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Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor
Hugo Vickers has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Royal Family, and has had a fascination with the story of the Duchess of Windsor since he was a young man. There have been a number of books about this doomed couple, but this book brings a new perspective on the story by focussing on the later years of exile.
While Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself, and he makes it very clear that Mrs Simpson did not lure the King from the throne, the drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an old sick woman after the death of her husband. She was ruthlessly exploited by a French lawyer called Suzanne Blum. Some members of the Royal Family, like Mountbatten and the Queen Mother, don't emerge with much credit either.
Hugo Vickers relates a tragic story which has lost none of its resonance over the years since the Duchess died in 1986.
While Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself, and he makes it very clear that Mrs Simpson did not lure the King from the throne, the drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an old sick woman after the death of her husband. She was ruthlessly exploited by a French lawyer called Suzanne Blum. Some members of the Royal Family, like Mountbatten and the Queen Mother, don't emerge with much credit either.
Hugo Vickers relates a tragic story which has lost none of its resonance over the years since the Duchess died in 1986.
464 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 1, 2011
33 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Hugo Vickers
53 books65 followersHugo Vickers is a writer and broadcaster, who has written biographies of many twentieth century figures, including the Queen Mother, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, a study of Greta Garbo, Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, and his book, The Private World of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor was illustrated with pictures from their own collection. Mr Vickers’s book, The Kiss: The Story of an Obsession won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 13, 2019
A terrifying look into the workings of a mediocre personality. I'm talking about Hugo Vickers, not the Duchess of Windsor. Vickers has written a long book about the last fourteen years of her life, and for most of that time she was in the grip of a devastating dementia. So there isn't a lot to tell from Wallis' point of view. Vickers solves that problem by using the book to go after her lawyers, her butler and her friends. There are indeed interesting nuggets of information about certain aspects of Wallis' twilight years, but they are buried in pages and pages of the nastiest jabs possible. Vickers is open about how he more or less forced his way into the Duchess' "life" after the Duke died, using his contacts with John Utter, who basically ran the household, and Johanna Schutz, the Duchess' social secretary. Of course, he is all atremble when Utter invites him for a meal at his country home because Utter is a "confirmed bachelor", and the impression is Vickers fears for his virtue. He can't help but be relieved when it turns out the (presumably) lonely Utter just wants to talk to someone who isn't a gaga royal. Vickers does reassure the reader that Utter really did have designs after all, because (again, presumably) Vickers is just that hawt.
Nearly everyone else mentioned in Behind Closed Doors comes in for a crack or two (or two thousand). If Edward and Wallis were second-rate, they seem to have rarely punched above their weight class when it came to friendships. Moreover, despite some contortions to do so, Vickers cannot disguise the fact that the current Royal Family, the Queen Mother and Mountbatten were as self-centered as the Windsors without their ability to dress well and at least visually entertain the public.
The author's ego is on relentless display. He hates Maitre Blum (but waited until she was dead to produce this attack), her protege Michael Bloch (who edited an unfortunate collection of the Windsor love letters; these were supposed to vindicate the purity of Mrs. Simpson and David, and merely let the cat out of the bag about their stupefying banality), and virtually everyone who has written about the ducal couple. Caroline Blackwood is spared because she feels the same way about Blum as Vickers does.
By the time you reach the appendix that details the seating charts for the two funerals, you have to wonder what's the point? Vickers helpfully shows you the point. He includes the seating charts so that the reader can know he was present for both services.
How did the publisher let this thing get into print?
Not recommended.
Nearly everyone else mentioned in Behind Closed Doors comes in for a crack or two (or two thousand). If Edward and Wallis were second-rate, they seem to have rarely punched above their weight class when it came to friendships. Moreover, despite some contortions to do so, Vickers cannot disguise the fact that the current Royal Family, the Queen Mother and Mountbatten were as self-centered as the Windsors without their ability to dress well and at least visually entertain the public.
The author's ego is on relentless display. He hates Maitre Blum (but waited until she was dead to produce this attack), her protege Michael Bloch (who edited an unfortunate collection of the Windsor love letters; these were supposed to vindicate the purity of Mrs. Simpson and David, and merely let the cat out of the bag about their stupefying banality), and virtually everyone who has written about the ducal couple. Caroline Blackwood is spared because she feels the same way about Blum as Vickers does.
