Product Description

When Maybell Brumby, frisky, wealthy, and recently widowed, quits Baltimore and arrives in London, she finds that her old school chum, Bessie Wallis Warfield, is there ahead of her. Impoverished and ambitious as ever, Wallis is on the make. Hampered by plodding husband number two, but armed with terrific bone structure and a few erotic tricks picked up in China, Wallis sets her sights on the most eligible bachelor in the world: the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Maybell, with her deep pockets, makes the perfect ally, and her disarming dimness makes her the most delicious chronicler of the scandal that rocked a monarchy and changed the course of history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #340382 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-01
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The diary entries of shallow and oblivious Baltimore socialite Maybell Brumby comprise Graham's fourth novel, which explores the fictional lives of intimates involved in the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII. Maybell, widowed by her older husband, leaves for London in 1932 to join her sister Violet and falls in with her school friend Bessie Wallis "Wally" Simpson, the married woman (twice, in fact) who has set her sights on the then Prince of Wales. Through Maybell's American patricianism, Graham (The Future Homemakers of America) skewers the tedious royal family and their aristocratic hangers-on. Maybell's self-absorption and dim-wittedness make her endearing at odd moments (as when she learns that her other sister, "Doopie," is deaf rather than mentally handicapped); her chatty tone is grating when the action—primarily Wally's plotting, conquest and royal assumption—slows. Graham depicts the abdication as a kind of bedroom farce and uses Maybell's ignorance to add ambiguity to the controversial relationship of the duke (as he is known after abdication) and Wally to the Nazi regime. As WWII becomes imminent, the leisured friends must make a run for it, and the partings are not all amicable. This light romp through sordid territory is sly, gossipy fun. (Aug.)
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Review
"Delightful...If you like P.G. Wodehouse - or if British royalty is your cup of ... tea - go with the Windsors (USA Today )

About the Author

Laurie Graham's nine novels include The Future Homemakers of America and Gone with the Windsors. She lives in Venice, Italy.

Customer Reviews

Delightful!
This is the delightful story of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII's romance as told through the eyes of Wally's close friend, Maybell. Written in diary format, Maybell arrives in London as a widow in 1931 and settles herself into the upper crust circles, detailing the parties and lives of the friends and family she knows. We see Edward VIII meeting and falling in love with Wally, and we watch as events force his hand for the woman he loves. Maybell is unflagging in her friendship for both, and she's a wonderful gossip with a flare for fashion and friendships. Mostly humorous, we see not only the subtle shifts in the Windsors' relationship, but in Maybell's relationships as well. Graham has a wonderfully breezy style that makes Maybell leap off the pages, and into our hearts. Excellent story and great fun as well. Highly recommended!

A fictional take on one of the 20th century's most infamous love stories
Gone With the Windsors is a diary-style novel. Maybell, the author of the journal entries, is a fictional childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, the woman who famously went on to marry the Duke of Windsor, former King of England who abdicated his throne to be with her, a twice-divorced American. In 1931 London, Maybell becomes re-acquainted with Wally and enters a social circle that eventually encompasses the eligible prince.

Those who consider the match between Edward and Wallis to be a great love story might be somewhat disillusioned by this book, which portrays Edward as a childlike, lovesick fool and Wally as a ruthless, manipulative, selfish social climber. Still, it is a fascinating read, especially set against the historical backdrop of the events leading up to World War II. This is an entertaining book that is ideal for summer reading, and I definitely recommend it.

A Convincing Blend of Fact & Fiction
I have long been a fan of Laurie Graham and it is interesting to see how her novels have changed over the years; from quirky, contemporary satire to finely observed life-stories of the 20th Century. Gone With the Windsors is a an account of the infamous relationship between Wallis Simpson and the Prince of Wales as seen through the eyes of Maybell Brumby, a Baltimore heiress and best friend to the social-climbing Mrs. Simpson. Although Maybell's fictional diary entries can at time be overwhelmed with an endless list of names and places I found her naive view of world events amusing and sometimes poignant. Her depiction of the relationship between ruthless, self-absorbed Wallis Simpson and love-struck, simple-minded Edward is interwoven with stories of Maybell's own family in London. As with most published diaries I am always left with a feeling of loss when I turn the final page and although this particular character is fictional I find myself wishing that her story was all true.