A really enjoyable read but all the same ever so slightly disappointing. It began with most of the elements I love in a story, a bit of history, some politics and told through the eyes of a female driver which gave it a bit of a feminist angle too. However, the story of the title - the abdication of Edward VIII - was not that prominent, just humming away in the background rather than being the main focus as I'd expected it to be. The main story rested on the experiences of May the female driver and that was a good story...just not what I wanted from a book of this title. Also, I felt that the story was built around a series of historical events rather than being integral to the characters...sometimes it felt a bit incongruous for example when May stumbled across a blackshirts meeting or when May and her brother just happened to sit opposite the Crystal Palace the night before it burns down. I like historical detail but I like it to really feel authentic for the characters. There was a lack of tension and intrigue to the plot, which was a shame really but any reader new to the time period would have learned lots of historical facts, which would hopefully encourage them to read more around the time period. I did enjoy this one but I just wish that Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII had been more central characters. Quite possibly the world's most boring book, and very deceptive in that it actually deals very little with the king abdication. The entire story is about two main characters who you never come to care about how their lives turn out, with a couple of sentences about the king and Wallis thrown in. I was very interested in the actual abdication and story of the events so I was looking forward to reading this. Most misleading book that lead to the biggest let down. I put it down for awhile at one point because I said to myself there are too many amazing books to read to waste time finishing the boring book, but I don't have it in me to give a book to the end. I wish I had never picked it up in the first place.
What do You think about Abdication. Juliet Nicolson (2012)?
I didn't get very far in this. The writing had a weak tea feel to me. Might have been my mood.
—jxxavier221998
the best novel I've read about the abdication period.
—1052550
