From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a gripping novel that commences with the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and journeys back to the fascinating world of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. ‘A triumph’ Dinah Jefferies on The Secret Wife by Gill PaulTwo women who challenged the Crown.Divided by time. Bound by a secret…1911At the age of fifteen, carefree Mary Kirk … by time. Bound by a secret…
1911
At the age of fifteen, carefree Mary Kirk and indomitable Wallis Warfield meet at summer camp. Their friendship will survive heartbreaks, separation and the demands of the British Crown until it is shattered by one unforgivable betrayal.
1997
Rachel’s romantic break in Paris with her fiancé ends in tragedy when the car ahead crashes. Inside was Princess Diana. Back in Brighton, Rachel is haunted by the accident, and intrigued to learn the princess had visited the last home of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, only hours before the crash. Soon, the discovery of a long-forgotten link to Wallis Simpson leads Rachel to the truth behind a scandal that shook the world…
Richly imagined and beautifully written, ANOTHER WOMAN’S HUSBAND is a gripping, moving novel about two women thrust into the spotlight, followed by scandal, touched by loss.
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I love Gill Paul as a writer so I just read all her books. I have other favorite writers and I read all their books. I expect to love them and I always do. Another Woman’s Husband was no exception. I love the way Gill interweaves history with fiction and creates wonderful characters, those who really were and those who were not. I highly recommend this book, it is beautifully written, fabulously researched and will keep you up at night because you care about the characters and getting to the conclusion becomes a passionate quest.
I looked forward to picking up this book, but couldn’t ever seem to fully engage. While I have enjoyed many television drama series focused on the British monarchy and aristocracy, I have never found myself excessively taken with it. It’s interesting to me and the history is fascinating, but I’ve never been obsessed with it to the point of following every detail. This book might possibly have hooked me more if I were more consumed by it.
What I liked about “Another Woman’s Husband”:
The peek into an earlier era – I do love to learn more about how things were in other times. Seeing how society operated and what the customs were fascinates me. The character of people doesn’t ever seem to change that much, but what is deemed acceptable by societal standards has gone through many evolutions over time.
What I didn’t care for:
The characters – I either didn’t care about them or straight up didn’t like them. Nearly very last one of them. (I did really like Eleanor and ralph Hargreaves.) Some were too prone to being doormats, while others had zero moral compass at all.
A serial lack of respect for marriage – It touched nearly every character to some extent. And worse, it almost seemed a glorification of it.
The writing style just didn’t seem to click for me – I can’t put my finger on what exactly didn’t work for me. I don’t mind dual timelines, typically, but this one just read like to two separate book manuscripts fell on the floor together and found themselves printed as one. While there was an occasional fragment of detail that would appear in both storylines and there was some resolution uniting them toward the end, mostly they just told two different series of events.
This was my first venture into a book by Ms Paul, and while many seem to love her works, I don’t feel inclined to delve into a second book. Perhaps her style just isn’t meant for me, though I appear to be somewhat of a minority here.
4 ½ stars
I found this book to be beautifully written, but for some reason, it was a slow read. It has well-drawn characters. I could see many things that were based on real-life, but beyond those, I can’t attest to how much was true. What I do know is that book does not make Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, short-termed king of England, look good.
This is a book of missed chances. It attempts to draw similarities between Wallis and David Windsor and Princess Diana, at least in how Wallis and Diana were treated by the royal family. I didn’t feel that it succeeded in that.
The story is told through the eyes of Wallis Simpson’s friend from childhood, Mary Kirk. In some ways, I think the author took on too much as she tried to juggle multiple stories and time periods in this book. There’s Wallis and David, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, Mary Kirk, and a vintage store owner and her boyfriend, a documentary filmmaker who arrive on the scene immediately after Diana’s accident. Telling all those stories is a big undertaking. The author did well with them, but at times it seemed as if the tales overwhelmed.
I enjoyed this book very much. I did feel that the ending was rather abrupt. It also never answered the question it seemed to pose at the beginning, was Diana’s death accidental or planned. Still, I felt that it was a worthwhile book to read.
I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
The connection created between the duchess and Princess Diana was very clever. I really enjoyed this book.
Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul is the fictional story of Wallis Warfield Simpson, told from the point of view of her girlhood friend, Mary Kirk. Wallis was conniving and had been from her very early days. Mary was her true friend, until she looked back on their relationship and discovered that it was one-sided. Wallis had never been there for her; it had always been her being there for Wallis. Mary died you, at 45, from cancer, but she had a good life. She had good friends, a first husband who had loved her, and the second who was the love of her life. Wallis had notoriety and that was nearly all.
