So I finished my first book on the list!! Yay!!
I'll start with the summary, which I'm taking directly from the back of the book:
"Born into a poor Southern family but taken in by rich relatives, Wallis Simpson was raised as a socialite. Between family conflicts and debutante balls, she and her friends dream of their future husbands, and like millions of girls worldwide, fantasize about Prince Edward, the heir to the British throne who would someday be king. In this novel, beloved author Rebecca Dean imagines the early life of Wallis Simpson, her triumphs and heartbreaks, and the making of the twice-divorced, nearly destitute woman who captured a king's heart and changed the course of history. Set against a background of high society, royal circles, and diplomatic intrigue, The Shadow Queen features one of the most fascinating and controversial women of the twentieth century."I don't know much about Wallis Simpson, other than the fact that she was the reason why Edward abdicated the throne, making way for the present Queen Elizabeth's father, George, to become king. Had it not been for Wallis Simpson, the British monarchy would be very different today, as we wouldn't have Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Prince Charles, or even Princes William and Harry. Edward would have been king, and any children that he would have had would have been the heirs to throne. So, Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American woman, really did change the course of history.
While I could go on about the British monarchy, and the irony of the fact that Edward was not allowed to marry a divorcee because the Church of England would not allow it (this is the same church that Henry VIII founded so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, but I digress), I won't. I'll turn my attention to the book and give you my review of it.
Despite my lack of knowledge about Wallis Simpson, and even my lack of knowledge about the British monarchy at that time, this book has earned a place among my favorite books. As Rebecca Dean points out in her author's note at the end of the book, much is not known about Wallis Simpson, so much of the book is fiction. However, the author fills in the holes beautifully; I had to keep reminding myself that certain things may or may not have actually happened to Wallis! Wallis was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and, in the book, this is regarded as being the South. Being as that I'm from Georgia, I have a hard time viewing Maryland as the South, even though it is below the Mason-Dixon line. However, I did catch myself reading the dialogue in a Southern accent.
This book brought Baltimore society life of the early 1900s to life in a way I've never experienced before. I felt like I was right there with Wallis, going through every up and down she went through, and experiencing all of the places she went and the people she met. World War I does play a part in the book, but Rebecca Dean keeps true to the fact that, for most of the war, America wasn't involved, and didn't want to become involved, and therefore, there is a detachment from that topic, as I imagine there really would have been during that time in this country. She also focused quite a bit on Wallis' first marriage to Earl Winfield Spencer, Jr., who was a U.S. Navy aviator. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that her first husband was an alcoholic, and the author beautifully captured how a wife would feel under those circumstances, as well as the views on divorce at the time. I feel like the reactions Wallis met with in the novel in regards to her first divorce were the ones she faced in real life.
The book ends in 1931, not long after Wallis met Prince Edward for the first time. At the novel's end, Wallis is still married to her second husband, Ernest Simpson, but it is clear that she and Edward are falling for each other. They were both looking for things they did not have--Edward wanted someone who would understand the immense pressure he was under as heir to the British throne, and Wallis wanted someone who would love her fiercely despite her personal issues. And knowing how the story ends in real-life, I believe they both got what they wanted.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of British history, or to anyone who is a fan of romances. Despite Wallis Simpson being known as Edward's wife and the reason why he abdicated the throne, this book doesn't focus on that. This book focuses on Wallis, and though it is fiction, it gives the reader more of an understanding about her. And it has also sparked an interest in her for me, and I plan to do more research into the woman who changed history.
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