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Abdication
From critically acclaimed historian Juliet Nicolson comes a glorious debut novel set in 1936 London about secrecy, tumultuous love, and a king and his subjects torn between public duty and private desire.
England, 1936.
The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous and single. By year’s end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a Second World War were becoming impossible to ignore.
During the tumultuous intervening months, amidst the whirl of social and political upheaval, wise-beyond-her-nineteen-years May Thomas will take the first, faltering steps toward creating a new life for herself. Just disembarked at Liverpool after a long journey from her home on a struggling sugar plantation in Barbados, she secures a position as secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt, a job that will open her eyes to the activities of the uppermost echelons of British society, and her heart to a man seemingly beyond her reach.
Outwardly affable spinster Evangeline Nettlefold is a girlhood friend to the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a goddaughter to Lady Joan Blunt and a new arrival to London from Baltimore. She will be generously welcomed into society’s most glittering circles, where one’s daily worth is determined by one’s proximity to a certain H.R.H. and his married mistress. But as the resentment she feels toward Wallis grows in magnitude, so too does the likelihood of disastrous consequences.
Young, idealistic Julian Richardson’s Oxford degree and his close friendship with Rupert Blunt have catapulted him from excruciating hours in his mother’s middle-class parlor to long holidays spent at stately homes and luxurious dinners in the company of a king. But even as he enjoys his time in this privileged world, his head cannot forget the struggles of those who live outside its gilded gates, and his uneasy heart cannot put aside his undeclared affection for May.
May, Evangeline and Julian will all become embroiled in the hidden truths, undeclared loves, unspoken sympathies and covert complicities that define the year chronicled in Abdication . In pitch-perfect prose, Juliet Nicolson has captured an era in which duty and pleasure, tradition and novelty, and order and chaos all battled for supremacy in the hearts and minds of king and commoner alike. As addictive as Downton Abbey, as poignant as The Remains of the Day, Abdication is a breathtaking story inspired by a love affair that shook the world at a time when the world was on the brink of war.
England, 1936.
The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous and single. By year’s end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a Second World War were becoming impossible to ignore.
During the tumultuous intervening months, amidst the whirl of social and political upheaval, wise-beyond-her-nineteen-years May Thomas will take the first, faltering steps toward creating a new life for herself. Just disembarked at Liverpool after a long journey from her home on a struggling sugar plantation in Barbados, she secures a position as secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt, a job that will open her eyes to the activities of the uppermost echelons of British society, and her heart to a man seemingly beyond her reach.
Outwardly affable spinster Evangeline Nettlefold is a girlhood friend to the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a goddaughter to Lady Joan Blunt and a new arrival to London from Baltimore. She will be generously welcomed into society’s most glittering circles, where one’s daily worth is determined by one’s proximity to a certain H.R.H. and his married mistress. But as the resentment she feels toward Wallis grows in magnitude, so too does the likelihood of disastrous consequences.
Young, idealistic Julian Richardson’s Oxford degree and his close friendship with Rupert Blunt have catapulted him from excruciating hours in his mother’s middle-class parlor to long holidays spent at stately homes and luxurious dinners in the company of a king. But even as he enjoys his time in this privileged world, his head cannot forget the struggles of those who live outside its gilded gates, and his uneasy heart cannot put aside his undeclared affection for May.
May, Evangeline and Julian will all become embroiled in the hidden truths, undeclared loves, unspoken sympathies and covert complicities that define the year chronicled in Abdication . In pitch-perfect prose, Juliet Nicolson has captured an era in which duty and pleasure, tradition and novelty, and order and chaos all battled for supremacy in the hearts and minds of king and commoner alike. As addictive as Downton Abbey, as poignant as The Remains of the Day, Abdication is a breathtaking story inspired by a love affair that shook the world at a time when the world was on the brink of war.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
127 people are currently reading
1066 people want to read
About the author
Juliet Nicolson
10 books124 followersJuliet Nicolson is the author of 'The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm' and 'The Great Silence: Britain From the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age.' She read English at Oxford University and has worked in publishing in both the UK and the United States. She has two daughters, and lives with her husband in Sussex.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
June 6, 2012
I learned a valuable lesson while reading Abdication by Juliet Nicolson. I learned that no matter how beautiful the cover, how enticing the subject matter (should be), how perfect the name (and Abdication is such a beautiful name for a novel), if things just don't work, they just don't work.
I read the first 60% of the book and I felt like a cheerleader for 50% of it. It was tiring! I kept hoping, praying, eventually pleading for the characters to ignite some kind of spark inside of me, just something that would make me care enough to keep reading. But at 60%, I kind of just gave up and went through the motions of reading the rest of the book.
There's technically absolutely nothing wrong with Abdication. It's written well, the words are all in the right place, it's edited well, the ingredients are all there for a fantastic historical novel, but the characters were so boring and bland that I felt nothing for their plights, struggles, joys, and sorrows. And that right there is the killing blow for a novel like this. Because in order for history to be interesting there needs to be some kind of hook, something to make you want to invest yourself in the story, someone to root for or to hate or to love - but there was none of that here for me. So instead, I felt like I was reading a beautifully narrated history book filled with a hodge-podge assortment of quality descriptions and conversations. And it all just fell flat for me. Maybe it won't for you - but it did for me and I cannot tell you how sad that makes me feel.
I read the first 60% of the book and I felt like a cheerleader for 50% of it. It was tiring! I kept hoping, praying, eventually pleading for the characters to ignite some kind of spark inside of me, just something that would make me care enough to keep reading. But at 60%, I kind of just gave up and went through the motions of reading the rest of the book.
There's technically absolutely nothing wrong with Abdication. It's written well, the words are all in the right place, it's edited well, the ingredients are all there for a fantastic historical novel, but the characters were so boring and bland that I felt nothing for their plights, struggles, joys, and sorrows. And that right there is the killing blow for a novel like this. Because in order for history to be interesting there needs to be some kind of hook, something to make you want to invest yourself in the story, someone to root for or to hate or to love - but there was none of that here for me. So instead, I felt like I was reading a beautifully narrated history book filled with a hodge-podge assortment of quality descriptions and conversations. And it all just fell flat for me. Maybe it won't for you - but it did for me and I cannot tell you how sad that makes me feel.
March 23, 2012
A sad day for a book-lover...
I have made the executive decision to stop reading Abdication. As any book-worm knows, it is almost shameful to leave a book unfinished. I could not engage with the story (or should I say stories), and I could not engage with the characters. I didn't particularly enjoy the author's writing style or the way the plot seemed to jump from character to character and place to place. I think if the author had stuck to one story-line and focused just on that, using secondary characters to spice up the story, instead of giving each character his/her own storyline, it would have made the book much more readable. I have too many books in my TBR pile to continue to read a book that bores me.
So, it is with regret and resignation, that at 60% finished, I am done with Abdication
I have made the executive decision to stop reading Abdication. As any book-worm knows, it is almost shameful to leave a book unfinished. I could not engage with the story (or should I say stories), and I could not engage with the characters. I didn't particularly enjoy the author's writing style or the way the plot seemed to jump from character to character and place to place. I think if the author had stuck to one story-line and focused just on that, using secondary characters to spice up the story, instead of giving each character his/her own storyline, it would have made the book much more readable. I have too many books in my TBR pile to continue to read a book that bores me.
So, it is with regret and resignation, that at 60% finished, I am done with Abdication
July 16, 2012
What do you say when you have high hopes for a juicy steak full of flavor and discover it has been replaced with soy protein? That is how I felt about Juliet Nicolson's foray into fiction . . . blah.