By the time you reach the appendix that details the seating charts for the two funerals, you have to wonder what's the point? Vickers helpfully shows you the point. He includes the seating charts so that the reader can know he was present for both services.
How did the publisher let this thing get into print?
Not recommended.
May 12, 2025
I don't know what to say about this awful book - I have my own memories of Hugo Vickers when he employed some friends of mine back in the early eighties to write, opps sorry assist him to write, his dreary derivative books. He was known to all and sundry in Oxford as Huge Knickers - but this book is just awful and says far more than anyone would want to know about Huge Knickers himself. The duke and duchess were mediocrities but, honestly so were, are, all the royal family (then and now), and if that seems harsh I can only presume that you have never met and spent even the tiniest amount of time with the sort of people who 'qualify' as society or who like to spend time with 'society' types. Mediocrity is practically a sin que non for belonging.
I can't be bother being specific, if you are going to read this book be prepared for boredom. I was bored, I had to really skim so as to get the end when everyone Huge Knickers might have libeled died.
I can't be bother being specific, if you are going to read this book be prepared for boredom. I was bored, I had to really skim so as to get the end when everyone Huge Knickers might have libeled died.
September 16, 2017
Hugo Vickers, in his latest biography of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, has produced a solid account of their lives and of those around them. Vickers begins at the end; the Duke's death in 1972 and the Duchess's death in 1986. And he introduces a relatively little known character into the saga of the Duke and Duchess - the French lawyer, Suzanne Blum. Maitre Blum is such an interesting character in her own right that I wish some one would write a biography devoted to her alone. Caroline Blackwood's book, "The Last of the Duchess", published in the mid-1990's, tells of trying to get into see the ailing Duchess in Paris in the 1970's and 1980's and being rebuffed by Maitre Blum, who had taken over the Duchess's business and medical affairs. Many quasi-legal things were being done by Blum in her attempts to either "protect the Duchess" or "take advantage of the Duchess"; the differences are still being debated 25 years after the Duchess's death.
Vickers is actually a participant in the later lives of the Duke and Duchess. A journalist from the early 1970's, he had been employed by DeBrett's Peerage to ascertain the current facts about the lives of the Windsors in their exile life in Paris. Though he never met either the Duke or Duchess, he did visit their home on DeBrett business, meeting with their staff in Paris. He also attended the Duke's funeral and burial in 1972 and maintained friendships with many of the principals in the Windsors' lives. He inserts himself into the story in a non-intrusive, well-mannered way.
As noted earlier in the review, Vickers' book is divided into three sections. The first part is really the last part of their lives and the last two parts are the first parts of their lives. Sounds confusing, but it really isn't. For those readers who have had their fill of royal biographies, I suppose you could read the first part only to get to the "meat" of the book. But Vickers does an excellent job in the retelling of their earlier lives and the effects of the Abdication on the Windsors, their families, and the world. He is sympathetic to the couple and I think believes that Wallis Simpson did not want the King/her lover to abdicate. Whether for selfish reasons, like "oh dear Lord, I'm going to have to put up with this boring man for the rest of my life" or genuine concerns with royal and legal issues, Wallis did try to discourage David from abdicating.
But was David - Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor - looking for a way out of a job that he never seemed to want in the first place and found tiring and boring? By Vickers' account, David seemed to enjoy the non-rigorous and comfortable life as the Prince of Wales, but was not taken by "kinging". So, was the Abdication just a way to get out of his job? I suppose we'll never know the truth. The Windsors certainly lived a life of drifting - being entertained by Society hosts and hostesses - and living a life of idleness in Paris, the south of France, and New York. Certainly David didn't think he would be forced into an idle life - he had assumed he and Wallis would be allowed to live in England after the Abdication, acting as a "younger brother" to the new king, George VI.
Hugo Vickers is a very good writer. His prose is never florid. A couple of things the editor might want to correct in the US version of the book. There is no "University of Columbia"; its "Columbia University". And there is no city of "Lake Front" north of Chicago; I assume Vickers was referring to the very real city of "Lake Forest". Those are minor errors and will be fixed, I suppose.
