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A king would abdicate his throne for her in one of the world’s great love stories – but who was Wallis Simpson?
Born into a poor southern family but taken in by rich relatives, Wallis Simpson was raised as a socialite. Between family conflicts and debutante balls, she and her friends dream of their future husbands, and like millions of girls worldwide, dream of Prince Edward, the heir to the British throne who would someday be king. Beloved author Rebecca Dean imagines the early life of Wallis Simpson, her triumphs and heartbreaks, and the making of the twice divorced, nearly destitute woman who captured a king’s heart and changed the course of history. Set against a background of high society, royal circles, and diplomatic intrigue, The Shadow Queen features one of the most fascinating and controversial women of the 20th century.
Bessie Wallis (aka Wallis) was born 1896 and from that day on fate played a very big part in her life but was not her friend.
This novel takes the facts and tells a part fictional tale tracing Bessie Wallis' early life.
Following the death of her mother's husband, the first twist of fate saw Wallis and her mother, Alice dependant on the charity of Uncle Sol as Alice was not in her husband's will.
Uncle Sol kept Alice where he could keep and eye on her, and had better expectations of Wallis, sending her to boarding school.
There she met and made life long friendships with some of the girls, especially Pamela.
Pamela was besotted with Prince Edward of England and dreamed of becoming his Queen. He was quite a catch and all the girls had cuttings from the newspapers as pinups.
Wallis met her first love John Jasper, but fate was to take him away overseas in her debutante year.
A twist of fate for her best friend Pamela means she has to give up her dream of marrying the Prince. A twist that leaves the young Wallis totally devastated.
We follow Wallis' story, shocking at times, as she meets and marries her first and second husbands.
As the years pass and several historical events come into the story such as The Great War, early military aviation history, the suffragettes movement and prohibition, we see Wallis grow into a fine woman who turns the head of any man she meets.
The author has a wonderful way of enveloping the reader in the romance, glamour, and events of the era.
No scene is left to the reader's imagination. The fashions, music, food and drink, etiquette and mood are all captured in the writing.
The novel comes to a close at a fitting time in her life when she catches the eye of Prince Edward. Closure on her past life and so begins her whole new life as the woman who changed the course of British Royal History.
The title is a little misleading - The Shadow Queen could be interpreted as telling the story of Mrs Simpson with the Prince, but this is novel tells the interesting story of the how she came to be twice divorced, Mrs Simpson.
I would like to see the next part of this story in more detail, the story of Edward and Mrs Simpson.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It pays to read the author's notes on how she adapted the story and where she interpreted the facts her own way.
5 out of 5 for me!
Thank you to Broadway Books for sending me a review copy. This did not influence my review in any way.
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