“Brimming with scandal and an equal amount of heart…a sweeping yet intimate look at the lives of some of history’s most notorious figures from Vanderbilts to the Prince of Wales… A must-read.”—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of When We Left Cuba and Next Year in Havana“Bryn Turnbull takes a story we think we know and turns it on its head, with captivating results… A beautifully … Havana
“Bryn Turnbull takes a story we think we know and turns it on its head, with captivating results… A beautifully written, meticulously researched and altogether memorable debut.”—Jennifer Robson, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Gown
For fans of The Paris Wife and The Crown, this stunning novel tells the true story of the American divorcée who captured Prince Edward’s heart before he abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson.
In the summer of 1926, when Thelma Morgan marries Viscount Duke Furness after a whirlwind romance, she’s immersed in a gilded world of extraordinary wealth and privilege. For Thelma, the daughter of an American diplomat, her new life as a member of the British aristocracy is like a fairy tale—even more so when her husband introduces her to Edward, Prince of Wales.
In a twist of fate, her marriage to Duke leads her to fall headlong into a love affair with Edward. But happiness is fleeting, and their love is threatened when Thelma’s sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, becomes embroiled in a scandal with far-reaching implications. As Thelma sails to New York to support Gloria, she leaves Edward in the hands of her trusted friend Wallis, never imagining the consequences that will follow.
Bryn Turnbull takes readers from the raucous glamour of the Paris Ritz and the French Riviera to the quiet, private corners of St. James’s Palace in this sweeping story of love, loyalty and betrayal.
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Thank you in advance to the publisher, Mira, as well as BookClubbish for providing an advanced review copy. A positive review was not required or requested and all words are my own.
Let’s start off with this elegant, classy cover which is suitable for the story. But don’t let the cover fool you – this is not a classy, fairytale romance. There is scandal – lots of it. And, it is not only on the Royal side, but the Vanderbilt side as well.
Until this book came out – I had no idea how connected the Vanderbilt and Royal family was. And, it is through Thelma, the twin sister of Gloria Morgan that the connection exists.
This is not the Gloria Vanderbilt of the fashion and fragrance industry. That Gloria is more famously known as “Little Gloria”, the child at the center of a contentious custody trial in the mid 1930’s, which at the time was dubbed “the trial of the century”. It is Little Gloria who is the mother of CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Little Gloria’s mother is his grandmother, so Thelma Morgan Furness is his great-aunt. It is Thelma who is dubbed “The Woman Before Wallis”.
As these are real life people – they are definitely believable, despite some of the creative license taken with this story.
Since this is a historical fiction novel, based on actual events, the plot is excellent (no obvious plot holes), and definitely inspired me to do more research. It is also an educational read.
For a debut author, this is written extremely well and kept me interested. I honestly felt at times like I could close my eyes and live this in person.
If you’re familiar with the history of the Vanderbilts, the Windsors, or even the trial – the dialogue and content is very believable. And, the author spends equal time on both the trial and Thelma’s “relationship” with the future monarch. Turnbull also goes into Thelma’s marriage to Lord Marmaduke “Duke” Furness which led to meeting Edward/David; Prince of Wales.
Told in third person from Thelma’s POV the book is “somewhat” a dual timeline – events before the trial, and events during the trial. It takes place before World War II and the epilogue is just after the war in 1946. I would’ve been interested to see how the war impacted everyone; however this story was focused on the tale of the lesser known woman in Edward’s life.
I was drawn to this book based on what has happened recently with the Duke (Harry) and Duchess (Megan) of Sussex leaving the Royal Family or stepping down from it. There are comparisons to Prince/King Edward VIII (the current monarch’s uncle) and Wallis Simpson. Naturally, as I hadn’t known about Thelma Morgan’s involvement – this was a book I had to read.
As far as content – it is a clean read. There is no foul language, which most of the Mira books I’ve read are clean for the most part. The only sex scenes referenced in it take place “off page”; there is some mention of drug use (Gloria using Cocaine); and perhaps an intimated lesbian affair (which was mentioned during the real life “trial of the century” for Little Gloria). It was heart-breaking at one point to see Little Gloria (which is what she was called) absolutely terrified of her mother. Thelma for the most part is the strongest character in this novel – taking care of Gloria, being a friend to her step-children, and managing her “affair” with Edward.
This was a real page-turner; however I pretty much knew what was going to happen as it is part of history, so there are spoilers out there. This is a book where it is impossible to avoid them. It was a very entertaining read though, and I didn’t want to put it down. This is one of the books that as soon as my mom saw it, she said “I want to read that”.
While my mom loves to read – she doesn’t read as much as I do. And, us reading the same books is a very rare occurrence. After this review I will be loaning it to her directly after I post my reviews.
