The Duchess
A Novel of Wallis Simpson
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Narrated by:
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Louise Barrett
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By:
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Wendy Holden
About this listen
It was a love so strong, a king renounced his kingdom - all for that woman. Or was she just an escape route for a monarch who never wanted to rule? Best-selling author Wendy Holden takes an intimate look at one of the most notorious scandals of the 20th century.
The year 1928. A middle-aged foreigner comes to London with average looks, no money, and no connections. Wallis’s first months in the city are lonely, dull, and depressing. With no friends of her own she follows the glamorous set in magazines and goes to watch society weddings. Her stuffy husband Ernest’s idea of fun, meanwhile, is touring historic monuments.
When an unexpected encounter leads to a house party with the prince of Wales, Wallis’ star begins to rise. Her secret weapon is her American pep and honesty. For the prince she is a breath of fresh air. As her friendship with him grows, their relationship deepens into love. Wallis is plunged into a world of unimaginable luxury and privilege, enjoying weekends together at his private palace on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Wallis knows the fun and excitement can’t last. The prince will have to marry, and she will return to Ernest. The sudden death of George V seems to make this inevitable; the prince of Wales is now King Edward VIII. When, to her shock and amazement, he refuses to give her up - or recognize that they are facing impossible odds - her fairy tale becomes a nightmare. The royal family close ranks to shut her out, and Ernest gives an ultimatum.
Wallis finds herself trapped when Edward insists on abdicating his throne. She can’t escape the overwhelming public outrage and villainized, she becomes the woman everyone blames - the face of the most dramatic royal scandal of the 20th century.
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Critic reviews
“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
"A beautifully woven and exquisitely detailed story of strong upstairs/downstairs women whose lives entwine during some of the most significant periods of modern British history. . . a novel that will stand the test of time. I loved it."—Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, on The Royal Governess
"An intimate view of the royal family at a time of great uncertainty and change, The Royal Governess is a beautifully written and richly detailed piece of historical fiction. Marion Crawford's dedication to her charges, as well as her passion for education and reform, shines through the pages. Through her eyes, the reader is transported back in time and thoroughly immersed in the lives of the British royal family. A delightful read!"—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to Key West, on The Royal Governess
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Story
A masterful debut novel by Plimpton Prize winner Isabella Hammad, The Parisian illuminates a pivotal period of Palestinian history through the journey and romances of one young man, from his studies in France during World War I to his return to Palestine at the dawn of its battle for independence.
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Overly ambitious
- By Placeholder on 06-16-19
By: Isabella Hammad
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The Secret Countess
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
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Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme's crumbling but magnificent mansion.
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Heavily edited
- By Melissa Keating on 06-21-16
By: Eva Ibbotson
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Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
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Subtle yet grand
- By jb on 10-12-15
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Lady Rights a Wrong
- By: Eliza Casey
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Lady Cecilia of Danby Hall feels adrift. She couldn’t be less interested in helping to plan the church’s upcoming bazaar. Instead, what excites her most is the Woman’s Suffrage Union meeting she has just attended. Inspired by the famous and charismatic leader of the group, Mrs. Amelia Price, Cecilia is eager to join the Union - if she can hide it from her parents, that is. But when Mrs. Price is found dead at the foot of the stairs in her home, her Votes for Women sash torn away, Cecilia knows she must attend to a more urgent matter: finding the killer.
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More Eliza Casey!!!!
- By Yvette on 01-28-23
By: Eliza Casey
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The Pursuit of Love
- Radlett and Montdore Trilogy Series, Book 1
- By: Nancy Mitford
- Narrated by: Bessie Carter
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Mitford's most enduringly popular novel, The Pursuit of Love, is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric. Mitford modeled her characters on her own famously unconventional family. We are introduced to the Radletts through the eyes of their cousin, Fanny, who stays with them at Alconleigh, their Gloucestershire estate. Uncle Matthew is the blustering patriarch; Aunt Sadie is the vague but doting mother; and the seven Radlett children, despite the delights of their unusual childhood, are recklessly eager to grow up.