That is not to say that there isn't a story here among the ramblings and character sketches that are less than sketches. The moments between Wallis and the Prince of Wales are perfect right down to the smallest details of how Wallis briefly touched the Prince's hand to get him to stop smoking at the table. It was a telling moment and one that defined a lot of the relationship between Wallis and Edward VIII.The rest of the book is about two other women, a bald, fat American who was Wallis's fictional school friend and supposedly privy to the intimate details of life with the soon to be abdicated king, and May, from Barbados with an almost incestuous past with her lecherous father, who becomes the chauffeur and private secretary of Sir Phillip Blunt.
While the moments of May's and Evangeline's lives would be important to characterization, they added nothing to the main focus of the story, the death of George V and the rise and abdication of King Edward VIII. The peripheral details of life in the Jewish quarter of London and Evangeline's corpulence and alopecia could add much to the characterization of both women and texture to their relationship to the central characters (Wallis and Edward), but they do little more than add pages.
That is not to say the writing isn't good because it is beautifully written prose, but where Nicolson excels as an historian she sorely lacks as an author of fiction. It is a case of where she shines, she really shines, and where she doesn't, she . . . just doesn't. I would venture to say the fictional elements of this highly touted novel are pointless, adding nothing to the overall story, of which there is very little, or to the understanding of Evangeline and May's importance to the story, especially when both characters could have provided a nuanced and important fly on the wall perspective of this most scandalous and romantic moment in Britain's 20th century royal history.
I would recommend Juliet Nicolson's historical writing but caution against expecting too much of this well written but often boring novel. Read it closely for the historical moments but skim the rest and you will not end up wondering why someone as devoted to her dog as Evangeline Nettlefold ostensibly was, why she passed off May backing over her beloved pet with the Rolls Royce as little more than an "oh, well," moment, and how a young woman newly arrived from Barbados would be hired as a chauffeur and private secretary by someone with as much political clout as Sir Phillip Blunt with no references and no real training. Some things, at least in the world of Juliet Nicolson's Abdication are not meant to be understood, merely accepted.
June 1, 2012
Nicholson has a knack for making history come alive! Unfortunately the abdication of Edward VIII and his entanglement with Wallis Simpson is left in the background. When Nicholson tells David (Edward VIII) and Wallis’ story it truly sparkles. The details are incredible even down to how they spoke, looked, and what they wore. The story of May, a 19 year old woman of Scottish descent, who grew up in Barbados, is lackluster however. There’s also a side story involving Evangeline who was a school friend of Ms. Simpson’s which is marginally more credible than May’s adventures. The book was the oddest dichotomy between the shimmering history bits and the humdrum fictional parts. Besides the abdication and the descriptions of the king Nicholson also includes scenes of the couple entertaining at home and yachting to Greece. There are some other odds and ends like the politician Oswald Mosley and the fascist riots he organized through the Jewish section of London, the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary, and the burning of the Crystal Palace. All of these parts were excellent. I notice this is Nicholson’s first fiction book. All her other writing is historical. This book shows promise and I’d bet she’ll become a skilled fiction writer as well. After reading “Abdication” I want to read her nonfiction.
This review is based on an egalley provided by the publisher.
3.5/5 stars
This review is based on an egalley provided by the publisher.
3.5/5 stars
September 24, 2012
What on earth was meant to be the point of this book? In spite of the title, it certainly wasn't the story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson; they're nothing more than walk-ons. Nor was it the stories of either of the two primary characters, Evangeline Nettleford, childhood friend of Wallis, or May Thomas, Barbados-born but in England working as chauffeuse to respected MP Sir Philip Blunt, because neither story took center stage and neither was very effectively resolved. It wasn't the intersection of the two women's stories, because that led to nothing either. I finally decided that the protagonist was simply the era: 1936 London, played out against a backdrop of Olympic Games in Berlin, the cataract of Naziism, the dark rise of Oswald Mosley, the romance of the king and Wallis. But if that was the author's intention, it was very un-adeptly done, because the many events and characters simply don't align. It's as if Nicolson said to herself, "It's 1936 in London, so THIS historical character/locale/event simply MUST be in my book!" Just a mishmash! And craziest of all, the writing linking this crazy-quilt plot and unappealing characters was really very good. When Nicolson's portraying a scene, or crafting a setting, the prose really shines.
Parting thought: why do so many women authors portray overweight women so viciously?
Parting thought: why do so many women authors portray overweight women so viciously?
September 8, 2017
I love reading stories about the Royal family, past and present, and I've always been interested in Wallis and Edward, so I thoroughly enjoyed this book, fiction based on facts. The characters were very real and I'll say that May was my favorite character in the book. She had a very interesting life herself and was admitted to the behind the scenes happenings where all this was going on. I would definitely recommend this if you share my interest of the stories of royalty.
March 5, 2016
One point five stars. Why oh why did I even finish this? Friends, do NOT be pulled in by back cover advertising that uses words like vivid and absorbing, any shout out recommendations to fans of Downtown Abby or how this begs to be made into a period drama by BBC. The only way that could be successful is if they tossed out 90% of the book and came up with an actual plot and found the characters some personality and figured out some way to make you give a solitary rip about them. Oh, and come up with a decent ending? Please.
The only thing this accomplished for me was that somehow, accidentally I think, it made me realize that the story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward and his abdication should be a very interesting story. History generally presents it as a very romantic tale, the king who gave up the crown because he loved this woman SO much. But there was a whole political thing going on and it really made me think about the major implications of what might happen to the government, the country with such a monumental upset in monarchy. And it wasn't just the whole king marrying a twice divorced American or his role with the Church of England thing either. Clouds of war were gathering across the channel, you want somebody solid at the helm when those types of things are happening! And that's the ONLY reason it's getting that extra half star that keeps it out of the "I hated it" category, it made me think just a little. What I really, really can't think is why I kept reading.
The only thing this accomplished for me was that somehow, accidentally I think, it made me realize that the story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward and his abdication should be a very interesting story. History generally presents it as a very romantic tale, the king who gave up the crown because he loved this woman SO much. But there was a whole political thing going on and it really made me think about the major implications of what might happen to the government, the country with such a monumental upset in monarchy. And it wasn't just the whole king marrying a twice divorced American or his role with the Church of England thing either. Clouds of war were gathering across the channel, you want somebody solid at the helm when those types of things are happening! And that's the ONLY reason it's getting that extra half star that keeps it out of the "I hated it" category, it made me think just a little. What I really, really can't think is why I kept reading.
January 28, 2013
This one is classified as a novel, although I would probably be more tempted to call it "historical fiction". A novel in my mind would need greater depth of characterization and motivation than this book offers, although the historical detail is the most enjoyable part.
What I liked:
- The period setting. Not enough fiction has been set in this period IMO. I couldn't manage to watch Downton Abbey (sorry DA fans, but it just felt like a cartoon to me, and not half as compelling as a decent book), but loved Gosford Park, which has the same undercurrents of class shifts between the wars.
- The historical detail. This author has written some absolutely compelling non-fiction about this particular period, which I highly recommend, and this knowledge is used well in this book.
- The way the details and people of 1936 are woven into the story. Some reviews mention the "name dropping" and it does feel a bit of overkill (the Battle of Cable St doesn't work as well in the story as the Jarrow March, for example), but I have to say I really enjoyed how the Abdication Crisis was worked in, both from the servant's point of view and the politician's. It worked really well as an intriguing "what if?"
- There are 3 main protagonists and I thought they were well-chosen. They are all imperfect (Evangeline thinks too highly of herself and has a nasty malicious streak, Julian is wracked with indecision, guilt and is incredibly selfish, and May seems to drift wherever the tide takes her), and the way they are drawn through the story is wonderful. Julian and Evangeline develop quite well.
