH title and not letting them settle back in the UK. The QM had her eyes set on the P of W but he was not interested, so I think there was a jealousy there. The QM did have ice cold blood in her veins. In the end the Queen would still have been the Queen, as the P of W was infertile after catching mumps as a teenager.

The Windsors are always fascinating as their tragedy is so powerful, but there is nothing in this book which hasn't been better examined, researched, or argued before. Even the 'exclusive photos' add zero to our knowledge of the whole Edward VIII saga, nor increased our emotional links. So in all, a shallow disappointing book not worth reading.