Anna Pasternak

A serious effort to understand and defend "the American duchess" from the criticism and blame Wallis Simpson received for a king's giving up his throne. Many who knew her liked her, found her warm-hearted, fun, and elegant; those who didn't like her just didn't. Pasternak depicts her as basically honorable, aware of how tenuous and provocative her relationship with the Prince of Wales was - even trying to end it as inappropriate and hopeless on occasion. But clearly she was seduced by the glamor, the parties, the social whirl, the beautiful clothes, the cascade of jewelled gifts, and plunged ahead. To be fair, she and David sustained a long and apparently loving relationship thereafter, and frankly, getting that appallingly self-absorbed, shallow, impulsive, and immature man OFF the throne of England at that time was probably the best thing that could have happened. Their German sympathies (to the extent of visiting Hitler) are rather glossed over.

Pasternak has certainly done her research; her writing is sure-footed and vivid. She is sympathetic to Wallis's perhaps too-patient husband Ernest, who put up with his third corner of a quite public triangle with decency (he too was rather drunk on the rarefied air they breathed for some time). I was curious about a more serious look at this woman, in spite of my aversion to the royals in general. I finally found I could no longer bear the company of these utterly privileged, useless, parasitic people on their private cars on the Orient Express, chartered flights to ski resorts, borrowed Mediterranean villas and yachts, and I set the book aside. I just couldn't bring myself to spend any more time in this world with these awful people.… (more)

Anna Pasternak intertwines the lives of Boris Pasternak and his lover, Olga Ivinskaya. Stalin protects Pasternak from the gulag and execution. In order to to harm Pasternak, the authorities arrest and imprison Olga in the gulag at Potma. While given a lesser than normal sentence, her incarceration is an ordeal which leaves a permenent stamp. Released early under an amnesty, Olga assists Pasternak in his completion of Zhivago. Both Olga and Pasternak's wife oppose Zhivago's foreign publication until it is first published in the Soviet Union. Knowing his work would be bowdlerized in Russia, Pasternak gives the original to an Italian publisher, along with his blessing for its publication. What gives this work power is its focus on the suffering Olga endured for Boris. Though related to Pasternak -- she is his grand - niece -- Anna Pasternak offers us an honest d assessment of Pasternak's own selfishness in the relationship. He refuses to leave his wife and marry Olga when to do so would have protected Olga from a second arrest. Pasternak's declaration that Olga could not know how much he -- Pasternak -- is suffering when the later enters the hospital belies a narcissism. Anna Pasternak offers the reader a finely written and documented narration of a major work of literature as well as a major literary event. Before reading the fictionalized version of the woman in Pasaternak's life who was the inspiration for Lara in Doctor Zhivago, I would strongly recommend you read Anna Pasternak's book first. Throughout the world -- then and now -- Pasternak's principled refusal to submit his novel to the Soviet censors remains an inspiration. Anna Pasternak's finely written and superbly researched book represents a critical homage to Olga Ivanskaya's contribution to Pasternak's masterpiece.… (more)

The story of Wallis Simpson's infamous affair with the Prince of Wales in the 1930s that led to Edward VIII abdicating the throne after only 326 days as King of England has been told again and again. Simpson has been portrayed as everything from a gold digger to a whore to even a Nazi spy. Wallis Simpson was not a saint...she was a twice divorced American and an independent woman with a strong personality in a time where that was not fashionable. In The Real Wallis Simpson, Anna Pasternak strives to dig past gossip and media spin to get to the real woman. What was Wallis Simpson really like? Why did she get involved with Edward? Was their relationship really the romantic story it has been portrayed to be?

According to Pasternak, Wallis Simpson did not really want to marry the Prince of Wales. The situation got out of control and she was forced into a divorce and marriage she didn't really want. Pasternak, and other historians, now believe that the affair was pushed into marriage by the royal family and others because Edward's immature behavior, reckless spending, and lack of attention to responsibility made him a poor king. Getting him to abdicate and marry Wallis Simpson passed the crown on to his brother, who was a more stable choice. But, it left Wallis Simpson stuck.....she missed the husband she was forced to divorce and was forced into exile with an often moody, immature Edward.

Kinda changes the story a bit doesn't it?

I will admit I believed the decades of gossip. I always believed Simpson was a twice-divorced sex pot who set her eyes on the Prince and wheedled her way into his head til she got what she wanted. But after reading this book, I have to change my mind. I believe Simpson was flattered by the attention and liked the dinners, gifts, parties, and social position it gave her to be recognized as a friend/companion of the Prince of Wales. She expected the attention to continue until Edward got tired of her....then he would move on to another interest and she could return to her life and her marriage. But that didn't happen. Edward became obsessed with her....spending more and more money on her, demanding more and more of her time, calling multiple times a day, demanding her attention...... The situation rapidly got out of control, became a public scandal, and then there was no way for Wallis to get out of it. She played a game with very powerful people and she lost. It doesn't change the fact that she was willing to play the game....she was married,but carried on a very public relationship with Edward anyway. She loved the money and the social standing. So, she was no saint. But she wasn't a complete devil woman either. She was portrayed that way because at the time women were not supposed to be strong, intelligent, or independent.

I enjoyed this book. Pasternak definitely did a lot of in-depth research. She quotes news reports, personal letters, interviews with friends of Wallis, Edward and others, letters from government officials, royal letters and documents, etc. At one point she quotes a member of the royal family as saying that it wasn't Simpson they despised, but Edward.

So interesting! I'm going to read it a second time, and then re-watch some documentaries I've seen on the affair and the aftermath, and come out with a much more informed, fair opinion on Edward's abdication. I feel guilty for believing that Simpson was a horrid person who jumped above her class and nearly toppled the monarchy....that was unfair and uninformed. I'm not sure I'm willing to believe that Edward was a complete weak-willed, narcissistic ninny though until I read more and weigh out the facts. I do realize now that Simpson might have been a pawn in a much bigger game and didn't realize it until it was too late....then she had to follow through.

I'm definitely going to read more by this author. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**… (more)

This is a very readable book which provides a real insight into this period of British royal history. Much is revealed about the very complex personality of the Duke of Windsor, following his abdication from the throne, Wallis's anguish as she tried to depart from his life rather than have him abdicate, and the truly awful role his mother, Queen Mary, and to a greater extent Queen Elizabeth (later to become the Queen Mother) played in the life-time exile of Edward and Wallis following their marriage.… (more)