What I didn't like as much:
- Although the period detail was wonderful, I felt we never really got under the skin of pretty much anyone other than perhaps Evangeline. May struck me as somewhat vacant at times, and more like a pale, washed out tailor's dummy than a living, breathing, sentient individual. I couldn't understand why the author made her so stunningly beautiful - it didn't seem to serve any purpose. (OK, I guess you could say, why not? but still it annoyed me..)
- Some of the working of historical detail was OTT. If you're going to work in historical events so precisely, it has to be really convincing. The fascist rally in Oxford is absolutely brilliantly worked in, the Battle of Cable St less so (I'm sorry, but I don't believe Sarah was quite so stupid to make the error she did, or if she was it should have been demonstrated sooner that she was a daftie).
- Although the 3 main protagonists were moderately well-drawn, the secondary characters were all disappointingly one-dimensional. Nat and his family were paragons of absolute perfection in an incredibly irritating way. Rupert and his Bullingdon buddies were absolutely awful in a different irritating way (what drove them to the excesses they went to?).
- The story ends far, far too neatly for my tastes. If ever there were a period in which a story could end with a huge amount of uncertainty it's just before WW2. We actually know that at least some of the characters are going to die, and the country is going to be plunged into war and darkness within 5 years. I got the feeling the author was trying for this. The vast majority of the "endings" are really quite good (Evangeline, May, Julian, Joan, Philip etc), but we didn't really need to know about May's mother's secret or about how it all would have been right in the end due to Nat (who is probably one of the most disappointingly perfect characters I've ever come across - couldn't he harbor some overwhelming anger at his parents or something?)
So, this felt like a decent first effort at a fictional account, but it just wasn't up to the standard I expected, having read two of this author's previous non-fictional work.
2 stars. It was OK.
What I liked:
- The period setting. Not enough fiction has been set in this period IMO. I couldn't manage to watch Downton Abbey (sorry DA fans, but it just felt like a cartoon to me, and not half as compelling as a decent book), but loved Gosford Park, which has the same undercurrents of class shifts between the wars.
- The historical detail. This author has written some absolutely compelling non-fiction about this particular period, which I highly recommend, and this knowledge is used well in this book.
- The way the details and people of 1936 are woven into the story. Some reviews mention the "name dropping" and it does feel a bit of overkill (the Battle of Cable St doesn't work as well in the story as the Jarrow March, for example), but I have to say I really enjoyed how the Abdication Crisis was worked in, both from the servant's point of view and the politician's. It worked really well as an intriguing "what if?"
- There are 3 main protagonists and I thought they were well-chosen. They are all imperfect (Evangeline thinks too highly of herself and has a nasty malicious streak, Julian is wracked with indecision, guilt and is incredibly selfish, and May seems to drift wherever the tide takes her), and the way they are drawn through the story is wonderful. Julian and Evangeline develop quite well.
What I didn't like as much:
- Although the period detail was wonderful, I felt we never really got under the skin of pretty much anyone other than perhaps Evangeline. May struck me as somewhat vacant at times, and more like a pale, washed out tailor's dummy than a living, breathing, sentient individual. I couldn't understand why the author made her so stunningly beautiful - it didn't seem to serve any purpose. (OK, I guess you could say, why not? but still it annoyed me..)
- Some of the working of historical detail was OTT. If you're going to work in historical events so precisely, it has to be really convincing. The fascist rally in Oxford is absolutely brilliantly worked in, the Battle of Cable St less so (I'm sorry, but I don't believe Sarah was quite so stupid to make the error she did, or if she was it should have been demonstrated sooner that she was a daftie).
- Although the 3 main protagonists were moderately well-drawn, the secondary characters were all disappointingly one-dimensional. Nat and his family were paragons of absolute perfection in an incredibly irritating way. Rupert and his Bullingdon buddies were absolutely awful in a different irritating way (what drove them to the excesses they went to?).
- The story ends far, far too neatly for my tastes. If ever there were a period in which a story could end with a huge amount of uncertainty it's just before WW2. We actually know that at least some of the characters are going to die, and the country is going to be plunged into war and darkness within 5 years. I got the feeling the author was trying for this. The vast majority of the "endings" are really quite good (Evangeline, May, Julian, Joan, Philip etc), but we didn't really need to know about May's mother's secret or about how it all would have been right in the end due to Nat (who is probably one of the most disappointingly perfect characters I've ever come across - couldn't he harbor some overwhelming anger at his parents or something?)
So, this felt like a decent first effort at a fictional account, but it just wasn't up to the standard I expected, having read two of this author's previous non-fictional work.
2 stars. It was OK.
March 7, 2014
A really enjoyable read but all the same ever so slightly disappointing. It began with most of the elements I love in a story, a bit of history, some politics and told through the eyes of a female driver which gave it a bit of a feminist angle too. However, the story of the title - the abdication of Edward VIII - was not that prominent, just humming away in the background rather than being the main focus as I'd expected it to be. The main story rested on the experiences of May the female driver and that was a good story...just not what I wanted from a book of this title. Also, I felt that the story was built around a series of historical events rather than being integral to the characters...sometimes it felt a bit incongruous for example when May stumbled across a blackshirts meeting or when May and her brother just happened to sit opposite the Crystal Palace the night before it burns down. I like historical detail but I like it to really feel authentic for the characters. There was a lack of tension and intrigue to the plot, which was a shame really but any reader new to the time period would have learned lots of historical facts, which would hopefully encourage them to read more around the time period. I did enjoy this one but I just wish that Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII had been more central characters.
February 7, 2018
I wanted to like this book better than I did, because this period of history is fascinating to me - I love The Crown and The King's Speech! However, this novel was all over the place... scenes from a few months prior and then rewinding to the current day. There also seemed to be some missing commas which nagged at me.
I liked May - how she was smart, interesting, and kept her head in a profession where she was the minority. I found myself feeling sorry for Evangeline during most of the book... but what she did at the end was unforgivable!
All in all, not bad, and a solid effort.
I liked May - how she was smart, interesting, and kept her head in a profession where she was the minority. I found myself feeling sorry for Evangeline during most of the book... but what she did at the end was unforgivable!
All in all, not bad, and a solid effort.
March 27, 2018
I've enjoyed some of Juliet Nicolson's non-fiction, so thought I'd try her fiction. This wasn't bad. It felt like she'd been researching 1936 and didn't have enough for a non-fiction book, so turned it into a novel - every now and then there'd be info dumps about the Queen Mary or one of Mosley's rallies or such. The story itself was fine enough, but I didn't feel terribly connected to any of the characters. And the characterization of Evangeline... Ugh.
February 18, 2023
3.5 stars
Despite the terrible reviews I decided to go ahead and read this as it sounded right up my street.
I really enjoyed it, great characterisation, set mid wars which is one of my favourite periods of historical fiction.
The Abdication itself sort of happens in the back ground of the story - which I quite liked but had elicited sharp feedback from other readers.
After a nicely paced story it ended rather suddenly as if the writer ran out of steam.
If you liked the Cazalet chronicles, you may also enjoy this.
Despite the terrible reviews I decided to go ahead and read this as it sounded right up my street.
I really enjoyed it, great characterisation, set mid wars which is one of my favourite periods of historical fiction.
The Abdication itself sort of happens in the back ground of the story - which I quite liked but had elicited sharp feedback from other readers.
After a nicely paced story it ended rather suddenly as if the writer ran out of steam.
If you liked the Cazalet chronicles, you may also enjoy this.
September 29, 2016
Abdication is the first work of fiction by historian Juliet Nicolson. The novel is set in a turbulent time, in which Edward VIII has been crowned as the new king of England after the death of his predecessor George V. This was a period in which Oswald Mosley’s fascist party was deemed to be on the rise, and the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler was also gaining momentum in Germany. Averse to rumours, Sir Philip Blunt swears May to secrecy about meeting Wallis and the King, and May readily agrees: ‘Keeping secrets had been a way of life for May for as long as she could remember’.
