A satirical recounting of the romance between Wallis Simpson and
the Prince of Wales, as narrated by a fictional witness to the
affair.Because Maybell Brumby is not quite a sympathetic cross
between Lady Bricknell and Auntie Mame-in fact, her one redeeming
trait is her genuine affection for her niece and nephew-she is the
perfect foil for the conniving Mrs. Simpson. A silly and frivolous
widow of means who consistently misinterprets the words and actions
of those around her, Maybell arrives in London in 1932 to visit her
sisters, attracted in part by news that her childhood playmate
"Wally" has shown up with a new husband. Maybell lends money,
jewelry and furs as the money-strapped but ambitious Wally Simpson
makes her way into society despite a dubious past. Maybell's diary
of the next decade follows Wally's manipulations as she rises from
nobody to hanger-on to prince's mistress to Duchess of Windsor. The
purposely inane diary goes on too long with who wore what where,
but it is studded with moments of genuinely funny idiocy: Maybell
calls Harrods "Harrold's" throughout; mistakes Cole Porter for a
coal porter; gets comically seasick on the Guinness yacht. More
seriously, she does not realize that her younger sister is deaf,
not retarded. And Hitler seems quite the fellow to Maybell until
actual war breaks out. No judge of character, Maybell abets Wally
as she pursues the prince, who everybody but Maybell recognizes is
a simpleton unsuited to the throne. While Maybell is foolish but
endearing, Wally is conniving, vicious, money-grubbing and
power-hungry-also a slut and gambler. According to Graham (Future
Homemakers of America, 2002), Wally is out-maneuvered by the Royals
when her lover is forced off the throne and out of a large portion
of his inheritance. In the end, Wally uses up even Maybell's
patience.Best read in spurts, since the overabundance of entries
diffuses the addictively catty fun. (Kirkus Reviews)
The hilarious and touching novel from Laurie Graham - the fictional
diary of the Queen's best friend in pre-war London. Laurie Graham's
brilliant novel is the fictional diary of Maybell Brumby, a wealthy
American widow who arrives in London in 1932 and discovers that an
old school friend is in town: Bessie Wallis Warfield, now Mrs
Ernest Simpson. Maybell and Wally are made for one another. One has
money and a foothold in high society, courtesy of a sister who
married well. The other has ruthless ambition and enough energy to
power the National Grid. Before the year is out, Wally has begun
her seduction of the Prince of Wales, and as she clambers towards
the throne she makes sure Maybell and her cheque book are always
close at hand. So Maybell becomes an eye-witness to the Abdication
Crisis. From her perch in Carlton Gardens, home of her influential
brother-in-law Lord Melhuish, she has the perfect vantage point for
observing the anxious, changing allegiances for and against Queen
Wally, and the political contours of pre-war London. When the
crisis comes and Wally flees to the south of France, she insists on
Maybell going with her. 'Are you sure that's advisable, darling?'
asks the King. 'Of course it is,' snaps Wally. 'She's the Paymaster
General.' Maybell's diary records the marriage, the Windsors'
exile, and the changing complexion of the Greatest Love Story. It
takes the sound of German jackboots at the gate and personal
tragedy to make her close its pages for the last time.
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