An English ruler gives up his throne and his country to marry a divorced American. The nation blames her. The division tears apart two brothers; their wives at permanent odds. Is this Prince Harry and Megan? Yes, but it also describes former King Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson. What kind of woman would force a man to give up his kingship for her?
According to historical fiction author Georgie Blalock’s latest novel, The Windsor Conspiracy, the kind of woman who would do that is a ruthless, self-centered social climber who wanted to see a country destroyed for rooting against her.
Luckily, Wallis Simpson is not the protagonist of The Windsor Conspiracy. That honor goes to Simpson’s fictitious cousin Amelia, whom Wallis hires as a private secretary after Amelia has a fall from grace in their native Baltimore. Amelia knows Wallis’s reputation… but Wallis was the only one who offered help after Amelia’s husband was arrested for embezzlement, and then killed himself. Maybe she’s not that bad after all?
The novel kicks off at Wallis’s Paris wedding to the former king, and Amelia describes to readers how angry Wallis is about the number of guests who haven’t shown up, and why. Amelia gets advice from her aunt and from Wallis’s best friend on how to be a good social secretary: Who’s Who in society, and who sits where at a dinner party? Even though Wallis is harsh with other staff members, she’s kind to Amelia, and she even helps her upgrade her wardrobe. Amelia is loyal, having been burned by social and familial scorn after her husband’s death (they eloped against her stepfather’s wishes). Wallis’s kindness—and her need to keep her job—make Amelia excuse Wallis’s behavior again and again. But when Wallis cozies up to a high-ranking Nazi, and as Germany makes moves threatening a peaceful Europe, Amelia realizes that more is at stake than reputations.
Thanks to the TV series The Crown and the recent internet theories about Princess Kate, I’ve gotten more interested in the history of the royal family. Still, until I read The Windsor Conspiracy, all I knew about King Edward VIII (in the book, Wallis calls him David) and Wallis Simpson was that he abdicated to marry her, and that he seemed sympathetic to Nazis. Blalock fleshes out that knowledge with her well-researched novel. Her Wallis is so obsessed with the crown that she constantly snipes at David for giving it up to marry her. It’s clear that she’s only with him for the status, and they are both obsessed with getting King George to grant her the “extra-chic” title of Her Royal Highness. Even worse, as the war progresses, Wallis actively roots for Germany to defeat England, believing that Hitler will put her and David back on the throne. “The country deserves it,” she tells Amelia, “for the way they treated me.”
Amelia is a terrific stand-in for the reader. Her doubts about Wallis—should I trust this person that everyone’s warned me about but has been really nice to me personally?—are the kinds of questions everyone has had about someone in their life at some point, and give the story a universal appeal. She’s also hard-working and kind, an easy protagonist to root for.
The Windsor Conspiracy is centered around World War II and gives readers an angle on that conflict that isn’t usually seen. As the book progresses, Amelia finds herself in physical danger, but most of the danger in the book is psychological. The novel’s biggest revelation is character-based: What drives a person to sell out their own country? Blalock portrays David as spoiled and lazy; he and his wife are both narcissists. Their story had an unhappy ending for them, but a good one for the fictional Amelia and the rest of the world. It’s a good reminder that when narcissists are put in positions of leadership, people will suffer. That people who are cruel to others but nice to you have their own agenda and won’t hesitate to hurt you if it helps them. Read, and vote, accordingly.
Thanks to William Morrow for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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