Wallis Simpson China, the Roaring Twenties and the Making of Wallis Simpson by Paul French
I am afraid that I don’t have much time for Wallis Simpson, but I usually enjoy finding out more about her. Here Paul French forensically examines the infamous ‘China Dossier’ and gets rid of the myths and gossip surrounding Wallis’s time in China. However, although it is well-researched and the author brings the glamorous, but dangerous world of 1920s China to life with his vivid descriptions, much of it is speculation and it is still hard to determine what the ‘real Wallis’ was like.
She was terrifically intrepid though, willingly going further into a China beset by factional fighting, warlords, poverty, disease and growing hatred of foreigners. She still managed to find an exclusive society of racing and card lovers, and staying in the hills with her good friends Herman and Kitty Rogers where they liveda life of luxury. She took to wandering around the deserted temples and countryside in spite of the danger of bandits.
It’s certainly worth reading. Wallis is always fascinating.
Traitor King by Andrew Lownie is next on the list.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Comments
I didn't like one thing about Wallis Simpson, and there wasn't much about her royal husband that was admirable. But I know nothing whatsoever about her life until she lived in Britain and Europe. Now might be the time to read about her life in a different decade and in a different country.