"Behind Closed Doors" is an excellent review of the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, spotlighting a little known part of their lives - the actual decline and death of the Duchess, overseen by Maitre Suzanne Blum, "behind closed doors", at their Paris house.
Vickers is actually a participant in the later lives of the Duke and Duchess. A journalist from the early 1970's, he had been employed by DeBrett's Peerage to ascertain the current facts about the lives of the Windsors in their exile life in Paris. Though he never met either the Duke or Duchess, he did visit their home on DeBrett business, meeting with their staff in Paris. He also attended the Duke's funeral and burial in 1972 and maintained friendships with many of the principals in the Windsors' lives. He inserts himself into the story in a non-intrusive, well-mannered way.
As noted earlier in the review, Vickers' book is divided into three sections. The first part is really the last part of their lives and the last two parts are the first parts of their lives. Sounds confusing, but it really isn't. For those readers who have had their fill of royal biographies, I suppose you could read the first part only to get to the "meat" of the book. But Vickers does an excellent job in the retelling of their earlier lives and the effects of the Abdication on the Windsors, their families, and the world. He is sympathetic to the couple and I think believes that Wallis Simpson did not want the King/her lover to abdicate. Whether for selfish reasons, like "oh dear Lord, I'm going to have to put up with this boring man for the rest of my life" or genuine concerns with royal and legal issues, Wallis did try to discourage David from abdicating.
But was David - Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor - looking for a way out of a job that he never seemed to want in the first place and found tiring and boring? By Vickers' account, David seemed to enjoy the non-rigorous and comfortable life as the Prince of Wales, but was not taken by "kinging". So, was the Abdication just a way to get out of his job? I suppose we'll never know the truth. The Windsors certainly lived a life of drifting - being entertained by Society hosts and hostesses - and living a life of idleness in Paris, the south of France, and New York. Certainly David didn't think he would be forced into an idle life - he had assumed he and Wallis would be allowed to live in England after the Abdication, acting as a "younger brother" to the new king, George VI.
Hugo Vickers is a very good writer. His prose is never florid. A couple of things the editor might want to correct in the US version of the book. There is no "University of Columbia"; its "Columbia University". And there is no city of "Lake Front" north of Chicago; I assume Vickers was referring to the very real city of "Lake Forest". Those are minor errors and will be fixed, I suppose.
"Behind Closed Doors" is an excellent review of the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, spotlighting a little known part of their lives - the actual decline and death of the Duchess, overseen by Maitre Suzanne Blum, "behind closed doors", at their Paris house.
July 10, 2011
A breathtakingly well researched biography of the last years of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, Hugo Vickers has written the sad tale of this woman who has been blamed for the biggest monarchy crisis of modern times. But Mr Vickers' book is at pains to point out that she was not to blame and in fact much of what she got wasn't at all what she wanted.
The Duchess was surrounded with a few unsavoury vultures who kept the people who cared about her away whilst they pillaged her personal belongings. Her last years left her in with an awful existence and one wonders if she ever regretted what surely must have started as an amusing flirtation.
This fascinating investigation also presents a unique perspective on the feelings the Royal Family had towards the Duchess and the various roles they played in the dramas that unfolded before and after the Abdication.
The book is dense though and there were times where the author's obvious dislike, perhaps disdain, for Maitre Blum colours the objectivity of the story. One might conclude, however, this is not undeserved.
The Duchess was surrounded with a few unsavoury vultures who kept the people who cared about her away whilst they pillaged her personal belongings. Her last years left her in with an awful existence and one wonders if she ever regretted what surely must have started as an amusing flirtation.
This fascinating investigation also presents a unique perspective on the feelings the Royal Family had towards the Duchess and the various roles they played in the dramas that unfolded before and after the Abdication.
The book is dense though and there were times where the author's obvious dislike, perhaps disdain, for Maitre Blum colours the objectivity of the story. One might conclude, however, this is not undeserved.