The novel opens on a ‘gloomy February afternoon in 1936’, introducing us immediately to one of the main protagonists, nineteen-year-old May Thomas. May is a chauffeuse working for the prominent Sir Philip Blunt at Cuckmere Park in Sussex and, due to her position, her ‘eyes are opened to the upper echelons of British society’. Born to Scottish parents on the island of Barbados, May has experience of driving for her father, the owner of a once prosperous sugar plantation, which was passed from one generation to the next.
Other characters are soon introduced. We meet Evangeline Nettleford, a Baltimore native, and Wallis Simpson, who feels ‘overwhelmed by the British’. The stylish yet penniless Evangeline, a friend of Wallis’, whose outer persona hides many secrets – alopecia and obesity, for example – has ‘come to live with her brother Frank and his family at their invitation’ following the death of her mother. Elements of her character are incredibly interesting and she seems far more well thought out than the majority of the other characters in the novel.
Nicolson’s character descriptions have been fashioned well on the whole. The butler at Wallis Simpson’s residence is ‘cigarette-slim’ and Wallis herself is described as having ‘an unnaturally wide smile, a doll-like body, high little shoulders and a perfectly enormous head’.
The social history of the 1930s is well evoked, and Nicolson’s descriptions and explanations of place and society are the strongest elements of the novel. A wide scope of period details have been included – the Suffrage movement, the ways in which the First World War affected both soldiers and civilians, fashions, the vast divide between rich and poor, the status and rights of employees and the ‘dirt and chaos’ prevalent in London and the rising stature of women in society, amongst other elements.
A third person perspective has been used throughout. Whilst this technique is useful in allowing Nicolson to follow more than one character, it does distance the reader from the story somewhat. Sadly, the dialogue, particularly the exchanges in which Rachel Greenfeld, the mother-in-law of May’s cousin speaks, often seems overdone and rather clumsy. The novel does feel a little repetitive at times, particularly with regard to the way in which some occurrences are unnecessarily mentioned more than once in more or less the same turns of phrase. It is not clear how much of the plot used in Abdication is taken from historical records, and how much has been imagined or partially constructed by the author. The ambiguity as to the truth of many of the occurrences throughout does detract from the story, and it would have been incredibly helpful for the author to outline in an introduction or afterword how much of the plot was based on incidents and how much she crafted herself.
Abdication is not an overly absorbing novel, and some aspects of it certainly fall flat at times. The plot itself is interesting, but the story is not executed or written as well as it could have been. Many of the characters are flat and rather lifeless, and whilst the plot itself works well, no real empathy for or knowledge of the characters is gained as the novel progresses. Indeed, Abdication reads as more of a social history at times, and Nicolson’s factual narrative style does not quite work for a story of this type.
The novel opens on a ‘gloomy February afternoon in 1936’, introducing us immediately to one of the main protagonists, nineteen-year-old May Thomas. May is a chauffeuse working for the prominent Sir Philip Blunt at Cuckmere Park in Sussex and, due to her position, her ‘eyes are opened to the upper echelons of British society’. Born to Scottish parents on the island of Barbados, May has experience of driving for her father, the owner of a once prosperous sugar plantation, which was passed from one generation to the next.
Other characters are soon introduced. We meet Evangeline Nettleford, a Baltimore native, and Wallis Simpson, who feels ‘overwhelmed by the British’. The stylish yet penniless Evangeline, a friend of Wallis’, whose outer persona hides many secrets – alopecia and obesity, for example – has ‘come to live with her brother Frank and his family at their invitation’ following the death of her mother. Elements of her character are incredibly interesting and she seems far more well thought out than the majority of the other characters in the novel.
Nicolson’s character descriptions have been fashioned well on the whole. The butler at Wallis Simpson’s residence is ‘cigarette-slim’ and Wallis herself is described as having ‘an unnaturally wide smile, a doll-like body, high little shoulders and a perfectly enormous head’.
The social history of the 1930s is well evoked, and Nicolson’s descriptions and explanations of place and society are the strongest elements of the novel. A wide scope of period details have been included – the Suffrage movement, the ways in which the First World War affected both soldiers and civilians, fashions, the vast divide between rich and poor, the status and rights of employees and the ‘dirt and chaos’ prevalent in London and the rising stature of women in society, amongst other elements.
A third person perspective has been used throughout. Whilst this technique is useful in allowing Nicolson to follow more than one character, it does distance the reader from the story somewhat. Sadly, the dialogue, particularly the exchanges in which Rachel Greenfeld, the mother-in-law of May’s cousin speaks, often seems overdone and rather clumsy. The novel does feel a little repetitive at times, particularly with regard to the way in which some occurrences are unnecessarily mentioned more than once in more or less the same turns of phrase. It is not clear how much of the plot used in Abdication is taken from historical records, and how much has been imagined or partially constructed by the author. The ambiguity as to the truth of many of the occurrences throughout does detract from the story, and it would have been incredibly helpful for the author to outline in an introduction or afterword how much of the plot was based on incidents and how much she crafted herself.
Abdication is not an overly absorbing novel, and some aspects of it certainly fall flat at times. The plot itself is interesting, but the story is not executed or written as well as it could have been. Many of the characters are flat and rather lifeless, and whilst the plot itself works well, no real empathy for or knowledge of the characters is gained as the novel progresses. Indeed, Abdication reads as more of a social history at times, and Nicolson’s factual narrative style does not quite work for a story of this type.
August 7, 2012
I tend to gravitate towards modern-day women's fiction, so I wasn't prepared for this book to resonate with me like it did. A fictional account of the events surrounding the abdication of King Edward VIII from the throne at the beginning of the second World War, this fascinating narrative weaves the stories of the actual participants and imaginary onlookers in a seamless and engrossing way.
First, we meet May Thomas, newly arrived in England from the island of Barbados, who along with her brother is struggling to create a new life for themselves in the home of their cousin. Her situation improves when she is hired as a secretary and driver for Sir Philip Blunt, a member of the king's cabinet. She meets important and influential people such as spinster Evangeline Nettlefield, who has come all the way from Baltimore to visit her godmother, Lady Blunt, and her childhood friend, Wallis Simpson. May is instructed to close her eyes to the controversy that surrounds her, but as time goes by, Evangeline realizes that Wallis has become more than just a friend to the king. At first, she supports this, but over time she grows to resent her friend's neglect and begins to seek opportunities for revenge.
We also meet Oxford graduate Julian Richardson, close friend of Sir Blunt's son Rupert, who has a heart for the underprivileged and a deep concern for the trouble he sees brewing in his country and around the world. He finds May to be an intelligent and sympathetic confidant, and over time their affection for each other grows to the point that neither of them can deny it, although it is unsuitable for them to declare it. Evangeline's crush on the much younger Julian adds some comic relief from time to time.
A fascinating take on the love affair that rocked a nation on the brink of war, "Abdication" is authentically satisfying. With its great cast of characters, attention to detail, and historical accuracy, I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who would like to learn more about the history of the time.
First, we meet May Thomas, newly arrived in England from the island of Barbados, who along with her brother is struggling to create a new life for themselves in the home of their cousin. Her situation improves when she is hired as a secretary and driver for Sir Philip Blunt, a member of the king's cabinet. She meets important and influential people such as spinster Evangeline Nettlefield, who has come all the way from Baltimore to visit her godmother, Lady Blunt, and her childhood friend, Wallis Simpson. May is instructed to close her eyes to the controversy that surrounds her, but as time goes by, Evangeline realizes that Wallis has become more than just a friend to the king. At first, she supports this, but over time she grows to resent her friend's neglect and begins to seek opportunities for revenge.
