That Woman

The book group met at Alison's this week and we enjoyed a lively discussion on Anne Sebba's biography of Wallace Simpson which, we felt, was an especially topical read at the time of the Diamond Jubilee.

Although there were criticisms of some of Anne Sebba's more speculative views about Wallace's health and gender identity, there was no doubting her opinion that Wallace was really all about money, position, jewels and the high life. What's more, we were able to agree with at least one of her conclusions that, as a nation, we owed Mrs S a debt of gratitude for relieving us of a weak, self-centred, immature and petulant monarch. Lucy  observed that it was rather reassuring that there was a consensus amongst the politicians who mattered (except Churchill) that the King really had to go. Certainly, we reflected, his apparent lack internal struggle over his role and his duty must surely have influenced his brother and niece (not to mention the Queen Mother who appeared to have been key to the refusal of the family to rehabilitate the ex-King).

There is a real problem, though, with a biography which is about two people who are really not very attractive characters. None of us liked either of them and we felt that they were both shallow creatures who deserved each other, despite Anne Sebba's theory that Wallis got in too deep and never intended to marry the King.

The book itself suffers a little from having too much detail about extraneous matters (surely an editor should have curbed this tendency). It also is imbalanced as the last 20 years or so of Wallace's life are dealt with in a matter of a few short chapters leaving a number of unexplored themes: why was Maitre Blum so controlling and influential, who did Wallace leave her assets to (we know her jewellery sold for $50 million but nothing is said about her will) and what really was the nature of the relationship between the couple in their later years - they certainly rarely looked happy.

Our next book is a Palestinian story, Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. We will meet at my house on Thursday 19th July for the last hurrah before the "free reading" of the summer holidays when, of course, everyone will read Skios by Michael Frayn now that we know that it is a "highbrow beach read". Oh, and for the record, we only spent a fairly short time discussing Fifty Shades of Grey (although the Youtube clip caused riotous laughter).