The Crown in Crisis

Countdown to the Abdication

De: Alexander Larman

Narrado por: Richard Trinder

In December 1936, Britain faced a constitutional crisis that was the gravest threat to the institution of the monarchy since the execution of Charles I. The ruling monarch, Edward VIII, wished to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson and crown her as his Queen. His actions scandalised the Establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent.

An influential coalition formed against him, including the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, his private secretary Alec Hardinge, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the editor of The Times. Edward seemed fated to give up Wallis and remain a reluctant ruler, or to abdicate his throne. Yet he had his own supporters, too, including Winston Churchill, the Machiavellian newspaper proprietor Lord Beaverbrook and his brilliant adviser Walter Monckton. They offered him the chance to remain on the throne and keep Wallis. But was the price they asked too high?

Using previously unpublished and rare archival material, and new interviews with those who knew Edward and Wallis, The Crown in Crisis is the conclusive exploration of how an unthinkable and unprecedented event tore the country apart. This seismic event has been written about before but never with the ticking-clock suspense and pace of the thriller that it undoubtedly was for all of its participants. Painstakingly researched, incisively written and entirely fresh in its approach, The Crown in Crisis brings the events of that time to thrilling life, and in the process will appeal to an entirely new audience.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Excellent, well written, deeply researched, THE CROWN IN CRISIS is a dynamic revisionist history of the Abdication that brings to life a national and personal drama with a flamboyant cast of princes, charlatans, socialites, courtiers, press barons, politicians and adventurers that is both heartbreaking and glamorous, scholarly and very entertaining.

Alexander Larman's well-researched and well-written THE CROWN IN CRISIS is both scholarly and highly readable. He has mastered the sources superbly, and his analysis of the extraordinary story is full of thought-provoking insights.

Larman combines the personal with the political, high drama with low morals, to create a compulsively readable and comprehensive account. Anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of one of the key events of the 20th century, whose reverberations are still with us today, must read this engagingly fun and detailed book.

A completely fascinating and authoritative account of the Abdication Crisis, written with tremendous sophistication and insight.

Larman's retelling zips along, infusing a well-known narrative with impressive suspense. His scholarly rummaging has
turned up fresh insights, too, notably into the role played by MI5. An enduringly relevant chapter of British history, brought to life with panache

Larman is an amiable and talented young writer ... rendered with brio and dispatch ... always interesting (David Aaronovitch)

The person we must feel most pity for, at the end of this great and well-told story, is Wallis Simpson .. she comes
across as much more sensible and conscientious than Edward

A fresh look at a time of catastrophe for the royals, with new ideas about a plot to assassinate Edward VIII ... Larman shows a delicate touch too in not banging home the obvious contemporary resonances. Instead he lets us find our own fun

forensically researched ... Larman has done a fine job of explaining the religious, social and political issues involved

A gripping new book on the abdication crisis reveals how the ambitious former Champagne salesman wooed Wallis to ingratiate himself with King Edward VIII... fuelling rumours of an affair

In this absorbing new book, Alexander Larman takes us through the whole, tangled story with great clarity.

His friends loathed her. He fell out with his beloved brother over her. His sister-in-law couldn't stand her diva demands. And when Edward VIII relinquished his throne to emigrate with glamorous American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the very future of the British monarchy hung in the balance ... Alexander Larman brings together unpublished archive material and witness testimonies to reveal exactly what went on at the Palace - almost a century before 'Megxit'

Documenting the personal and national reverberations of the love affair, it's an engaging, detailed, and suspenseful read; one that is equal parts empathetic and entertaining. You will be gripped.