Wallis in Love

The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy

By: Andrew Morton

Narrated by: Molly Parker Myers

For fans of the Netflix series The Crown and from the author of the New York Times bestseller 17 Carnations comes a captivating biography of Wallis Simpson, the notorious woman for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne.
"You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance." -- Wallis Simpson

Before she became known as the woman who enticed a king from his throne and birthright, Bessie Wallis Warfield was a prudish and particular girl from Baltimore. At turns imaginative, ambitious, and spoiled, Wallis's first words as recalled by her family were "me, me." From that young age, she was in want of nothing but stability, status, and social acceptance as she fought to climb the social ladder and take her place in London society. As irony would have it, she would gain the love and devotion of a king, but only at the cost of his throne and her reputation.
In Wallis in Love, acclaimed biographer Andrew Morton offers a fresh portrait of Wallis Simpson in all her vibrancy and brazenness as she transformed from a hard-nosed gold-digger to charming chatelaine. Using diary entries, letters, and other never-before-seen records, Morton takes us through Wallis's romantic adventures in Washington, China, and her entrance into the strange wonderland that is London society. During her journey, we meet an extraordinary array of characters, many of whom smoothed the way for her dalliance with the king of England, Edward VIII.
Wallis in Love goes beyond Wallis's infamous persona and reveals a complex, domineering woman striving to determine her own fate and grapple with matters of the heart.

Critic reviews

"The best account so far of the most notorious woman-and most dangerous threat to the British royal family-of the twentieth century. Andrew Morton presents a convincing picture of Wallis Simpson's rip-roaring sexual and social adventures and her curious marriage to the Duke of Windsor."—Sarah Bradford, international bestselling author of Elizabeth: A Biography of Her Majesty the Queen and Diana

"Remarkable. Supersedes and surpasses all previous Wallis biographies with its wealth of new detail and insight. Andrew Morton's crowning achievement."—Christopher Wilson, author of Dancing with the Devil: The Windsors and Jimmy Donahue

"The best known chronicler of the Royals, Andrew Morton provides tantalizing new details about the scandalous life of Wallis Simpson."—Meryl Gordon, New York Times bestselling author of Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend

Interesting!

I learned a lot about the woman behind the most famous abdication of all time, a lot of it disheartening. #VoicesFromTheGrave #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Best Wallis Bio

I have read 3 biographies of Wallis Simpson so far and I think this is the most accurate and even-handed. There seems to be a tendency to romanticize her and make her an idealized romantic heroine, rather than a real person. This book is excellent and uses accounts from all kinds of people who encountered the Windsors, not just their friends. If you are looking for more listens, check out “That Woman”, and for a bit of a laugh with a near-perfect and fake Wallis, try “The Real Wallis Simpson”. I’ll give Pasternak credit for admitting she really likes the Windsors, but her favoritism skews the whole book. She ends up leaving out important facts. Listen to this book for the real story!

Fascinating woman and story

Wallis was so shallow and greedy and nasty, but I get how she got that way. She did not mean for her life to end up like this. Very much reminded me of F Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. I so didn't like her, but found the whole story very intriguing. I think her husband got off on being emotionally abused. He sounded insufferable and vapid. What world, what a life.

Deserved each other or very sad? Y you be the judge.

Well written. It is a book that each reader must find their own conclusions of truth. The lives of these two are not what they lead each other to believe! Stunning leading to stuck. My opinion..... She ends up being such a nasty & cold woman towards the Duke, but given his views is it karma for both? Yes!

Talented narrator, empty lives

Even the narrator’s rich performance could not mitigate the vacuous reality of the lives led by the Windsors. Several reviewers have commented on the superficial nature of the book but if the book is superficial it is only because the main characters led such empty lives. The author had little of substance to work with.