England, 1936. The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous, and single. By year's end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a second World War were becoming impossible to ignore. In pitch-perfect prose, Juliet Nicolson has captured an era in which duty and pleasure, tradition and novelty, and order and chaos all battled for supremacy in the hearts and minds of king and commoner alike. As addictive as Downton Abbey, Abdication is a breathtaking story inspired by a love affair that shook the world. "I was completely gripped by the story of David and Wallis Simpson…But no less compellingly drawn were the rest of Juliet Nicolson's cast of characters…I'm in awe of Juliet's ability to move from nonficition to fiction so seamlessly." "Anyone interested in the 1930s will revel in this richly detailed slant on the abdication crisis." "Nicolson's eye for period detail is spot-on, and her characterizations of the main players are superb…This is a delightful story of a friendship forged by the drama of the abdication and the approaching war; ideal for the intelligent deckchair." "Absorbing…As the abdication crisis deepens and Britain is thrust ever closer to the perils of war, the lives of Nicolson's characters undergo significant changes, all rendered by her keen comprehension of human nature."
