Book Description

Imagine being a twice-divorced woman, in her late thirties, of average looks, shunned by wealthy relatives, only to discover the most eligible bachelor in the world cannot live without you. Now imagine being that handsome, charming bachelor, educated to honor tradition and duty, in order to become a perfect King-Emperor and rule over one third of the world. Both of these extraordinary beings had the same secret dream: To breakaway from their apparent destiny and pursue what many thought was a hedonistic life, regardless of the cost and public outrage. So it was that, on December 10, 1936, Britain's new King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson - "the woman I love" - against the violent objection of the British royal family, the Cabinet and the Church of England. For the following thirty-six years, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor became the King and Queen of international high society. This personal account of their lives refutes history's traditional, often scurrilous portrayal of the iconic yet mysterious couple. It reveals heretofore-unknown details of their private lives, illnesses and very different deaths. Noblesse Oblige is Silvin's fictionalized, intimate description of the duchess' last valiant battle to protect her young protégée while he was running the famous American Hospital of Paris. The detailed memoir sits atop an easily absorbed history of both protagonists as the author rejects historians' claim that the Duchess of Windsor was a ruthless, conniving and superficial woman. Instead he validates Time Magazine's decision to honor her as the first Woman of the Year, of who it has been said "out-Hollywooded Hollywood," while making Greek tragedy seem trivial.