The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson

‘A profoundly moving meditation on love, loyalty, and, ultimately, forgiveness’ AMANDA FOREMAN

'Attempts to redress the balance and emphasises Simpson's intelligence, independence and unwillingness to ruin the life of the man she loved’ OBSERVER

The intimate biography of one of the most misunderstood women in British royal history. Now 40 years since her death and the 90 year anniversary of the abdication, there is no better time to look back on this brilliant woman's life.

Life has always been made difficult for those marrying into England’s royal family. In 1936, just months into his reign, King Edward VIII proposed to Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman. Gossip ran wild, and that cacophony of speculation and distrust both hid the real Wallis, and forced Edward into abdicating so that he might marry the woman he adored.

In this intimate biography Anna Pasternak seeks to understand Wallis – and her relationship with Edward and The Crown. Using testimony from her closest friends, she shows the warm, loyal, intelligent woman who was written off and undermined by the powerful, often manipulative men of the Establishment. This is Wallis Simpson’s story as it has never been told before.

Previously published as Untitled.