About book The Duchess Of Windsor: The Uncommon Life Of Wallis Simpson (2003)
There has been a surge of interest in the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, since the discovery of love letters to her ex husband and the new film about her which Madonna has directed. This book was published in 1999 the author did not want Princess Diana to be treated in the same way as the Duchess and i think she probably would have been if not for the public support and the fact she was the mother of the heir. This book was based on facts and discounted all the silly rumours which have sprung up around the couple, it was researched well and told the story of the Duchess's life, marriages and up to her death. I did not realise how bad they were treated by the Royal family all their lives, the queen mother was instrumental in this bad treatment and you are left feeling what an awful, unforgiving narrow minded family they are. Prince charles comes across as a great hypocrite he followed the family dictates to ignore his great uncle and treat him like an outcast , yet a few years later he himself was having an affair with a married woman and is still accepted by his family and able to carry on and do his duty. Even at the Dukes funeral, by this time they had been married for 35 years a lot longer then most of the Queens children ! she was treated as an outcast and shown no mercy. I finished this book with a sense of great sadness, they both lived a lonely life and desperately wanted to return to England but were never forgiven. The Duchess died broke and alone her possesions sold to pay for her care, and she was looked after by overbearing paid companions. She did love the Duke contrary to all the rumours but did admit life was hard with him as he did tend to want a lot of her attention but this was the life he was used to and they spent hardly any tine apart in their 35 year marriage. The only thing with this book was at the end of the day she did have an affair with another man even though by all accounts her husband was a decent man, she did not expect it to end in marriage for her it was just a laugh and entertainment so she was not entirely blameless but they certainly were made to pay the price by the British establishment.
I'm giving this 2 stars even though I only got about half way through, which usually merits 1 star. The coverage of Wallis' early life, meeting the Prince and their early relationship was really interesting. I stopped reading for two reasons:1. For the love of Pete the details were killing me. Pages and pages and pages of detail about the decor in their homes etc etc etc. Zzzzzzzzzz2. The obvious bias of the author toward Simpson got very annoying over time. The author basically says in the introduction that he likes Wallis and is going to write a favorable biography, but holy moly the amount of sucking up is obscene. EVERY negative rumor, statement, action etc is explained away, usually with an opening like "when this happened people though badly of Wallis or the King, but here's why they are wrong..." If it is a bit of negative history he can't explain away, he says things like: "Unfortunately, that summer, the Windsors spoke freely and somewhat carelessly about the conduct of the war..." (re them being sympathetic to the Germans during WWII). Also, they were really the kindest people, generous and beautifully dressed, who were the nicest people to servants, children and dogs. If she was rude to the Queen it was the Queen's fault. If someone didn't like them they were wrong. People this perfect do not exist. I'd rather the author admit where they fell short rather than fawning over them.
Do You like book The Duchess Of Windsor: The Uncommon Life Of Wallis Simpson (2003)?
It showed a positive side to Wallis but the attacks on the Royal Family detracted from that. It made the RF look terrible. There was no need to continually bring the mistreatment up. I wanted to read about their lives after the abdication not about the Queen Mother's terrible outfits. The parts that focused on decorating were really interesting. Wallis obviously had style and showed it off. This book could have been shorter and less wordy if the author focused on the topic and not trying to damage the Royal Family.
—Sara Lease
The Duchess of Windsor is a sympathetic glimpse into the life of one of Britain’s most hated women of the 20th Century. The narrative is drafted in such a way as to provide factual information and first hand accounts of the early years, weddings and the fateful meeting between the future King and the twice married Wallis. In modern literature, and certainly in pieces of the time, there is a habit of creating a bit of a villain of “that woman”, and so a more temperate view, with an emphasis on her charitable works provides more of a balance. It’s safe to say that her deeds fall in between these two disparate views of her personality.
—Melinda Elizabeth