With a story like this – there is SO much needed to include, and sometimes given the “space”, it’s hard to know what to exclude to include something.
A book of this nature is one that is hard to review.
The author included some interesting tidbits about the Royal family.
It is interesting at one point to read about “Elizabeth” (future Queen Mother) and a scene just after Margaret (future Countess of Snowden) is born with “Lilibet” running around. For those who might not know this, Lilibet was Queen Elizabeth’s nickname when she was a child.
Turnbull references the current monarch’s father as “Bertie” as his name was Albert Frederick Arthur George. Thus “Bertie” is a nickname for Albert. This was something my mother knew that I didn’t.
Edward, for most of the book, is referred to as “David”; this is likely due to his name being Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David – the former Prince of Wales (which is currently Prince Charles), but was relegated to Duke of Windsor after his abdication and marriage to Wallis Simpson in 1937.
As a result of Gloria’s trial for her daughter – Thelma ended up leaving him in the care of Wallis Simpson who was then married. The novel does not go into detail regarding Wallis’ divorce, how she and Edward got close, or their marriage. That is something I would’ve liked to have learned more about.
Fans of the Royal Family might be interested in this story, those interested in the Vanderbilts might be interested, or anyone interested in historical fiction based on real life figures. Turnbull did some extensive research and it shows in this novel.
Thelma and her twin sister Gloria are daughters of a diplomat and are a big part of the 1920s social scene. Thelma has an affair with Edward, Prince of Wales. Gloria is the widow of a Vanderbilt and becomes ensnared in the child custody case of the century.
Oh wow! This book is full of history and famous people. I have said this before and I will say it again…I LOVE A BOOK WHICH HAS ME RESEARCHING! And boy…this one had me looking up all kinds of stuff, The Prince of Wales, Gloria Vanderbilt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. I knew a good bit about the people in the novel but there is so much in this story and I just wanted to know more.
Now, let me say, I am giving this 5 stars but it has a few problems. It is a bit wordy in places and it is too long…in my opinion. But, this is a story about a woman in history which I knew very little about. So, I was captivated from the start. This novel is very well researched and wonderfully crafted! And isn’t this cover absolutely gorgeous!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
4.5 for me
The Woman Before Wallis is a book that has scandal, love, family, duty to that family. It is also a book about loyalty between the Morgan sisters Thelma and Gloria. It is a story of love and scarifice.
I was totally absorbed in the tale of Thelma and David Windsor. We all know that he abdicated the throne and later was exiled and married Wallis.
This as the title says is the story of Thelma , the woman before.
The book was well researched, nicely written and pulled you in from the beginning.
I was truly sad to come to the last page.
Can’t wait for more from this author.
Please take time to read the authors notes at the end of the book.
There’s nothing like a juicy bit of gossip to take you away from it all, and that’s kind of what The Woman Before Wallis feels like to me. It’s kind of like the world stands ready to soak it up every time a royal or the elite messes up, and that’s where this one takes us. The story moves along at a good pace, it’s well-written, and it’s an entertaining way to while away a weekend. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction because I get irritated when too many liberties are taken. That said, Bryn Turnbull explains the liberties she took with this story, but even if she hadn’t, this one is a bit out of my wheelhouse, so I wasn’t looking for said liberties. Honestly, I would say don’t read it for the historical accuracy. Instead, read it for the entertainment, the feeling of looking inside the messes made by the rich and powerful, the intriguing characters, love them or hate them (and there are some of both), they are intriguing. All in all, it’s an interesting bit of historical fiction that kept me interested til the very last page.
The Woman Before Wallis is Bryn Turnbull’s debut novel. It is well written and clearly heavily researched. The novel covers two decades in Thelma Morgan Converse Furness’ life.
The Transatlantic scandal must have rocked the world, or at least, the smallish circle of high society that Gloria Vanderbilt and her sister, Thelma, travelled in. I didn’t know Gloria Vanderbilt had a twin sister, let alone that her twin was the one-time mistress of the Prince of Wales.
Thelma’s (and Gloria’s) story is very interesting, and Ms. Turnbull’s dramatic period piece truly does their story justice. Social norms on the 1920s and 1930s make it hard to envy these women despite the romanticized version of them dripping jewels, dressed in gowns and traveling in posh style. Multiple divorces, affairs, a betrayal, and an ugly custody battle coupled with the flamboyant and frivolous behavior of the wealthy make for a sizzling, compulsive read. It is the type of juicy scandal that once it hits the tabloids, (current day) celebrity/royal followers couldn’t get enough of it.
I enjoyed learning about both Thelma and Gloria. Beyond their scandal-filled lives, their story is also about their bond and support of one another. Having just binge watched The Crown, I found The Woman Before Wallis to be a fascinating historical fiction.