January 7, 2023
Meh, why do I keep reading Hugo Vickers? All his books read like an extended People magazine article and he freely borrows from his past (and probably his future) books. The Duchess spiraled down into alcoholism and dementia after her husbands death so there really isn't much of interest to write about. Consequently he does multiple deep dives into minutia and excess name dropping.
This book is destined for a Little Free Library that's not near me. Not a nearby one since I never want to see it again.
This book is destined for a Little Free Library that's not near me. Not a nearby one since I never want to see it again.
April 25, 2022
This book is about Vickers. Wallis Simpson features here and there. Vickers seems obsessed with the deaths of the Duke and Duchess and their wills and various sales of their belonging. Inane read, only finished it because I can’t bear to leave a book unfinished.
June 30, 2018
I am currently listening to this from Audible, and... I will be returning this as soon as I am done. I'm five and a half hours into a sixteen and a half hour audiobook, and it is incredibly boring. The first 3 hours of it were so unbearably dull that I very nearly stopped listening. I don't know if it is the structure of it - we start at the end, with the Duke of Windsor's death and her decline. Supposedly we will go back to the beginning? I feel like, as written, nothing about this really keeps your attention - what is interesting about this woman/this couple are the events between WW1 and WW2. Perhaps starting with the Duke's death, then going back to the beginning and telling the story from the start, would be more tolerable.
Perhaps it is my own taste in biographies, but what bothers me the most, I think, is that this feels like someone just took a day by day diary of events, put it to page, and called it a biography. Are there some... interesting... characters showing up now? I guess. This Suzanne Blum, the Duchess' lawyer in Paris, is awful. But... do we really need to spend 2 hours discussing the incredibly slow physical and mental decline of an old lady? The author repeats himself many, many times, and I find myself losing focus on it routinely.
This is not an audiobook I will ever listen to again. If I make it through this round.
** Updated review upon finishing the audiobook.
As expected, the second part of it was much more interesting, but in comparison to the first 9 hours of the audiobook, the story of the Duchess' family and their early years together were discussed in a flash. Even the trip she and the Duke took to Germany, meeting with Hitler, was what felt like no more than a paragraph long. I've read other history books of this time period that discuss this event in greater detail, so it was very odd to hear the author's point of view that it wasn't really important or momentous.
Also, as someone who has lived in Maryland several times, including in Ann Arundel county, the way the narrator read the name "Ann Arundel" as "Ann Erin-dell" was grating to the ears. That may be the British pronunciation... but in MD it is pronounced "Uh-RUN-dul"
Perhaps it is my own taste in biographies, but what bothers me the most, I think, is that this feels like someone just took a day by day diary of events, put it to page, and called it a biography. Are there some... interesting... characters showing up now? I guess. This Suzanne Blum, the Duchess' lawyer in Paris, is awful. But... do we really need to spend 2 hours discussing the incredibly slow physical and mental decline of an old lady? The author repeats himself many, many times, and I find myself losing focus on it routinely.
This is not an audiobook I will ever listen to again. If I make it through this round.
** Updated review upon finishing the audiobook.
As expected, the second part of it was much more interesting, but in comparison to the first 9 hours of the audiobook, the story of the Duchess' family and their early years together were discussed in a flash. Even the trip she and the Duke took to Germany, meeting with Hitler, was what felt like no more than a paragraph long. I've read other history books of this time period that discuss this event in greater detail, so it was very odd to hear the author's point of view that it wasn't really important or momentous.
Also, as someone who has lived in Maryland several times, including in Ann Arundel county, the way the narrator read the name "Ann Arundel" as "Ann Erin-dell" was grating to the ears. That may be the British pronunciation... but in MD it is pronounced "Uh-RUN-dul"
January 24, 2023
The apparent objective behind the writing of this book was to 'reveal' the way the Duchess was abused after the Duke's death. I say 'reveal', because the author does this more by suggestion and innuendo than by producing verifiable facts. It is also clear that the author did not have sufficient proof of his thesis to publish his work during the lifetime of a fearless lawyer. Though I feel inclined to believe that Maitre Blum imprisoned and stole from the Duchess, the case as it stands is "not proven".
The concentration on this aspect of the Windsor story resulted in the material being assembled back to front, starting with the deaths of the Duke and Duchess before going back to review their lives from the beginning.