We also meet Oxford graduate Julian Richardson, close friend of Sir Blunt's son Rupert, who has a heart for the underprivileged and a deep concern for the trouble he sees brewing in his country and around the world. He finds May to be an intelligent and sympathetic confidant, and over time their affection for each other grows to the point that neither of them can deny it, although it is unsuitable for them to declare it. Evangeline's crush on the much younger Julian adds some comic relief from time to time.
A fascinating take on the love affair that rocked a nation on the brink of war, "Abdication" is authentically satisfying. With its great cast of characters, attention to detail, and historical accuracy, I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who would like to learn more about the history of the time.
June 9, 2012
When does what I know stop being a secret and turn into an unreleased issue?
In 1936, May Thomas finds herself traveling to England in search of work, and inadvertently becomes tangled in history as it is happening. She becomes a chauffeur to a family closely associated with King Edward and Wallis Simpson, a woman determined to have whatever she wants regardless of the consequences. May knows and accepts her position to keep a low profile, and whatever she happens to see to herself. Yet watching the action from the sidelines as it unfolds is riveting and at times a secret greater than May feels she should have to keep. The actions of the few are going to alter the lives of so many, and May wonders whom if anyone has the power to control this.
The other earth shattering eruption coming to England is from Germany and affects May’s Jewish cousins. The horror that is about to be unleashed upon an entire nationality is rearing its ugly head and May is doing everything to stay true to her core beliefs regardless of what others may say. She is not going to allow the evil that appears to be bent on destruction take away her family’s structure.
Reading Abdication by Juliet Nicolson you feel the effect of looking through a window into someone else’s life. This is a well written, and prolific story that is being told from an insider’s perspective and dives right into the heart of the happenings and readers watch the drama play out.
In 1936, May Thomas finds herself traveling to England in search of work, and inadvertently becomes tangled in history as it is happening. She becomes a chauffeur to a family closely associated with King Edward and Wallis Simpson, a woman determined to have whatever she wants regardless of the consequences. May knows and accepts her position to keep a low profile, and whatever she happens to see to herself. Yet watching the action from the sidelines as it unfolds is riveting and at times a secret greater than May feels she should have to keep. The actions of the few are going to alter the lives of so many, and May wonders whom if anyone has the power to control this.
The other earth shattering eruption coming to England is from Germany and affects May’s Jewish cousins. The horror that is about to be unleashed upon an entire nationality is rearing its ugly head and May is doing everything to stay true to her core beliefs regardless of what others may say. She is not going to allow the evil that appears to be bent on destruction take away her family’s structure.
Reading Abdication by Juliet Nicolson you feel the effect of looking through a window into someone else’s life. This is a well written, and prolific story that is being told from an insider’s perspective and dives right into the heart of the happenings and readers watch the drama play out.
June 3, 2012
This book was not what I had anticipated; I had expected it to focus on the unprecedented abdication of the King of England. Instead, this is a work of fiction that merely uses the abdication as a backdrop, as a way to set the historical period.
There are two main characters, one is a fictional friend of Wallis Simpson and the other is a young female who is hired as a secretary and driver for a member of the British Parliament. Unfortunately, the first one is portrayed almost exclusively as a caricature—an overweight, balding woman who is consistently getting herself into awkward situations because of her size and her use of wigs. May, the working class female protagonist is a more complete character. The secondary characters are many and seem to be there primarily to demonstrate the socioeconomic diversity of England in the 1930’s rather than to promote the dynamics of the plot.
Ms. Nicolson appears to be an historian or a researcher turned novelist. Her scenes appear to be very true to the times and she fits in many details which seem to be inserted for historical authenticity—the magazines arranged in the living room, the radio broadcasts by the King, the differences between the way the US papers and the British papers reported about the royal family, and so on. In fact, the historical details appear to be more flushed out and authentic than the characters do.
There are two main characters, one is a fictional friend of Wallis Simpson and the other is a young female who is hired as a secretary and driver for a member of the British Parliament. Unfortunately, the first one is portrayed almost exclusively as a caricature—an overweight, balding woman who is consistently getting herself into awkward situations because of her size and her use of wigs. May, the working class female protagonist is a more complete character. The secondary characters are many and seem to be there primarily to demonstrate the socioeconomic diversity of England in the 1930’s rather than to promote the dynamics of the plot.
Ms. Nicolson appears to be an historian or a researcher turned novelist. Her scenes appear to be very true to the times and she fits in many details which seem to be inserted for historical authenticity—the magazines arranged in the living room, the radio broadcasts by the King, the differences between the way the US papers and the British papers reported about the royal family, and so on. In fact, the historical details appear to be more flushed out and authentic than the characters do.
October 27, 2012
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Nicolson has a couple of non-fiction credits to her name, and she has a definite gift for exposition, but this same gift can make a novel a little too plot- and detail driven. It examines the time around Edward VIII's abdication through the perspectives of May, a young female chauffeur recently arrived from Barbados, Evangeline, a long-time friend of Wallis Simpson's, and Julian, an undergraduate and friend of the family of May's employers. The characters are sympathetic, particularly spunky May (Did she make anyone else think of the female limo driver from Philip Roth's The Anatomy Lesson?) Evangeline has the most compelling story arc. Initially she inspires compassion; later her jealousy and bitterness turn her somewhat monstrous. Although Julian is invested with a story and worthy ambitions, it's hard to see him as anything but a prop, a love interest. Nicolson captures the atmosphere of the time well, but anything much deeper seems to be lacking. The revelation concerning May toward the end seems extraneous, and various subplots don't really go anywhere.
March 31, 2019
A mixed bag with some good bits but 2 major inexplicable and unforgivable problems.
1. People who observe Kosher dietary restrictions do not eat snails or other shellfish. The author claims to be an educated person so she should have done her background research.
2. The author inserted two gratuitous episodes of animal abuse. Neither contributed to the plot or the development of the characters - the episodes where just sort dropped into the story.
This is not a royal love story - rather it is an almost political novel about how the British people were affected by the romance of Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson and the rise of fascism. No gossip but probably an accurate portrayal of society.
There are sections that are contrived and clunky but overall the characters, their parallel lives, romances and destinies are interesting and skillfully entwined.
1. People who observe Kosher dietary restrictions do not eat snails or other shellfish. The author claims to be an educated person so she should have done her background research.
2. The author inserted two gratuitous episodes of animal abuse. Neither contributed to the plot or the development of the characters - the episodes where just sort dropped into the story.
This is not a royal love story - rather it is an almost political novel about how the British people were affected by the romance of Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson and the rise of fascism. No gossip but probably an accurate portrayal of society.
There are sections that are contrived and clunky but overall the characters, their parallel lives, romances and destinies are interesting and skillfully entwined.
February 16, 2023
I was disappointed in this book, as I expected it to be about Wallis and Edward, and it was more about the people in their orbit and how they were affected by this strange and tragic couple whose values were more than questionable.
June 10, 2025
A vivid remagining of the crisis surrounding King Edward VIII's abdication throught the eyes of three outsiders from very different worlds.
March 23, 2017
This audio book was set in 1936 and attempted to cover all histical events of note. The author is a historian and pulled together lot of facts, weaving them into a rather improbable storyline.
June 24, 2016
British author Juliet Nicholson's first novel, "Abdication", follows her two well-written snapshot histories of England right before and after WW1. Her non-fiction is written with seeming self-assuredness but her first work of fiction is not quite up to that level.
