
The Real Wallis Simpson
A New History of the American Divorcee Who Became the Duchess of Windsor
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Narrated by:
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Laura Kirman
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By:
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Anna Pasternak
About this listen
Wallis Simpson is known as the woman at the center of the most scandalous love affair of the 20th century, but in this “unputdownable...lively and detailed” (The Times, London) biography, discover a woman wronged by history with new information revealed by the latest research those who were close to the couple.
The story that has been told repeatedly is this: The handsome, charismatic, and popular Prince Edward was expected to marry a well-bred virgin who would one day become queen of England when he ascended the throne. But when the prince was nearly 40, he fell in love with a divorced American woman - Wallis Simpson. No one thought the relationship would last, and when the prince did become king, everyone assumed that was the end of the affair. But to the shock of the British establishment, the new king announced his intention to marry the American divorcée.
Overnight, Wallis was accused of entrapping the prince in a seductive web in order to achieve her audacious ambition to be queen. After declaring that he could not rule without the woman he loved, the king abdicated, and his family banished him and his new wife from the country. The couple spent the rest of their days in exile, but happy in their devoted love for each other.
Now, Anna Pasternak’s The American Dutchess tells a different story: that Wallis was the victim of the abdication, not the villain. Warm, well-mannered, and witty, Wallis was flattered by Prince Edward’s attention, but like everyone else, she never expected his infatuation to last. She never anticipated his jealous, possessive nature - and his absolute refusal to let her go. Edward’s true dark nature, however, was no secret to the royal family, the church, or the Parliament; everyone close to Edward knew that beyond his charming façade, he was utterly unfit to rule. Caught in Edward’s fierce obsession, she became the perfect scapegoat for those who wished to dethrone the troubled king. With profound insight and evenhanded research, Pasternak pulls back the curtain on one of the darkest fairy tales in recent memory and effortlessly reveals “[A] host of intriguing insights into a misunderstood woman” (Kirkus Reviews).
©2019 Anna Pasternak (P)2019 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII brought a great international drama to a close when he abdicated, renouncing the throne of the United Kingdom for himself and his heirs. Alexander Larman’s The Crown in Crisis will treat listeners to a new, thrilling view of this legendary story. Informed by revelatory archival material, as well as by interviews with many of Edward’s and Wallis’ close friends, Larman creates an hour-by-hour, day-by-day suspenseful narrative that brings listeners up to the point where the microphone is turned on and the king speaks to his subjects.
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Interesting book undermined by narrator
- By CPWISE on 02-09-21
By: Alexander Larman
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George VI and Elizabeth
- The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy
- By: Sally Bedell Smith
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A revelatory account of how the loving marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth saved the monarchy during World War II, and how they raised their daughter to become Queen Elizabeth II, based on exclusive access to the Royal Archives—from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen and Prince Charles.
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Great telling of their lives
- By Nancy on 04-15-23
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Courtiers
- Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor
- By: Valentine Low
- Narrated by: Valentine Low
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The gripping account of how the Royal family really operates, from the journalist who has spent years studying them. Who really runs the show and, as Charles III begins his reign, what will happen next?
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author narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 01-26-23
By: Valentine Low
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17 Carnations
- The Royals, the Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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For fans of the Netflix series The Crown, a meticulously researched historical tour de force about the secret ties among Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, and Adolf Hitler before, during, and after World War II. Andrew Morton tells the story of the feckless Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, his American wife, Wallis Simpson, the bizarre wartime Nazi plot to make him a puppet king after the invasion of Britain, and the attempted cover-up by Churchill, General Eisenhower, and King George VI of the duke's relations with Hitler.
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Dangerous fools
- By Vivien Tarkirk-Smith on 03-23-15
By: Andrew Morton
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Diana
- Her True Story - in Her Own Words
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney, Caroline Langrishe
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The sensational biography of Princess Diana, now revised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death. When Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words was first published in 1992, it forever changed the way the public viewed the British monarchy.
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Wonderful overall with one issue...
- By globewest on 07-02-17
By: Andrew Morton
Beautiful profile of a complex woman
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1) Exceptional serious work of history,
2) A captivating, complex tale of love and sacrifice.
3) A loving and respectful homage to our beloved and cherished – HRH Wallis Windsor, the Duchess of Windsor.
Exceptional - compassionate, brilliantly…
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Great Book
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The Duchess
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That Wallis was a kind and warm person.
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Lovingly Inspiring
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Interesting and thoroughly researched
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Excellent read
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Factual and Interesting
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Wonderfully researched book!!!
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