The author's material is filled with details, without revealing which are important, and which unimportant. The details he appears to derive most pleasure from are those that reveal his personal connections with the story (but not with the two leading characters, try as he may to produce some, however tenuous).
For anyone interested in the subject of the Windsors there are far, far better choices. Philip Ziegler's authorised biography of Edward VIII is well-written, comprehensive – and chronological!
The concentration on this aspect of the Windsor story resulted in the material being assembled back to front, starting with the deaths of the Duke and Duchess before going back to review their lives from the beginning.
The author's material is filled with details, without revealing which are important, and which unimportant. The details he appears to derive most pleasure from are those that reveal his personal connections with the story (but not with the two leading characters, try as he may to produce some, however tenuous).
For anyone interested in the subject of the Windsors there are far, far better choices. Philip Ziegler's authorised biography of Edward VIII is well-written, comprehensive – and chronological!
July 17, 2018
Mr. Vickers did a tremendous job in his research providing great and vivid detail on 2 of the most vacuous and shallow people of their time. It's clear he's a fan of the late Duchess. She did suffer greatly in her old age, largely due to many unfortunate choices she made throughout her life. She was a deeply flawed individual (not unlike the rest of us). However, being in spotlight for so many years as she was it's easy for others to sit back and form an opinion.
December 29, 2023
"Great read! The book has two sections. The first one is about Wallis Simpson's life after the Duke passed away. The second part focuses on her early years. It's a fascinating read, from Edward's strange obsession with her to the sad ending where she had no one to care for her. It's a story that initially seemed like a fairy tale but ended tragically."
June 20, 2023
A sad tale of how a greedy French lawyer and her accomplice exploited an ill, elderly Wallis Simpson. Not only did they keep her on life support until they could grab all they could, they also cut her off from those friends who still cared about her.
July 19, 2018
So much 'I' and 'My time with' means this book loses A LOT of ground compared to others... sorry Hugo, but this one book is a FAIL.
January 9, 2020
This was a tough one. Such a fascinating story, but such a drag to get through what felt like an academic tome.
September 11, 2022
Oh dear I should have checked the reviews. Summing up disjointed, boring and I dearly wish I had the reading time back to put towards something more worthy.
July 22, 2013
I have some major issues with this book. I think the writing itself is quite good - but I fail to grasp the concept of having "the ending" first, and then go on to the early lives of the Duchess and Duke of Windsor.
If the two had been reversed, I think I would be left with a lot more positive feelings about the book - because Hugo Vickers writes well. But a lot of the minutiae that covers the first half of the book would (in my opinion) have been less tedious if we had read the last part of the book before we went on to read the first part of the book.
All through my reading of the first chapters I kept wishing that I'd known a bit more about the Duchess of Windsor before starting the read - as all the details of who is who, and footnotes felt excessive.
Vickers met with several of the staff of the couple throughout the years, and is clearly a bit biased towards the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, explained with a long fascination, but it does not feel like he is overly subjective in his writing. Although considerably more positive than a lot of other biographies covering the subject in their time.
There were some revelations that I thought were interesting, especially in the view that the Duchess of Windsor has been painted in her time - that she stole the King away. Whereas, it turns out, through his letters when he was the Prince of Wales - long before he met Wallis Simpson - that he really wished he could throw it all away, and was not all that keen on being the PoW or the King.
Also the fact that Wallis Simpson herself did not necessarily want to be married to him, or that he should give away the throne for her. It was much more interesting for her to have an affair with him, and be in the social circle of the Prince of Wales and later the King than to be married and in exile.
It's also rather telling that he wished that he could live in the States or Canada and had hoped for that after they married, but she was an American who would much rather live in France than at home.
If the two had been reversed, I think I would be left with a lot more positive feelings about the book - because Hugo Vickers writes well. But a lot of the minutiae that covers the first half of the book would (in my opinion) have been less tedious if we had read the last part of the book before we went on to read the first part of the book.
All through my reading of the first chapters I kept wishing that I'd known a bit more about the Duchess of Windsor before starting the read - as all the details of who is who, and footnotes felt excessive.