"Abdication", set in England in 1936, follows three interesting, somewhat off-beat characters. Barbados-native May Thomas, who has come to England with her brother, Sam. Their English mother had met and married a plantation owner from the island and had raised her two children with him there. May and Sam's parents' marriage was a difficult one, and both kids wanted to leave Barbados. They arrive in London, after docking in Liverpool, and go to live with their first cousin and his wife and her family in Bethnal Green, while they search for employment. Sam wants to go to sea, and May finds a job as a chauffeur/secretary of a noble family, the Blunts. The father, Sir Philip, is an MP who is engaged, like many other government officials, in dealing with the the new king, Edward VIII's, obsession with American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.
Also arriving in Liverpool at the same time as the Thomas siblings, is Miss Evangeline Nettlefold. A maiden lady of a certain age and figure, she was the girlhood friend of Wallis Simpson, from Baltimore. Wallis has asked Evangeline to come over to England to keep her company, but not to actually live with her. Wallis's Aunt Bessie Merriman, normally her companion-of-choice, is unable to travel, so Evangeline goes in her place. But, Evangeline actually is living with the very same Blunt family who has just employed May Thomas. She's "on-call" with Wallis, who summons her every now and again. Of course, part of dealing with Wallis Simpson in those days is also dealing with King Edward - known to intimates by his family name - David.
The third main character is recent-Oxford graduate Julian, who is a friend of the Blunt's son. All three characters - along with the others both above and below stairs - are thrown together as the year 1936 progresses. The king's "love crisis" is all-enveloping as Edward and Wallis march together to his abdication for "the woman I love". But other events in 1936 are brought into focus - the rise of Hitler's Germany and the problems it's beginning to cause, the Spanish Civil war, and, of course, England's own home-grown Fascist, Sir Oswald Mosely.
While all the characters are interesting, maybe the most bizarre is Miss Nettlefold. She is the glue that holds the book together because she knows most of the characters. Strange things happen when "Vangie" is around. The plot is actually quite simple - the ending is quite knowable long before it actually happens, but getting the reader there involves quite an enjoyable journey. Juliet Nicholson knows her history of the first half of the 20th century, as she proves in her works of non-fiction. In this book, "Abdication", she gives us a good fictional view of the times.
"Abdication", set in England in 1936, follows three interesting, somewhat off-beat characters. Barbados-native May Thomas, who has come to England with her brother, Sam. Their English mother had met and married a plantation owner from the island and had raised her two children with him there. May and Sam's parents' marriage was a difficult one, and both kids wanted to leave Barbados. They arrive in London, after docking in Liverpool, and go to live with their first cousin and his wife and her family in Bethnal Green, while they search for employment. Sam wants to go to sea, and May finds a job as a chauffeur/secretary of a noble family, the Blunts. The father, Sir Philip, is an MP who is engaged, like many other government officials, in dealing with the the new king, Edward VIII's, obsession with American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.
Also arriving in Liverpool at the same time as the Thomas siblings, is Miss Evangeline Nettlefold. A maiden lady of a certain age and figure, she was the girlhood friend of Wallis Simpson, from Baltimore. Wallis has asked Evangeline to come over to England to keep her company, but not to actually live with her. Wallis's Aunt Bessie Merriman, normally her companion-of-choice, is unable to travel, so Evangeline goes in her place. But, Evangeline actually is living with the very same Blunt family who has just employed May Thomas. She's "on-call" with Wallis, who summons her every now and again. Of course, part of dealing with Wallis Simpson in those days is also dealing with King Edward - known to intimates by his family name - David.
The third main character is recent-Oxford graduate Julian, who is a friend of the Blunt's son. All three characters - along with the others both above and below stairs - are thrown together as the year 1936 progresses. The king's "love crisis" is all-enveloping as Edward and Wallis march together to his abdication for "the woman I love". But other events in 1936 are brought into focus - the rise of Hitler's Germany and the problems it's beginning to cause, the Spanish Civil war, and, of course, England's own home-grown Fascist, Sir Oswald Mosely.
While all the characters are interesting, maybe the most bizarre is Miss Nettlefold. She is the glue that holds the book together because she knows most of the characters. Strange things happen when "Vangie" is around. The plot is actually quite simple - the ending is quite knowable long before it actually happens, but getting the reader there involves quite an enjoyable journey. Juliet Nicholson knows her history of the first half of the 20th century, as she proves in her works of non-fiction. In this book, "Abdication", she gives us a good fictional view of the times.
June 1, 2012
I was drawn to this novel, which tells the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, albeit as secondary characters, after watching the movie, [i]The King’s Speech[/i], which I loved. This is a debut novel for the author, Juliet Nicholson, but she is a well known and respected writer of nonfiction and has written on this time period. In the interest of full disclosure, I freely admit that my knowledge of this subject is absolutely minimal, so I was relying completely upon Ms. Nicholson’s background with her subject.
There are two primary characters in the novel, Evangeline, a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, invited to visit, but staying with her godmother, Lady Joan Blunt, and May, the Blunt’s young female chauffeuse (that is the female term for chauffeur) and secretary to Sir Philip Blunt, who is a member of Parliament and legal advisor to Edward VIII. Through these two characters we watch the relationship of Wallis Simpson and Edward grow and become a scandal that rocks the monarchy and nation. In addition we are introduced to a rather large host of characters, among them May’s Jewish relations and the Blunt’s Fascist housekeeper. I enjoyed the variety of characters in the novel, but for the most part I found them very one dimensional, flat-no one grew as a person; several of the characters were whiney and unlikeable, or felt rather clichéd, such as the Jewish mother-in-law.
There was a fair amount of action in the novel, from political unrest involving Fascist marches and speeches, to paparazzi following the King and Wallis, to the legal wrangling of whether or not abdication would be necessary. Relationships also play a big part, but not always in the way that the reader might expect. I felt that the author did a good job keeping the pace of the novel moving forward, and this was a fast read. We all know how the story ends, but she made getting there an interesting tale.
I have not read a good deal about the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but I would imagine that most authors take one of two roads, telling the tale either as one of a great romance-a man who loved a woman so completely that he gave up a throne for her, or as a tale of betrayal of a people-how could a king put one woman above his subjects. Juliet Nicholson very definitely takes a stand on one side of that fence, but I write spoiler-free reviews, so if you want to know, you must read the book!
My only complaint with the book was that the characters were a little wooden, stereotypical at times, and that a couple where whiney to the point of getting on my nerves. The historical aspects were quite well done. Overall, it was a very solid debut novel, and I will certainly look forward to Ms. Nicholson’s sophomore effort. If you are a fan of all things Wallis and Edward, or like me, you simply want to learn more, I recommend this one.
There are two primary characters in the novel, Evangeline, a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, invited to visit, but staying with her godmother, Lady Joan Blunt, and May, the Blunt’s young female chauffeuse (that is the female term for chauffeur) and secretary to Sir Philip Blunt, who is a member of Parliament and legal advisor to Edward VIII. Through these two characters we watch the relationship of Wallis Simpson and Edward grow and become a scandal that rocks the monarchy and nation. In addition we are introduced to a rather large host of characters, among them May’s Jewish relations and the Blunt’s Fascist housekeeper. I enjoyed the variety of characters in the novel, but for the most part I found them very one dimensional, flat-no one grew as a person; several of the characters were whiney and unlikeable, or felt rather clichéd, such as the Jewish mother-in-law.
There was a fair amount of action in the novel, from political unrest involving Fascist marches and speeches, to paparazzi following the King and Wallis, to the legal wrangling of whether or not abdication would be necessary. Relationships also play a big part, but not always in the way that the reader might expect. I felt that the author did a good job keeping the pace of the novel moving forward, and this was a fast read. We all know how the story ends, but she made getting there an interesting tale.
