Her Lotus Year: China, The Roaring Twenties and the Making of Wallis Simpson

Her Lotus Year is a fascinating and revealing look at Wallis Simpson's controversial and formative year in China in the 1920s, challenging the negative portrayal of her by the British Establishment. Paul French, a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian of China, uncovers a different picture of a woman of courage who may have acted as a courier for the US government and undertaken dangerous undercover diplomatic missions in a China torn by civil war. Despite the challenges she faced, she emerged from the year as the elegant, stylish, cosmopolitan, and worldly woman for whom a king gave up his throne.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2024
Publisher: Elliott & Thompson Limited

The story of Wallis Simpson's controversial and formative year in China in the 1920s is a captivating tale that has been told by a number of prominent figures in the literary world. Wallis Simpson, the former Duchess of Windsor, described her time in China as her "Lotus Year," referring to Homer's Lotus Eaters, a group living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness, never to return home. However, that year was also used to damn her in the eyes of the British Establishment. Determined to "save the monarchy," the British government's "China Dossier of Walliss rumoured amorous and immoral activities in the Far East portrayed her as sordid, debauched, influenced by foreign agents, and unfit to marry a king. But little was really known about how she spent that mysterious period in her life – until now. Paul French, the New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian of China, uncovers a completely different picture, portraying a woman of tremendous courage who may have acted as a courier for the US government, undertaking dangerous undercover diplomatic missions in a China torn by civil war. Despite the many challenges she faced, from violent riots to the breakdown of her abusive first marriage, it was there that she established her confidence and independence, developed her unique fashion sense, and forged friendships that would last a lifetime. She emerged from that year as the elegant, stylish, cosmopolitan, and worldly woman for whom a king gave up his throne. Her Lotus Year takes a headlong dive into Walliss early, formative years – from her childhood in a wealthy British family to her arrival in China as a young woman in search of adventure and a new life. It is a story of love, betrayal, and redemption, and it sheds new light on the enigmatic figure of Wallis Simpson.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 242 x 160 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783968183