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Another Woman's Husband: A Novel
Another Woman's Husband: A Novel
Another Woman's Husband: A Novel
Audiobook13 hours

Another Woman's Husband: A Novel

Written by Gill Paul

Narrated by Laura Aikman

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

As the world mourns the loss of Diana, Princess of Wales, one young woman uncovers a forgotten story of passion, betrayal, and a scandal surrounding the British crown in this unforgettable novel by the bestselling author of The Secret Wife.

Two women who challenged the Crown.

Divided by time. Bound by a secret...

1911: When fifteen-year-old Mary Kirk meets Wallis Warfield at summer camp, she’s immediately captivated by her fearless, brazen, and self-assured personality. And Wallis has a way with the boys who are drawn to her like moths to a flame. Though Mary’s family isn’t crazy about her new best friend, she steadfastly stands by her side—even years later when they’re adults and rumors swirl about Wallis and her reckless behavior with none other than the Prince of Wales. But when Mary’s loyalty to Wallis comes into question, their friendship will be put to the ultimate test.

1997: After a romantic proposal in Paris, Rachel and her fiancé Alex are in a cab when suddenly the car ahead crashes. They’re stunned to learn Princess Diana is in the car. By the wreckage, Alex finds a heart pendant with an engraved letter “J” and Roman numerals XVII and gives it to Rachel to hold. Haunted by the crash and Diana’s subsequent death, Rachel is intrigued when she discovers that Di had visited the last home of Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, only hours before the accident. Eventually, the revelation of a long-forgotten link to Wallis Simpson leads Rachel to the truth behind a scandal that shook the world...

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateAug 21, 2018
ISBN9780062882615
Author

Gill Paul

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book-club favourite worldwide. She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond.

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Reviews for Another Woman's Husband