I have not read a good deal about the story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but I would imagine that most authors take one of two roads, telling the tale either as one of a great romance-a man who loved a woman so completely that he gave up a throne for her, or as a tale of betrayal of a people-how could a king put one woman above his subjects. Juliet Nicholson very definitely takes a stand on one side of that fence, but I write spoiler-free reviews, so if you want to know, you must read the book!
My only complaint with the book was that the characters were a little wooden, stereotypical at times, and that a couple where whiney to the point of getting on my nerves. The historical aspects were quite well done. Overall, it was a very solid debut novel, and I will certainly look forward to Ms. Nicholson’s sophomore effort. If you are a fan of all things Wallis and Edward, or like me, you simply want to learn more, I recommend this one.
March 29, 2013
England, 1936. The beloved king has died and a charismatic new monarch has been crowned; he is young, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous and single. By the end of the year England will be surprised to see him give up the throne for love and the lead up to World War II. Abdication follows the story of May Thomas, a wise-beyond-her-nineteen-year old who secures a position as secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt. This opens her eyes to British high society and falling in love with a man well beyond her reach.
I’m always interested in the time period from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, but I think that was my love for hard boiled crime novels and Mad Men. But a book about high society in the 1930’s England sounded really interesting. Abdication by Juliet Nicolson started off as a slow burn; developing characters, showing how they fit with the history at the time but I never really felt like the book took off in any way. I was waiting to be engaged with the story but it never really happened.
It is possible the author really stuck to one story arc and this book could have really benefited with some more characters to keep the book interesting. Some witting and exciting characters to spice things up would have helped as well. This book just felt slow moving and in the end boring; the character development was decent but there weren’t enough interesting characters to push me through this book.
Also the prose in the novel were only average, there was no beauty or elegance in the writing or the scenery. It was just focused on one element, which it did a decent job with but one decent element does not make a great read. Abdication just ended up being a non-fiction writer trying to attempt fiction.
Juliet Nicolson knows her history and she managed to fit fictional characters in with historical characters but I think she is trying to do what Hilary Mantel did with Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. While this period of time was interesting, (I think The Kings Speech did a decent job telling us about this period of history) Abdication just ended up feeling like another attempt at the same formula. This was a big disappointment for me, I really wanted to like this book but I didn’t.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2012/...
I’m always interested in the time period from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, but I think that was my love for hard boiled crime novels and Mad Men. But a book about high society in the 1930’s England sounded really interesting. Abdication by Juliet Nicolson started off as a slow burn; developing characters, showing how they fit with the history at the time but I never really felt like the book took off in any way. I was waiting to be engaged with the story but it never really happened.
It is possible the author really stuck to one story arc and this book could have really benefited with some more characters to keep the book interesting. Some witting and exciting characters to spice things up would have helped as well. This book just felt slow moving and in the end boring; the character development was decent but there weren’t enough interesting characters to push me through this book.
Also the prose in the novel were only average, there was no beauty or elegance in the writing or the scenery. It was just focused on one element, which it did a decent job with but one decent element does not make a great read. Abdication just ended up being a non-fiction writer trying to attempt fiction.
Juliet Nicolson knows her history and she managed to fit fictional characters in with historical characters but I think she is trying to do what Hilary Mantel did with Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. While this period of time was interesting, (I think The Kings Speech did a decent job telling us about this period of history) Abdication just ended up feeling like another attempt at the same formula. This was a big disappointment for me, I really wanted to like this book but I didn’t.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2012/...
March 23, 2012
Originally posted on The Tiny Book Nook
My Rating: 2.5 out 5
Overall, this wasn't exactly a page turner. Although it is well written and full of detailed descriptions. I started to read this thinking that the plot was intriguing and I was eager to see how the characters' lives were influenced by this particular event in British history.
Nicholson's characters were full of detail. She provides structured background information about them, detailing their lives up to the small things that lead them to the present, 1936, England.
The description of the country, from the harbors to London were so detailed that you feel like you are there seeing everything first hand. Nicholson obviously knows what she's talking about.
As for the writing, the author moved between the characters' past and present. In the beginning I thought that was interesting. But I soon got tired of it and I just wanted the flashbacks to end and focus on the present.
If you are expecting to see a lot of the interactions between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (whether fictional or historically accurate), when it's just the two of them, having a dialogue, you might be disappointed. These lovers were only mentioned as they were discussed by the press, the citizens of England, and when the characters (mostly Evangeline) interacted with them. I wish there was more focus on them. I think some readers would pick up this book thinking they would be reading about the world's most famous love affair (maybe because of the title), but as characters they seemed like an afterthought.
Setting these lovers aside, I liked some characters more than others. I enjoyed reading about May. I thought her background was interesting and well thought-out. Her extended family also adds to her character development. Overall, they were fun characters by their own right.
Although I felt sympathy for Evangeline, her story was pretty boring and I was really tempted to jump ahead. But I guess that's an important point - her life wasn't interesting like Wallis', that's why she's jealous of her.
All in all, Abdication is an okay novel with some interesting characters, historical detail, and romance.
My Rating: 2.5 out 5
Overall, this wasn't exactly a page turner. Although it is well written and full of detailed descriptions. I started to read this thinking that the plot was intriguing and I was eager to see how the characters' lives were influenced by this particular event in British history.
Nicholson's characters were full of detail. She provides structured background information about them, detailing their lives up to the small things that lead them to the present, 1936, England.
The description of the country, from the harbors to London were so detailed that you feel like you are there seeing everything first hand. Nicholson obviously knows what she's talking about.
As for the writing, the author moved between the characters' past and present. In the beginning I thought that was interesting. But I soon got tired of it and I just wanted the flashbacks to end and focus on the present.
If you are expecting to see a lot of the interactions between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (whether fictional or historically accurate), when it's just the two of them, having a dialogue, you might be disappointed. These lovers were only mentioned as they were discussed by the press, the citizens of England, and when the characters (mostly Evangeline) interacted with them. I wish there was more focus on them. I think some readers would pick up this book thinking they would be reading about the world's most famous love affair (maybe because of the title), but as characters they seemed like an afterthought.
Setting these lovers aside, I liked some characters more than others. I enjoyed reading about May. I thought her background was interesting and well thought-out. Her extended family also adds to her character development. Overall, they were fun characters by their own right.
Although I felt sympathy for Evangeline, her story was pretty boring and I was really tempted to jump ahead. But I guess that's an important point - her life wasn't interesting like Wallis', that's why she's jealous of her.
All in all, Abdication is an okay novel with some interesting characters, historical detail, and romance.
June 30, 2016
This is a jumble sale of a book; jumbled together are altogether too many characters, each with their own subplot. The book and all those plots zig and zag back and forth over and under one another until by the end, the whole book is like the jumble sale at the end of the day, a heap of mess. Also like a jumble sale, there are some treasures to be found - but these are unfortunately hidden amid a pile of dingy old socks and a paint-by-number by your dead grandma. It really is those treasures that will make you finish this book. The character of Evangeline Nettlefold, the fictional school days American friend of Wallis Simpson, is a weird and slightly repulsive creation to say the least - she could almost have been a character in the latest realization of American Horror Story, but for me at least that made me want her to be the main character all the time; Nicolson really missed an opportunity here to first write the entire story from her strange point of view, and to use that point of view as a laser beam into Mrs. Simpson and her circle. That is a literary fail. Evangeline is jumbled together with all those other characters - Philip and Joan, May and Hooch and Mrs. Something or the other who is a blackshirt fascist and whose 12 year old daughter doesn't want to be one, and May's Jewish relations, and Julian and his mother, and on and on and on (Oswald Mosely even makes a magnetic appearance). Culminating, of course, with the King and Mrs. Simpson. And they each have a story to tell; I think in 1976, this would have been a monstrously large soapy epic, with a glammy sparkly cover (maybe a tiara?) a la Judith Krantz; but in these days of literary economizing, Nicolson's book is cut down to a few hundred pages, not nearly enough to contain all these characters and their stories. Less is not more.
