Happy Friday, friends! What a week! I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say I need an escape. And since getting out of town is a no go, I texted my friend Molly at Lake Forest Book Store and she gave me the perfect light read to get my mind off things.
The book is called The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal by Bryn Turnbull. And since it promises to be brimming with fictional high society and gossip, sign me up! Here’s a brief plot summary if you’d like to read along with me.
“For fans of The Paris Wife and The Crown, this stunning novel tells the true story of the American divorcée who captured Prince Edward’s heart before he abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson.
“In the summer of 1926, when Thelma Morgan marries Viscount Duke Furness after a whirlwind romance, she’s immersed in a gilded world of extraordinary wealth and privilege. For Thelma, the daughter of an American diplomat, her new life as a member of the British aristocracy is like a fairy tale—even more so when her husband introduces her to Edward, Prince of Wales.
“In a twist of fate, her marriage to Duke leads her to fall headlong into a love affair with Edward. But happiness is fleeting, and their love is threatened when Thelma’s sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, becomes embroiled in a scandal with far-reaching implications. As Thelma sails to New York to support Gloria, she leaves Edward in the hands of her trusted friend Wallis, never imagining the consequences that will follow.
“Bryn Turnbull takes readers from the raucous glamour of the Paris Ritz and the French Riviera to the quiet, private corners of St. James’s Palace in this sweeping story of love, loyalty, and betrayal.”
This is exactly the kind of book I need to distract me from my phone at night. I promise to circle back with a review before the end of the month.
Happy reading!
xo,
This was such a fun book. I really enjoyed it!