Abdication

March 26, 2012
Set in England in 1936, historian Nicolson’s debut novel explores the tumultuous love lives of two couples, set against the backdrop of a world bracing for another global conflict while still recovering from WWI. Prince of Wales Edward and American divorcée Wallis Simpson are entangled in a scandalous (real-life) love affair whose secrecy they try desperately to maintain, a challenge made all the more difficult after Edward’s ascension as king and concomitant thrust to the forefront of the public stage. Meanwhile, May Thomas, a chauffeur staying with Jewish relatives, falls in love with political Oxford undergraduate Julian Richardson, whose restlessness threatens their relationship. As if navigating an illicit royal love affair weren’t enough, Edward and Wallis’s situation becomes further complicated when Wallis’s childhood friend—the overweight “virgo intacta” Evangeline Nettlefold—shows up and her long-held resentments threaten to undo the monarchy. Though richly detailed and set in a dynamic time and place, the novel revolves primarily around the uninteresting and unlikable Evangeline, leaving the truly interesting characters of Edward and Wallis to wait in the wings. Agent: William Clark, William Clark Associates.

April 1, 2012
In historian Nicolson's (The Perfect Summer, 2005, etc.) first fiction, a Remains of the Day ambience is played out against the backdrop of George V's death and Edward VIII's ascension to the throne. Of course, Wallis Simpson plays a role. All this drama, plus a glimpse of Oswald Mosley and Germany's burgeoning anti-Semitism, is seen through the eyes of May Thomas, a young woman raised on a decrepit Barbados sugar plantation. To make her way in the world, and to escape an abusive father, May sails to England with her brother, Samuel. In London's East End, the siblings are welcomed by a cousin, Nat, now married into a family of Jewish tailors. Sam plans to volunteer for the Royal Navy, but May needs a job. She soon secures employment as a combination chauffeuse-secretary to Sir Philip Blunt, a man intrigued both by her femininity and her familiarity with bookkeeping and Rolls-Royces, skills learned on the sugar plantation. It happens Sir Philip is deeply embedded in the government's attempt to cope with the romance of the new king and Simpson. Nicolson writes knowledgeably of weekends in the country, swank parties and the ironic-supercilious posture of the British upper class. The novel rings with authenticity. The author's grandfather, Harold Nicolson, was an English author and politician during the era. With promise of a sequel lurking in the conclusion, the novel is a period drama ready to be adapted by the BBC and rerun on PBS.

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Starred review from May 1, 2012

This story never gets old: the besotted king, his cool American divorcee, the scheming politicians, and a compliant press keeping a nation in the dark. In this new version, Edward and Wallis are merely supporting players to the two main stars of the show: Evangeline Nettlefold, the maladroit schoolgirl chum of Wallis, and May Thomas, a clever and ambitious recent arrival from Barbados. These two cross paths when May is hired on as a chauffeur and aide to Sir Philip Blunt, a government minister, at the same time that Evangeline arrives in England at the invitation of Wallis and takes up residence in Sir Philip's household. Famous literary and political figures dot the narrative, which plays out against a backdrop of the Fascist rise to power in Europe and the fringe fascination in England with Nazi sympathizer Oswald Mosley. VERDICT Anyone requiring a post-Downton Abbey fix could do worse than this beguiling, Thirties-era, class-conscious soap opera, written by the granddaughter of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West. Enthusiastically recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 4/28/11.]--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

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