Customer Reviews

Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931-1937 (The Intimate Correspondence of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor)

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I just finished reading this book again. It had been a while, and I was curious after reading the other reviews to see if I agreed.
Well, yes and no.
The Windsors were shallow and self-centered (astoundingly so), no question about that. But I found the story of the abdication written entirely from their points of view to be very revealing. Arguments can be made, of course, that none of it makes any difference at this remove in time, but being able to read, in their own words, about the thoughts (some breathtakingly puerile) and actions of 2 people who changed history because they were so self-involved was a treat.
I do recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period of English history. It's a window into a vanished world.

I fell in love with the story of the Duke and Duchess after reading the love letters in this book. The touching and informative letters help the reader to understand the true love between these two lovers and the sacrifice Edward made in order to have his one true love. I don't know any other person who could do that. Certainly not our current Prince of Wales. This book shows that true love is still a powerful thing. Read it if you love history at all. It is more than just love letters. It is also a very good account of the way life was during the Depression.

I take this book off the shelf and re-read it quite often. To me it's interesting on two levels - as a glimpse into the famous romance, and also as a 1930s social history set in early 1930s London. Note that not all of the letters are from/to Wallis and Edward - many are from Wallis to her namesake aunt, Bessie Merryman, in Washington D.C. I think is a good thing, as these are as interesting (perhaps more) than the letters between the couple. Wallis' famous wit is evident as she conveys to her aunt the (carefully controlled!) stories of her social life, which gradually comes to be dominated by the Prince of Wales. In 1931, Wallis and Ernest Simpson were well off, employing a maid, cook, personal maid, and chauffer. In the course of the letters, the Depression begins to take its toll on Ernest's business, even as he and Wallis were moving in bigger and better social circles. The detailed descriptions Wallis gives her aunt of servant troubles, running a house, entertain, and keep up her wardrobe, etc. may seem banal to some, but I think it's fascinating. Everyone was under pressure to keep up appearances unless so well padded with money that they didn't feel the pinch, such as Edwina Mountbatten (Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own) or the Curzon sisters (The Viceroy's Daughters: The Lives of the Curzon Sisters); I'd say Wallis did far more on a lot less than other women of her circle. The letters reveal that she could be just as chic in inexpensive dresses that Aunt Bessie picks out for her in Washington as she later would in Mainbocher originals. The contrast between privately "crying poor" to her aunt on one line and in the next dashing off for a weekend at Knole, or attending an advertising-themed fancy dress party (Wallis dressed as a tube of toothpaste), is typical of the period as well. She has no illusions about her looks ("Sorry about my face..." she says in a letter enclosing a photo of herself) or social standing, well aware that people invited her "in hope of getting the prince..." and expresses several times that she will get "quite a bump" once a young beauty comes along to replace her in his affections. With 20/20 modern hindsight such remarks might be dismissed as insincere, but that was, after all, the prince's relationship history up until Wallis. The correspondence between Edward and Wallis documents their growing affection, culminating in his determination to marry her. The later ones were written during their separation when Wallis left England for France to await her divorce becoming final, discussion of wedding plans, etc. They end with the couple's reunion imminent. I think they're rather sweet and romantic, but they are just private letters, often dashed off in haste, that the writers never expected would be read and judged by the world. Editor Bloch's annotations and information between groups of letters is useful and interesting in its own right. Great photos as well.

It's been said that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor was the "Romance of the Century," and that their love was "deep and true." If their romance was based on the prattle in their letters, then it was definitely sophomoric and banal. These letters read like two teenagers speaking baby-talk to each other. I realize that these people were insipid and shallow, but it puts their relationship in a whole other light. Stupid and self-serving as well.

Occasionally ardent lovers do communicate in teenage verbiage and it's not unusual for love letters, however "deep and true", to come across as sophomoric or banel to the non participant. What did you expect from the Duke and his anorexic society Duchess, the Gettysburg Address?
By the way, most people are insipid, prattling and self-serving, however packaged. This is news?