Andrew Lownie’s book about Edward Windsor and Wallis Simpson makes a familiar subject “seem fresh again”, said Marcus Field in the London Evening Standard.
He does so by focusing exclusively on the couple’s post-abdication lives, beginning his story on the “chilly December night” in 1936 when the duke, newly stripped of his status, set sail for the continent from Portsmouth, said Ysenda Maxtone Graham in the Daily Mail.
What follows is a tale of extravagance and resentment, played out in grand locations: a Rothschild-owned castle in Austria, various French chateaux, the lavish palace in the Bahamas where the couple lived during the duke’s time as governor. Lownie does nothing to challenge the prevailing view of the Windsors as a thoroughly “nauseating couple”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In fact, he goes further than most, suggesting that beyond simply admiring the Nazis, the duke was a willing participant in a Joachim von Ribbentrop-led plan to install him on the British throne once the War was over. “Darkly compelling” and full of “eye-popping details”, this is an “unrelentingly damning portrait”.
Yet it fails to overcome a central problem, said David Aaronovitch in The Times – which is that “after the winter of 1942-43, when the eventual total defeat of Germany became certain”, the Windsors simply weren’t very important. From this point on, the book descends largely into trivia, as Lownie details dinner parties the couple attended, mansions they refurbished, and the duchess’s lavish shopping sprees.
Towards the end, to spice things up, he relates “sexual tittle-tattle” – including the duchess’s supposed penchant for threesomes – but none of it seems especially reliable. Ultimately, it’s a “sad” and squalid story – a damning indictment of Britain’s “useless” hereditary ruling class.
Blink 352pp £25; The Week Bookshop £19.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Political cartoons for February 17Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include a refreshing spritz of Pam, winter events, and more
-
Alexei Navalny and Russia’s history of poisoningsThe Explainer ‘Precise’ and ‘deniable’, the Kremlin’s use of poison to silence critics has become a ’geopolitical signature flourish’
-
Are Hollywood ‘showmances’ losing their shine?In The Spotlight Teasing real-life romance between movie leads is an old Tinseltown publicity trick but modern audiences may have had enough
-
6 exquisite homes with vast acreageFeature Featuring an off-the-grid contemporary home in New Mexico and lakefront farmhouse in Massachusetts
-
Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
-
A thrilling foodie city in northern JapanThe Week Recommends The food scene here is ‘unspoilt’ and ‘fun’
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
Samurai: a ‘blockbuster’ display of Japan’s legendary warriorsThe Week Recommends British Museum show offers a ‘scintillating journey’ through ‘a world of gore, power and artistic beauty’
-
BMW iX3: a ‘revolution’ for the German car brandThe Week Recommends The electric SUV promises a ‘great balance between ride comfort and driving fun’
-
Arcadia: Tom Stoppard’s ‘masterpiece’ makes a ‘triumphant’ returnThe Week Recommends Carrie Cracknell’s revival at the Old Vic ‘grips like a thriller’
-
My Father’s Shadow: a ‘magically nimble’ love letter to LagosThe Week Recommends Akinola Davies Jr’s touching and ‘tender’ tale of two brothers in 1990s Nigeria