That said, it's shortness means less of a slog to get through. If you like this time period and setting (I do) then this is at least worth a passing glance.
That said, it's shortness means less of a slog to get through. If you like this time period and setting (I do) then this is at least worth a passing glance.
June 18, 2012
I am discombobulated. I hate saying that I don’t like a book, it distresses me greatly; particularly when I was so sure it would be right up my street. Abdication by Juliet Nicolson tells the familiar story of the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 over his relationship with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The twist here, however, is that the story is told through the eyes of May Thomas, a chauffeur of British extraction newly arrived from Barbados and Evangeline Nettlefold, an old school friend of Wallis Simpson. So far so good: the events of the story can be told as we know they have occurred but these two can inject a little more variety into the mix.
But, despite this being an era in history that I really enjoy reading and learning about, Abdication just didn’t do it for me I’m sorry to say. That’s not to say that the book didn’t have good points, for instance I really did like May as a heroine. She was young, capable and bore tragedy with great strength, but it seemed that the events of her daily life had little to do with the Abdication, so her part could have been in any novel about the 1930s. Evangeline Nettlefold was a little closer to the action, being a friend of Wallis Simpson, but even she doesn’t really add much in the way of insight.
I guess my biggest problem, though, is that while the author can’t be faulted for her impeccable research, it seems as though she went to the library, made fifty pages of notes, then set about cramming the whole lot into the book even when they were barely relevant, for example, she includes a great deal of information about advertising posters on the wall of the Lyon’s Cornerhouse, when the characters only popped in there for a cuppa.
So, despite it’s slightly redeeming qualities, I really can’t add a positive review for this book which annoys me very much indeed. Harumph!
But, despite this being an era in history that I really enjoy reading and learning about, Abdication just didn’t do it for me I’m sorry to say. That’s not to say that the book didn’t have good points, for instance I really did like May as a heroine. She was young, capable and bore tragedy with great strength, but it seemed that the events of her daily life had little to do with the Abdication, so her part could have been in any novel about the 1930s. Evangeline Nettlefold was a little closer to the action, being a friend of Wallis Simpson, but even she doesn’t really add much in the way of insight.
I guess my biggest problem, though, is that while the author can’t be faulted for her impeccable research, it seems as though she went to the library, made fifty pages of notes, then set about cramming the whole lot into the book even when they were barely relevant, for example, she includes a great deal of information about advertising posters on the wall of the Lyon’s Cornerhouse, when the characters only popped in there for a cuppa.
So, despite it’s slightly redeeming qualities, I really can’t add a positive review for this book which annoys me very much indeed. Harumph!
June 9, 2012
England 1936. The country is mourning the death of the King, the heir is involved in a questionable romance with a married (and divorced) American, unemployment is a problem, as it the imminent threat of war. Abdication, the first novel for author Juliet Nicolson, explores this very unique and volatile time in history. Nineteen year old May Thomas, a recent arrival to England from her home in Barbados secures a job as a secretary and driver to Sir Philip Blunt, where she often finds herself exposed to classified information. The Blunts are hosting Mrs. Blunt’s American godchild, Evangeline Nettleford, a spinster American and past classmate of the soon to be King’s love interest, Wallis Simpson, with whom she desires to cultivate a higher station for herself and in turns resents. The Blunts are also frequently visited by their son’s college friend, Julian Richardson, a middle class young man who is enjoying his entrance into the privileged set, but also cannot forget those who are of lower station. Julian quickly finds himself attracted to May; Evangeline is in turn interested in capturing Julian’s affection. Secrets and betrayals abound as the country and the characters experience one upheaval after another. Nicolson as done her research and the result is an atmospheric novel of time and place that explores the themes of love and duty, friendship and loyalty, as well as the effects of dramatic change, on nations as well as individuals. Abdication is a novel to become lost within and to savor. Juliet Nicolson proves she is one of the rare authors that can master writing fiction and nonfiction.
May 28, 2012
One king dies and his eldest son ascends to the throne and then abdicates in order to marry a woman who apparently tries to convince him to do otherwise. Oswald Mosley and his blackshirt fascists are gaining strength, but the Spanish Civil War is inspiring young men to fight for an opposite cause. Britain in the tumultuous year of 1936 is the backdrop for this novel, and as in her two riviting nonfiction accounts of the times on either side of WWI, author Juliet Nicolson includes a wealth of fascinating day to day detail about the era between the two world wars.
This world is seen through the eyes of three main characters, May Thomas, a young woman from Barbados who is now working as a driver and secretary to Lord Philip Blunt, Evangeline Nettlefold from Baltimore, who's an eccentric somewhat unstable friend of the King's current love interest Wallis Simpson, and Julian Richardson, an idealistic young man who goes to school with Lord Blunt's son. For me these characters didn't come to life as vividly as the characters in Nicolson's nonfiction and the story didn't make me care much about what happened to them, but while I enjoy Nicholson's earlier works more, Abdication still provides a well-researched look at a compelling period of history. As someone intrigued by the Mitford sisters, it's a plus to see Diana Mitford's husband Oswald Mosley in action, and it was entertaining to have some of the historical characters from Nicholson's earlier books, like Duff and Diana Cooper, show up in these pages.
This world is seen through the eyes of three main characters, May Thomas, a young woman from Barbados who is now working as a driver and secretary to Lord Philip Blunt, Evangeline Nettlefold from Baltimore, who's an eccentric somewhat unstable friend of the King's current love interest Wallis Simpson, and Julian Richardson, an idealistic young man who goes to school with Lord Blunt's son. For me these characters didn't come to life as vividly as the characters in Nicolson's nonfiction and the story didn't make me care much about what happened to them, but while I enjoy Nicholson's earlier works more, Abdication still provides a well-researched look at a compelling period of history. As someone intrigued by the Mitford sisters, it's a plus to see Diana Mitford's husband Oswald Mosley in action, and it was entertaining to have some of the historical characters from Nicholson's earlier books, like Duff and Diana Cooper, show up in these pages.
August 12, 2012
I really enjoyed this novel, and can totally see how BBC will turn this into a great mini-series, as is indicated on the book cover. It centers around London, 1936, during the reign of King Edward VII. May is a young girl from Barbados, who along with her brother, are sent to England to be cared for by their aunt. May is hired as a chauffer for Sir Philip Blunt, and finds herself immersed in a subdued, if not secret side of British royalty, politics and upper class society. Other characters are introduced to the story: an American spinster friend of Wallis Simpson, Sir Philip's son Rupert and best friend to Rupert, Julian - each strongly developed and well intricated. And of course, there is Wallis Simpson herself and His Royal Highness.
I was surprised that the story did not develop more about Wallis Simpson and her relationship with the King. Having the title "Abdication" would lead one to this conclusion, however, this topic idea played a rather secondary role to the intertwinement of the actual plot.
In all, it is a most enjoyable read, well written to capture the essence of this era of history.
Book clubs will be certain to glean plenty of subject matter, and it will be very interesting to watch the BBC/PBS version once it airs.
I was surprised that the story did not develop more about Wallis Simpson and her relationship with the King. Having the title "Abdication" would lead one to this conclusion, however, this topic idea played a rather secondary role to the intertwinement of the actual plot.
In all, it is a most enjoyable read, well written to capture the essence of this era of history.
Book clubs will be certain to glean plenty of subject matter, and it will be very interesting to watch the BBC/PBS version once it airs.
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