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Unlistenable
- By Michael on 10-17-21
By: Nancy Mitford
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The Beautiful and Damned
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Published in 1922, Fitzgerald's second novel chronicles the relationship of Anthony Patch, Harvard-educated, aspiring aesthete, and his beautiful wife, Gloria, as they await to inherit his grandfather's fortune. A devastating satire of the nouveaux rich and New York's nightlife, of reckless ambition and squandered talent, it is also a shattering portrait of a marriage fueled by alcohol and wasted by wealth. The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald wrote to Zelda in 1930, "was all true."
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i loved it
- By Emily on 01-20-05
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Between Two Thorns
- The Split Worlds Series, Book 1
- By: Emma Newman
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him - with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer. There is a witness, but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs. But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?
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I hate writing Bad reviews but.....
- By Joseph Reeves on 04-26-17
By: Emma Newman
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The Westerby Inheritance
- Changing Fortunes, Book 1
- By: M. C. Beaton
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Lady Jane Lovelace has conceived the idea of approaching the most notorious man-about-town, Lord Charles Welbourne, with a most unique proposition. When he counters her offer with a condition that he thinks will halt her impudence, much to the surprise of both, she accepts. A novel of passion and intrigue, The Westerby Inheritance is a thrilling installment in an emotionally charged romantic saga, all played out against a backdrop of elegant 18th-century society.
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NOT like Marion Chesney's other romances!
- By DatPixieGirl on 06-11-19
By: M. C. Beaton
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The Enchanted April
- By: Elizabeth von Arnim
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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To Those who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine. Small medieaval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let Furnished for the month of April. This small advertisement sparks something long dormant in the reluctant hearts of two downcast London women - the possibility of happiness.
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My absolute favorite book.
- By JKJanson on 06-19-18
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Death in Venice
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: Peter Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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A stunningly beautiful youth and the city of Venice set the stage for Thomas Mann’s introspective examination of erotic love and philosophical wisdom.
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A problem with the narration
- By Erez on 03-19-12
By: Thomas Mann
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Three Words for Goodbye
- A Novel
- By: Hazel Gaynor
- Narrated by: Heather Webb, Suzanne Toren, Ann Marie Gideon, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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New York, 1937: When estranged sisters Clara and Madeleine Sommers learn their grandmother is dying, they agree to fulfill her last wish: to travel across Europe - together. They are to deliver three letters, in which Violet will say good-bye to those she hasn’t seen since traveling to Europe 40 years earlier. Clara, ever-dutiful, sees the trip as an inconvenient detour before her wedding to millionaire Charles Hancock, but it’s also a chance to embrace her love of art. Budding journalist Madeleine relishes the opportunity to develop her ambitions....
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Listened to the whole thing because I wanted to know how the authors handled the ending
- By Beth♥️Amazon on 08-04-21
By: Hazel Gaynor
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The Custom of the Country
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Edith Wharton stands among the finest writers of early 20th-century America. In The Custom of the Country, Wharton’s scathing social commentary is on full display through the beautiful and manipulative Undine Spragg. When Undine convinces her nouveau riche parents to move to New York, she quickly injects herself into high society. But even a well-to-do husband isn’t enough for Undine, whose overwhelming lust for wealth proves to be her undoing.
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Cannot recommend a better narrator!
- By Esther on 07-29-12
By: Edith Wharton
What listeners say about The Duchess
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dogs, Cats, and Kids
- 05-09-24
A new perspective on history
Wallis Simpson has always fascinated me. This story adds a lot to a time in history where no one knows the full story.
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- David Ortmann
- 06-10-23
Clever, tight and profoundly beautiful
The author has done excellent research in this semi-fictionalized account of the life Wallis Windsor, Duchess of Windsor and the death of the Edward Windsor, Duke of Windsor.
I felt like I was inside of the thoughts and words and actions of a truly extraordinary woman.
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