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caroparr's review
3.0
Like Taylor's [b:Derby Day: A Novel|12584210|Derby Day A Novel|D.J. Taylor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347954638s/12584210.jpg|16476935], which I adored, this is a slow-paced novel with multiple characters and points of view, culminating in a slow-motion crash of characters and events told in an epilogue. There are lots of plot elements (Edward VIII is on the throne, Nazi sympathizers are attempting to influence the King, spies and traitors are everywhere, scenes are set in Ceylon, London and the English countryside), but read this for Taylor's perceptive, vivid prose.
cwebb's review
4.0
In dieser alternate history stirbt Wallis Simpson, bevor der englische König Edward ihretwegen abdanken kann. Die echte Geschichte rund um Bertie kennt man aus "The King's Speech" - das macht das Einreihen der alternativen Handlung doch deutlich einfacher.
König Edward wird auch diese Weihnachtsansprache halten, doch wird sie sich im Inhalt unterscheiden.
D.J. Taylor drückt gar allzuviele Worte aus der Zeit in den Text: das Buch wäre perfekt am Kindle, um dort das Wörterbuch schnell und einfach zu befragen.
Die Handlung folgt vielen Charakteren, aber sie geht flott dahin, und man hat das Buch recht schnell ausgelesen. Die Ansprache bildet den ersten Höhepunkt, das Ende der Geschichte lässt zwar nicht viel offen aber ist dennoch nicht ganz zufriedenstellend. Daher nur 3,5 Sterne.
König Edward wird auch diese Weihnachtsansprache halten, doch wird sie sich im Inhalt unterscheiden.
D.J. Taylor drückt gar allzuviele Worte aus der Zeit in den Text: das Buch wäre perfekt am Kindle, um dort das Wörterbuch schnell und einfach zu befragen.
Die Handlung folgt vielen Charakteren, aber sie geht flott dahin, und man hat das Buch recht schnell ausgelesen. Die Ansprache bildet den ersten Höhepunkt, das Ende der Geschichte lässt zwar nicht viel offen aber ist dennoch nicht ganz zufriedenstellend. Daher nur 3,5 Sterne.
iwishbeautifulthings's review
Very boring, wasn't invested in anything going on, didn't care enough to pay attention to what I was reading
abookishtype's review
2.0
Alternate histories hinge on one turning point, one moment when our history zigged and the other zagged. In D.J. Taylor’s The Windsor Faction, that moment came in 1936 when Wallis Simpson died rather than caused the abdication crisis. Edward VIII, in this history, stayed king through 1939 and on, rather than his brother, George VI. In our history, Edward was a German sympathizer. (In fact, if you look him up on Wikipedia, you’ll see a picture of him from 1937 with Hitler.) World War II was inevitable. You’d have to change more than Wallis Simpson’s fate to change that. The Windsor Faction revolves around an attempt by some men in the British government who are definitely not the heads of state trying to negotiate peace with Germany before anyone actually starts fighting...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
pturnbull's review
4.0
The premise of this novel is that Wallis Simpson died in an operation and there was no abdication. With King Edward VIII seemingly receptive to a peaceful resolution with Germany, the environment is set for serious skullduggery among Britain's anti-Semites and others looking to advance themselves in the event of a new order. I admit that I almost bailed on this one--it's bewildering at first, without a single major character emerging or a consistent point of view to follow. The demise of Mrs. Simpson is described through news articles and overheard conversations. Then the scene shifts to Ceylon, where we meet a bland and passive young woman who ends up having a traumatic experience. We are then privy to the diary of Beverley Nichols, a gay garden writer and socialite based on a true person. Things get much more amusing when narrated by Mr. Nichols, though he also has a role in pushing the plot forward. The book appropriately uses plot elements straight out of pre-war spy thrillers, but on the whole it is a complicated literary novel, told from multiple points of view, and including numerous characters taken from history, such as Captain Archibald Ramsay and Tyler Kent.
Characters such as Mr. Nichols or Desmond, the editor of a Bloomsbury literacy magazine, seem almost comically self-delusional, to the extent that at first I wondered if one or more was included just to lighten things up, but no, these characters participate seriously in the novel's unfolding plot. One scene--a fundraising party for the struggling magazine--appears at first broadly drawn and satirical, but then events occur that delineate exactly how vulnerable some of the population was in those days.
This novel is worth sticking with and the pace does quicken. I'm glad I discovered it at the public library.
Characters such as Mr. Nichols or Desmond, the editor of a Bloomsbury literacy magazine, seem almost comically self-delusional, to the extent that at first I wondered if one or more was included just to lighten things up, but no, these characters participate seriously in the novel's unfolding plot. One scene--a fundraising party for the struggling magazine--appears at first broadly drawn and satirical, but then events occur that delineate exactly how vulnerable some of the population was in those days.
This novel is worth sticking with and the pace does quicken. I'm glad I discovered it at the public library.
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