Meet the Duchess of Windsor

I first became interested in the Duchess of Windsor when I read a book about her jewels that were being auctioned.  I had heard the tale of Edward VIII who gave up the throne of England for “the woman he loved,” but did not know much about the woman herself.  I wound up reading two biographies of her and was fascinated.  Now I have a new biography to read.  It is entitled That Woman: the Life of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor by Anne Sebba.  “That woman,” as she was referred to by the Queen Mother, became a hated figure for ensnaring a British King and destabilizing the monarchy.  Born in 1896 in Baltimore, Bessie Wallis Warfield endured an impoverished and comparatively obscure childhood that inflamed a burning desire to rise above her circumstances.  Neither beautiful nor brilliant, she nevertheless became one of the most talked-about women of her generation, and inspired such deep love and adoration in Edward VIII that he gave up a throne and an empire for her.  Wallis lived by her wits, while both her apparent and alleged moral transgressions added to her aura and dazzle.  Accused of Fascists sympathies, having Nazi lovers, and learning bizarre sexual techniques in China, she was the subject of widespread gossip and fascination. In death, the Duchess became a style icon and a symbol of empowerment, a woman whose unequivocal aim was to win the game of life.