Another Woman’s Husband alternated between two stories: Mary’s and another one taking place in 1997, immediately following Princess Diana’s death. Both stories came together in the end: fictionally. Historical fiction is storytelling. This story was seriously based in fact, even using quotes from letters from the principals. It was, however, still fiction, no matter how accurate. It had many elements of heartbreak in it, including the relationship between Wallis and David, Prince of Wales, later abdicated king. It is these stories that make these people of historical fiction real to the vast majority of us. Paul did a wonderful job of portraying these people, and attempting to be fair to all of them, while still honoring their memories. It is a well-written book about at important time in history. Hopefully these people will not be forgotten. I recommend Another Woman’s Husband.
I was invited to read an ARC of Another Woman’s Husband by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #anotherwomanshusband
I loved the intertwined stories of Wallis and Diana. The parallels are striking and I couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter to find out what was happening with the other. I will buy this author again.
Gill Paul is an author who’s writing is superb and as you read her stories one cannot tell fact from fiction. In Another Woman’s Husband Gill takes us back in time to the summer of 1911 when Wallis Simpson first meets her best friend Mary Kirk at Miss Charlotte Noland’s summer camp. We get to witness their lives together and separate all the way till the end. I loved this half of the dueling timeline and learned things this history buff did not know.
Don’t get me wrong the other half with the conspiracy of Princess Diana’s death was good but … personally I would have been happy with this particular story being just a singular timeline. My favorite part of the 1997 timeline was Princess Diana’s friend Susie Hargreaves and would have preferred that she had a much larger role in the current timeline.
Overall Another Woman’s Husband was a very enjoyable biographical type historical fiction story of two women who challenged the English Monarchy and changed history.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a review. All options expressed in this review are completely my own.
Author Gill Paul captivates the reader entangling two historic incidents involving Princess Diana and Wallis Simpson meshing them together with an intriguing novel. Paul is a very skilled historical fiction author. After all these years, we are still fascinated with Princess Diana and Edward VIII announcing his abdication to the throne so that he could marry a commoner. I enjoyed this novel, learned more, and I highly recommend this book.
Gill Paul writes wonderful historical novels. This one involves characters we are all familiar with, from Wallis Simpson to Princess Diana to Baron von Ribbentrop. I read it in one day because I just couldn’t put it down.
Historical fiction at its best. Loved it!
I loved this book. It kept me interested to the end. I usually don’t like books that go back and forth (chapter to chapter) from recent years to early 1900’s, but this one had me hooked.
Each character is well developed, interesting people even though this is a novel.
With superb story-telling and a lush backdrop of period detail, Paul crafts a novel that is impossible to put down, about two women who are impossible to forget. Sure to be a huge success, I loved it!
Sounds exactly like the plot set-up of “CHASING DIANA – PERCEPTION VS. REALITY” INSPIRED BY THEIR TRUE STORY by Jack & Robin Firestone. http://www.ChasingDiana.com
An intriguing look into two women’s lives who became known as thorns in the side of the royal family. Featuring both the crash that took Princess Diana from the world as well as the life and antics of Wallis Simpson, this novel deftly weaves between two timelines, filling in the blanks of what might have happened.
The time period storyline is a joy to read and learning about Wallis was intriguing. Gill Paul’s novel has made me curious to know more about Wallis Simpson and the life she led. And, I can’t leave a review without mentioning the vintage clothing so eloquently portrayed throughout the story, I felt as if I were in the room every time an article of clothing appeared, and that was an incredibly delightful place to be.
Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul offers the reader insights into the lives of Wallis Warfield and Princess Diana. The story is told in in split time periods, the first part of twentieth century and the end of the twentieth century. I enjoyed reading about the unusual lives they led and the widespread effects of their lives on others. Loved the well researched historical rumors and facts about the time periods. I thought the storyline with Rachel and Alex was not quite complete and needed a little more. My thanks to the Author, Harper Collins Publishers and Goodreads for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book was very enjoyable from the get go. I highly recommend you get it read it enjoy.
Auhor did her research.brought in some interesting things, which if true, let us see into the royal family’s hidden secrets
Interesting!
Fascinating view into the life of Wallis Simpson and those who knew her. I enjoyed that the characters of the past were real life people you can actually look up and find the story of their lives. That said, the author did an excellent job telling a story based on real lives and events. The current day characters were also very interesting and the switch between times was done smoothly.