Vickers met with several of the staff of the couple throughout the years, and is clearly a bit biased towards the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, explained with a long fascination, but it does not feel like he is overly subjective in his writing. Although considerably more positive than a lot of other biographies covering the subject in their time.
There were some revelations that I thought were interesting, especially in the view that the Duchess of Windsor has been painted in her time - that she stole the King away. Whereas, it turns out, through his letters when he was the Prince of Wales - long before he met Wallis Simpson - that he really wished he could throw it all away, and was not all that keen on being the PoW or the King.
Also the fact that Wallis Simpson herself did not necessarily want to be married to him, or that he should give away the throne for her. It was much more interesting for her to have an affair with him, and be in the social circle of the Prince of Wales and later the King than to be married and in exile.
It's also rather telling that he wished that he could live in the States or Canada and had hoped for that after they married, but she was an American who would much rather live in France than at home.
July 8, 2012
This was the sad story of the last few years of the Duchess of Windsor's life. The author goes over the events leading to the abdication, but then carries on to tell you what the Windsors lives were like as they lived out the remainder of their years in Paris. The Royal family, especially the Queen mother and the Queen, and Louis Mountbatten do not come out of the sorry tale very well. After the death of the Duke, the Dutchess seemed to disappear from public life, it seemed as she suffered more and more from ill health she was manipulated more and more by the people around her especially her sinister lawyer Suzanna Blum. Friends were banned from visiting her, objects were taken out of the house and given away or sold, even her beloved pugs were taken from her. Even when her concerned friends reported matters to the British Royal family no one did anything, she died alone believing that all her money had gone, it was actually given to the Pasteur institute, of which there is no record of her ever having anything to do with during her life time !!.You would not believe such a social, famous ( infamous ?)person, who lived such a glamorous life could have ended up like this, there are even the suggestions her Doctor kept her alive just so they could get their hands on her money.Several people draw a parallel between the Duchess and Princes Diana, years later, but this time , with more freedom of the press and television, public opinion forced the Royal Family to change, unfortunately no one was there to stand up for the poor Duchess of Windsor.
January 25, 2012
Glad Hugo and I agree that it's unlikely Wallis was having an affair with a car salesman at the same time she was Edward VIII's mistress. I don't think the story is true about Edward VIII telling niece Elizabeth could come in but "remember your bloody curtsey" unless he was joking--when were they together after he was king? Where was this? Sandringham?
I don't have much sympathy for Wallis.....Vickers earlier book looked at the couple's lavish lifestyle. Still, the premise of this book is to show how she was held almost prisoner by unscrupulous aides, servants and lawyers in her old age. Two of my Hugo Vicker's pet peeves are already in evidence--French with no translations and re-hashing large parts of other books he's written. It's unavoidable for Cecil Beaton who is such a part of the Society world of 1930s England. Hopefully Vivian Leigh won't pop up like she did in the Queen Mother book....... I wish he'd do the Kents next.
I don't have much sympathy for Wallis.....Vickers earlier book looked at the couple's lavish lifestyle. Still, the premise of this book is to show how she was held almost prisoner by unscrupulous aides, servants and lawyers in her old age. Two of my Hugo Vicker's pet peeves are already in evidence--French with no translations and re-hashing large parts of other books he's written. It's unavoidable for Cecil Beaton who is such a part of the Society world of 1930s England. Hopefully Vivian Leigh won't pop up like she did in the Queen Mother book....... I wish he'd do the Kents next.
February 21, 2012
This is an unusual biography in that it's kind of written back to front. Part 1 deals with the decline, isolation & shocking exploitation, fraud & downright criminality of her last years at the hands of Maitre Blum. Part 2 is shorter and deals with more standard fare, ie. birth, previous marriages, life before/during & after The Abdication.
Overall I found part 2, 'The Life', although well written & researched, was almost tacked on to justify the tone of part 1, 'The Death'. With numerous biographies already the book would have been less bi-polar and truer to the title if it stuck to the terrible treatment of the Duchess after the death of the Duke
Wallis' lineage as an appendix was pointless and I found the footnotes so too. I don't really need to know the work/marriage history & cause of death of every person mentioned in passing. . .
