The Last of the Duchess - by Caroline Blackwood (Paperback)

About the Book

"The strange and sinister story of the final years of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor"--Cover.

Book Synopsis

The Last of the Duchess is the account of Caroline Blackwood's attempts to write a final article on The Duchess of Windsor, who spent her last years under the thumb of her eccentric lawyer. - "A sharply observed (and sometimes very funny) portrait of the frivolous world of wealth and luxury inhabited by the Windsors." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

In 1980, Lady Caroline Blackwood was given what she thought would be a simple task: write a Sunday Times article on the aging Duchess of Windsor, who was said to be convalescing in her rambling French mansion. Unknown to Blackwood, what began as an easy assignment would become one of the most troubling experiences of her writing career, and would launch her into a cat-and-mouse game of wits with the Duchess's grande dame of a protector, Suzanne Blum. Fiercely protective of her client, Maitre Blum refused to let Blackwood near the Duchess, spinning elaborate excuses as to why she was unavailable but threatening to sue anyone who dared suggest that the woman who once inspired a king to abdicate his crown was in less than the best of health. Blackwood turned her experiences into this riveting and excoriating modern classic about the frailties of old age, the foibles of society, and the dual-edged nature of celebrity.

"Beguiling. . . . Blackwood is witty, understated and perceptive." --The Washington Post

Review Quotes

"A sharply observed (and sometimes very funny) portrait of the frivolous world of wealth and luxury inhabited by the Windsors." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Beguiling. . . . Blackwood is witty, understated and perceptive." --The Washington Post

"The central character in The Last of the Duchess never appears at all but, like Godot in Beckett's play, becomes more powerful by her absence. . . . Brilliant--and brilliantly entertaining--journalism." --Chicago Tribune

"A fierce, scintillatingly funny report on a dying social circle." --The Independent (London)

About the Author

Caroline Blackwood, who began her writing career as a journalist, is the author of nine books, which include novels, collections of short stories, and a cookbook. She was awarded the David Higham Fiction Prize for her first novel, The Stepdaughter, and her novel Great Granny Webster was recommended for the Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist in 1977. She died in 1996.