The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication

If books were food, Alexander Larman's The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication would have the nutrients of spinach and the decadence of a chocolate cupcake. History buffs can guiltlessly consume this abdication saga alongside fans of The Crown because underneath the juicy empire-shaking scandal that's at the book's heart, The Crown in Crisis is a marvel of erudition.

When he was the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII fell for Wallis Simpson, a married American woman. Their love endured through the death of his father, George V, in January 1936, which made Edward king. Following Wallis's divorce, Edward embraced the idea of a morganatic marriage, in which people from different social ranks can wed on the condition that any children they produce won't inherit the title, but members of the Cabinet weren't having it. This led Edward to conclude that his only chance at happiness was to abandon the throne--the first English king ever to do so of his own free will.

The Crown in Crisis is a barn burner: it has intrigue, subterfuge, betrayal, a salivating press, Nazis and an up-and-coming Winston Churchill. Larman, a British historian and journalist, is a resourceful and, when provoked, witty writer. (Wallis pens a letter to Edward appealing to what Larman calls the man's "possibly non-existent better nature.") A cautionary note: Larman's brief references to Edward's post-abdication life with Wallis may disappoint readers, particularly those named Harry or Meghan, who hope to leave the book assured that putting love first pays off. --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer

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