The Duchess of Windsor

[Duchess]

started reading "The Uncommon Life of the Duchess of Windsor a few days ago. while the author - Greg King - starts off by saying that many previous books relied heavily on the negative "rumours" about Wallis and his (of course) relies on verifiable facts i'm finding it a little favorable. he hasn't yet said anything negative about her or the situation between the King and her but it's still early in the book. all in all i'm finding interesting so far.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by Duchess

started reading "The Uncommon Life of the Duchess of Windsor a few days ago. while the author - Greg King - starts off by saying that many previous books relied heavily on the negative "rumours" about Wallis and his (of course) relies on verifiable facts i'm finding it a little favorable. he hasn't yet said anything negative about her or the situation between the King and her but it's still early in the book. all in all i'm finding interesting so far.

I wasn't aware of this book-thanks for the heads up. Now, I'm looking forward to it.

[Duchess]

i'm halfway thru the book and it's very pro Wallis. i've always thought that the whole episode couldn't be entirely her fault so it's sort of refreshing in that sense. the disappointing thing is that his family so totally turned their backs on him when he really could have used their support. their stiffness and die hard dedication to duty at the cost of family members is really very sad.

[BeatrixFan]

I think Wallis deserves a pro-Wallis book. It's about time someone said something nice about her.

[Zonk]

I've read the book as well and found it to be just as Pro Wallis as the other books were very anti Wallis. I am sure the true story is probably a little of both..its too bad that story will never be told.

[Duchess]

you're right Zonk. the truth lies somewhere between but it's nice to read something positive as all i've ever heard about "that woman" was so negative.

[Elspeth]

I'm seeing some evidence in recent royal books that the uncritical attitude of royal writers toward the Queen Mother may be changing. If people can look at the Edward-Wallis situation more objectively rather than through the lens of "The Queen Mother despised her so she must be despicable" attitude, we may eventually get a more unbiassed outlook on that whole episode from Edward's affairs while Prince of Wales to his and his wife's lifelong banishment from Britain.

I read that book a while back so I don't recall the details, but I remember finding it very interesting although I thought that sometimes it went a bit too far to make Wallis look good. She must have had some good points, which you'd never know about to read most of the offerings out there, but she had to have had her share of faults.

[Duchess]

i thought that too Elspeth. at times i'm finding it boring how the author just gushes about her but as i mentioned it's nice to read something positive about her. now that both the Duke and Duchess are gone, as well as the QM i wonder if certain things will be made public about these relationships. i wouldn't be surprised if nothing does come out though.

[Duchess]

interesting how the Duchess and Diana were similar. both took on causes that weren't fashionable, both were fashion icons and both were hung out to dry by the royal family. i've never read any other book about the Duchess but from reading this one i find i really like her. before reading this i'd sort of thought of her as a gold digger who never got the ultimate prize she'd wanted most but now i find that that's not at all what she was after. i wonder if this generation of windsors will have a "wallis" or "diana"?

[BeatrixFan]

We can only pray that we don't. Although I'd say that Wallis and Diana were poles apart and each one would have loathed the other. Why? They both wanted to be centre of attention and IMO, each one would have seen the other as competition.

[RachelD]

What was Wallis's full name? And isn't Wallis usually a man's name? I always thought it strange that her name was Wallis.

[iowabelle]

Originally Posted by RachelD

What was Wallis's full name? And isn't Wallis usually a man's name? I always thought it strange that her name was Wallis.

She was born Bessiewallis Warfield. Wallis was her father's middle name, and Bess was the name of an aunt she was quite close to.

I once met an elderly man who danced with her at parties when she was married to her first husband, a naval aviator. He really liked her.

[BeatrixFan]

Bessiewallis. Wallis can be Wallace for a man.

[RachelD]

Originally Posted by iowabelle

She was born Bessiewallis Warfield. Wallis was her father's middle name, and Bess was the name of an aunt she was quite close to. I once met an elderly man who danced with her at parties when she was married to her first husband, a naval aviator. He really liked her.

Ohhh.....o.k. I had never heard her full name. Thanks!

[Duchess]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

We can only pray that we don't. Although I'd say that Wallis and Diana were poles apart and each one would have loathed the other. Why? They both wanted to be centre of attention and IMO, each one would have seen the other as competition.

see i'm not getting that from this book. while i admit that it's definitely pro wallis, i'm getting that she didn't want to be the centre of attention. i don't think they'd have seen each other as competition. the age difference would have helped to avoid any competition. on the contrary i think that diana and wallis would have got on very well as they both shared similar traits - both had a great sense of humour and style and both were generous.

[BeatrixFan]

Interesting. From the Duchess's memoirs, I got the impression that she wanted to be a bit of a star but only if David was behind her.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

I read that book a while back so I don't recall the details, but I remember finding it very interesting although I thought that sometimes it went a bit too far to make Wallis look good. She must have had some good points, which you'd never know about to read most of the offerings out there, but she had to have had her share of faults.

"The Woman He Loved" by Ralph G. Martin was a fairly balanced book, I thought. Martin pointed out many of the Duchess' faults, but teamed that with positive aspects of her personality and behaviour. He did a good job at showing the human beings behind the legend.

[Duchess]

elspeth i agree that she definitely had her faults and that this book leans hard toward making her look good.

sassie...i must look around for that book. i've heard of it but never read it. thanks for the heads up.