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Historical person

Wallis Simpson

1896–1986

Wallis Simpson was an American socialite whose relationship with Edward VIII led to the abdication crisis of 1936. As Duchess of Windsor, she remained a controversial figure in royal, social and political history.

Wallis Simpson also held the offices or ranks of British princess and Duchess of Windsor. Wallis Simpson belonged to the House of Windsor and operated within United States. Wallis Simpson was born in Blue Ridge Summit and died in Villa Windsor.

Piers Brendon’s Edward VIII (Penguin Monarchs) traces his popularity as Prince of Wales, unease with royal routine, political indiscretions and relationship with Wallis Simpson, placing the abdication within the conventions and pressures of the 1930s monarchy. Edward’s desire to marry a divorced American collided with the government, the dominions and the Church of England. Brendon examines the brief reign, the constitutional negotiations and the life that followed, asking whether Edward was a modernising victim of convention or fundamentally unsuited to kingship. In Antonia Fraser’s The Viceroy's Daughters, the sisters see British fascism from behind the scenes, and the arrival of Wallis Simpson and the early married life of the Windsors. Wallis Simpson is treated fictionally in Rhys Bowen’s God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen, John Boyne’s Next of Kin, Rhys Bowen’s On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service, Rhys Bowen’s Royal Flush, and Rhys Bowen’s We Three Queens.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Wallis Simpson (3 series)

Her Royal Spyness in Order

by Rhys Bowen 20 books 4.1(369,431)

The Her Royal Spyness mysteries follow Lady Georgiana Rannoch, a penniless minor royal trying to support herself in 1930s Britain. Her distant place in the succession repeatedly makes her useful to the royal family, who send her to watch unsuitable guests, prevent scandals and carry out discreet assignments.…

All books in this series

Tom Wilde in Order

by Rory Clements 8 books 4.3(42,038)

The Tom Wilde series follows an American-born Cambridge history professor drawn into British and Allied intelligence work from the crises of 1936 through the Second World War and the early Cold War. The novels combine espionage with political extremism, scientific research, royal scandal, propaganda and contested wartime memory.…

All books in this series

Detective Sebastian Wolff Series in Order

by Rory Clements 2 books 4.5(2,071)

The Detective Sebastian Wolff series follows a Munich police detective attempting to investigate crime as Nazi rule destroys judicial independence. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the novels place disappearances, murder and political violence inside propaganda spectacles, party rivalries and the personal compromises demanded by dictatorship. Wolff’s professional duty repeatedly…

All books in this series

Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Wallis Simpson (2 books)

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Wallis Simpson (2 books)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.