Overall I found part 2, 'The Life', although well written & researched, was almost tacked on to justify the tone of part 1, 'The Death'. With numerous biographies already the book would have been less bi-polar and truer to the title if it stuck to the terrible treatment of the Duchess after the death of the Duke
Wallis' lineage as an appendix was pointless and I found the footnotes so too. I don't really need to know the work/marriage history & cause of death of every person mentioned in passing. . .
February 4, 2015
Socialite life will not make anyone dream after reading this book if it ever did!
Lives full of emptiness and thoroughly empty of feelings, travels without ever leaving the own limited sphere, ending up in bottomless loneliness when no more fit for the gossip.
The book indeed opens the door to allow the reader an honest glimpse of the world hidden in the magic of glamour just to see it fall apart into a sad, sad reality. At times the minutia of the accounting is rather boring and annoying but after all this is the core of what matters in those lives and in Wallis life and mind in particular, wasn't it? Far ,far away from the hazy shine of t-h-e love story evoked in the early days of the abdication.
Certainly it also stills the curiosity around the subject.
Lives full of emptiness and thoroughly empty of feelings, travels without ever leaving the own limited sphere, ending up in bottomless loneliness when no more fit for the gossip.
The book indeed opens the door to allow the reader an honest glimpse of the world hidden in the magic of glamour just to see it fall apart into a sad, sad reality. At times the minutia of the accounting is rather boring and annoying but after all this is the core of what matters in those lives and in Wallis life and mind in particular, wasn't it? Far ,far away from the hazy shine of t-h-e love story evoked in the early days of the abdication.
Certainly it also stills the curiosity around the subject.
November 4, 2012
Excellent biography The best I've one I've read of the Duchess of Windsor, Only thing I did'nt like was it was written back to front with the demise and death in the first part and the rise and the life in the second part, It was so well written I had a tear in my eye reading it. Hugo Vicker's is an excellent author. But I did not discover anything that I had'nt known before so that was abit dissapointing but I if you have'nt read about Wallis I highly recommend this book as the detail is amazing.
March 6, 2015
This was interesting, not only for the telling of the Windsor's story, but for the insight into the lives of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
Like others, I didn't necessarily agree with the idea of splitting & rearranging the chronology. I think this should not be the first book you read about the Windsors. I do agree with many of Vickers' conclusions about what happened, although we can all guess about it until Kingdom Come and never know the truth of the situation.
Like others, I didn't necessarily agree with the idea of splitting & rearranging the chronology. I think this should not be the first book you read about the Windsors. I do agree with many of Vickers' conclusions about what happened, although we can all guess about it until Kingdom Come and never know the truth of the situation.
August 21, 2011
The author did an extensive amount of research on this couple. However, I don't think he would say much negative about Mrs. Simpson because his livelihood still depends on the Royal Family. It was a shame how Mrs. Simpson spent her last years and how the Royal Family ignored her and didn't even help with safe guarding the Duke's possessions or papers. The impression I got of the Duke was not a flattering one nor did this book make me like Mrs. Simpson any better.
February 12, 2013
Brilliantly written biography helped in part by Hugo Vickers close proximity to many of the characters in the book through his work as a royal biographer and apparent fascination with Wallis Simpson! It appears a well balanced book- none of the scandalous dross that appears in so many articles that have been written about her- in fact her 'true' story is far more sensational and sad than anything else written about her. Really enjoyable book, well researched- highly recommended.
June 3, 2016
A very interesting read. It was sad to read that the couple's financial affairs were taken advantage of in their latter years and during ill health. The inventory of their possessions was too detailed at times. I really enjoyed reading the second half of the book about their lives and the events that led to the couple meeting and the abdication.
September 27, 2011
Too tedius to continue
June 14, 2012
I am so appreciative of Mr. Vickers for writing this book. The WIndsors have always held my interest and it was sad fate that befell the duchess, but the missing link that I always wanted to know.
February 25, 2014
Very interesting story of the last years of the Duchess of Windsor, but writing style is gossipy snippets and not thoughtful analysis.
July 22, 2016
Couldn't finish - was bored to death even with such an interesting subject. :(
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