The Duchess

'Enthralling' Daily Mail

'Fizzing with gossip, intrigue and wit' Mail on Sunday

If you love The Crown, you will love this fictional look inside the life of Wallis Simpson...

Love can change the course of history...

Arriving in 1928, Wallis was a divorced, penniless, middle-aged foreigner with average looks and no connections. Yet, just eight years later, a king renounced his throne for her.

How did a woman from nowhere capture the heart of the world's most glamorous bachelor? Wendy Holden tells the amazing story...

What readers are saying about The Duchess:

????? 'A great read, fabulous story line and such a different perspective. Massive fun'

????? 'A powerful read. Perhaps we all got Wallis Simpson wrong'

????? 'Superb and powerful writing! I loved it'

????? 'A great read and I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants a less stilted piece of history'

????? 'A fascinating tale, well told'

????? 'An amazing, fictionalised retelling of the story of Edward and Mrs Simpson'

“'One of the delights of historical fiction is the what-if factor, and Holden poses a whopper: What if Edward never really wanted to be king and pursued Wallis, whom he knew he couldn't marry as monarch, to avoid the throne We'll never know, but fans of biographical fiction and British royalty will thoroughly enjoy this sparkling tale of love and loss'”

Booklist

Sunday Times number one bestseller Wendy Holden was a journalist before becoming an author. She has written ten consecutive top-ten bestselling novels and sold more than 3 million books.

The Duchess , the second novel in Wendy Holden's trilogy about royal outsiders, fictionalises the unknown London life of Wallis Simpson. From the bestselling author of The Governess. Arriving in 1928, Wallis was a divorced, penniless, middle-aged foreigner with average looks and no connections. Yet, just eight years later, a king renounced his throne for her. How did a woman from nowhere capture the heart of the world's most glamorous bachelor? Wendy Holden tells the amazing story.___ Praise for Wendy Holden's The Governess : 'A beautifully woven and exquisitely detailed story' - HEATHER MORRIS, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'A great book for escaping into . . . I loved this!' - KATIE FFORDE 'A brilliantly imagined and poignant novel [...] of sacrifice, deep affection, strained loyalties and divided English society in the post-Downton Abbey era' - ELIZABETH BUCHAN

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