Rating: 4.168918918918919 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a fascinating dual time story about two woman the British royal family found difficult to deal with: Princess Diana and Wallis Simpson. Both stories were told from a distance: from a friend of Wallis, and a witness to the crash that killed Diana. A very enjoyable and interesting read!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It seems quite popular lately in fiction to write a story with dual timelines with something connecting the two whether it be a book, a piece of jewelry or a castle. In Another Woman’s Husband the connection is a visit that Diana paid to Windsor Villa just outside of Paris on the day she died. That and a small platinum bracelet.The chapters that dealt with the life of Wallis Simpson were far more interesting to me than the ones that took place in the more modern era – although Diana did die 21 years ago so that is certainly “historical.” Just not enough so for me. It’s still just a little too much a part of my reality. This preference for the older sections is typical for me.I found the story of Wallis and her long time friend, Mary fascinating. This was a friendship forged early in their lives that stayed strong – as long as Mary performed her role and didn’t take from Wallis. Only Wallis could take and shine. As I noted above, people tend to have very strong feelings about Wallis – I for one don’t think very highly of her and this book did nothing to change my opinion. If anything it solidified it.The story that takes place in the present about the relationship between Rachel and Alex was nothing extraordinary. In truth I found that much of it just didn’t ring true for me and I was just reading through to get to the parts about Wallis and Mary. That was what the book was for me. The relationship between these women was the driver of the story and what I wanted to read. The rest was fluff.I am sure others will disagree with me and that is the beauty of reading. This book is delightful for the story of Wallis and Mary. Even if Wallis drove me to distraction – I expected that, she just is that kind of woman.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Story of Wallis Simpson told from the point of view of Mary one of her close friends. A parallel story story is told of a filmmaker and his fiancé who were at the scene of Diana’s fatal accident. Recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Of the two storylines, I found the one in 1997 to be of lesser interest to me. The two main characters could each be completely self-centered. I guess at least that's realistic.The story of Wallis and Mary was of more interest to me. Going into this I knew I would not like Wallis, but I did end up feeling sympathy for her at times. I wasn't expecting that I would ultimately be almost equally disgusted with Mary, though. Not only was what she did wrong, but it revealed in a cruel and cowardly way.Overall I did find it interesting to read about these well known people.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While I've read a few things about Wallis Simpson, I'd not really encountered the story of Mary Kirk and her entanglement with Wallis and Ernest Simpson, and so this novel breathed new life into the tale. Told alongside a more modern royal tragedy, the death of Princess Diana, this novel makes for a compelling read, as people caught up in the lives of royalty struggle to navigate their own fates. This novel makes for an excellent escape into a historical world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another Woman’s Husband opens in 1997 with Rachel and Alex returning from a romantic evening in Paris. But their lives will be forever altered when the car ahead of them crashes in the Alma Tunnel. As Alex leaps from the taxi to assist, he is appalled to find Princess Diana as one of the victims. This night would be a turning point for Rachel and Alex, both British citizens on holiday.The reader is next pulled back in time to 1911 when a young Mary Kirk meets Wallis Warfield at a summer camp. Mary is the quiet type of girl who is drawn to the self-assured, sometimes brazen, Wallis, who is a magnet for boys. This magnetism drew boys, and later men, to Wallis who seemed to thrive on the power she held in captivating them. But they were only conquests to Wallis who, it seemed, never really loved any of them. Perhaps it stemmed from the fact that Wallis and her mother were dependent on a rich uncle for their existence and Wallis was seeking security above all else. Both Mary Kirk and Wallis Warfield eventually found love and married. Their friendship remained life-long. Wallis eventually went on to marry the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who would abdicate the throne to take her as his wife.While Princess Diana was considered a Royal Rebel, she had much in common with Wallis Simpson. Both caused scandals for the Royal Family; both were headstrong women in search of love. And in the end, it was Princess Diana who still cared enough about Wallis to visit her up until the time of the latter’s death in 1986. Another Woman’s Husband is a skillfully woven tale of the secrets and mysteries that surround the Royal Family. Above all else, it is the tale of a friendship between two woman (Mary and Wallis) that survived the decades. But was the friendship more one-sided than is commonly known? And who is the other woman’s husband? I loved this story! Having read several other works of Gill Paul, I found this one to be her best. I was fascinated to learn more about the personality of Edward VIII and of the inner workings of London society in the early 1900s. The details surrounding Princess Diana’s demise were all too real to this reader as I recall watching the news coverage of her death back in 1997. Another Woman’s Husband had me turning the pages to learn even more. Although the story alternates between the two time periods, it somehow seems fluent and easy to follow. Readers interested in British Monarchy, the Royal Family, Princess Diana, or history in general will find this book fascinating and easy to read. And did I mention there is also romance involved?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a novel of historical fiction that has two parallel, but supposedly interlocking stories that link Princess Diana's death with Wallis Warfield Simpson and her friend, Mary Kirk, who ended up marrying Ernest Simpson.As with many of these kinds of novels (Julie and Julia comes to mind), the truly historical story is much more interesting than the modern one and I found myself skimming over the "modern" chapters because the plot line was flimsy and the characters fairly unlikable.The story of Wallis, her childhood friend, Mary, and their marital relations was interesting. An easy read for fans of the genre.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great escape novel. It's historical fiction, with Princess Diana and Wallace Simpson, it's hard to go wrong. It jumps between their time periods, managing somewhat to make an interesting connection between the two women. There are some plot inconsistencies, but still has beautiful surroundings, clothing, mystery, love, betrayal and friendship. I couldn't wait to get back to it, hard to put down.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gill Paul is an author who’s writing is superb and as you read her stories one cannot tell fact from fiction. In Another Woman’s Husband Gill takes us back in time to the summer of 1911 when Wallis Simpson first meets her best friend Mary Kirk at Miss Charlotte Noland’s summer camp. We get to witness their lives together and separate all the way till the end. I loved this half of the dueling timeline and learned things this history buff did not know. Don’t get me wrong the other half with the conspiracy of Princess Diana’s death was good but ... personally I would have been happy with this particular story being just a singular timeline. My favorite part of the 1997 timeline was Princess Diana’s friend Susie Hargreaves and would have preferred that she had a much larger role in the current timeline. Overall Another Woman’s Husband was a very enjoyable biographical type historical fiction story of two women who challenged the English Monarchy and changed history.I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a review. All options expressed in this review are completely my own.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Each generation seems to have at least one historical event that they so vividly remember, they can tell you where they were when it happened. I was in math class when the Challenger exploded. I was on the way to drop my two oldest off at preschool on 9/11 when the first plane hit. And I was at my family's summer cottage watching my baby son bounce in his Johnny-Jump-Up when I heard that Princess Diana had died. My mother and I watched that desperately sad funeral on an ancient TV with poor and intermittent reception. The worldwide reaction to her untimely death certainly proved she was the People's Princess and the Queen of Hearts even if her divorce from Prince Charles had rocked the British monarchy in a way not seen since Edward VIII's 1936 abdication to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Author Gill Paul connects these two very different women, each of whom had a lasting effect on the British monarchy, and connects them in her latest novel, Another Woman's Husband.Vintage clothing store owner Rachel and her boyfriend, documentary film maker Alex, are in Paris and have just gotten engaged when they come upon a terrible car accident in the Alma Tunnel on their way to dinner. They are stunned to discover that one of the car's passengers is Princess Diana. While Alex tries to help and comfort the trapped princess, Rachel tries to disperse the paparazzi who ghoulishly continue to photograph the crash and the injured princess. As Alex and Rachel finally leave the scene of the accident, Alex bends down and picks up a small platinum heart that must have come off of the princess' bracelet, giving it to Rachel to hold for safekeeping. After their return to England, Rachel is confronted with a break-in at her shop that she's not sure she can weather financially and Alex decides that he is the perfect person to film a documentary about Diana's death, especially now that certain aspects of it don't seem to add up to definitively calling it an accident. Rachel's financial woes and Alex's single minded absorption by the film, despite Rachel's misgivings about the ethicality of some of his methods, start to cause stress and unhappiness in their relationship even as their wedding draws closer.Alternating with the story of Rachel and Alex's strained relationship, is the story of Mary Kirk. When she is a young girl, she meets Bessiewallis Warfield at summer camp and then again later at school. She and the teenage Wallis become best of friends even if Mary feels consistently outshone by her flirtatious and outgoing friend. Mary is there for Wallis through their debutante year; when Wallis marries a glamorous, and it turns out alcoholic, pilot; through her disastrous divorce, through the deaths of Wallis' stepfather and then mother; she introduces Wallis to her second husband, Mary's friend Ernest Simpson; and even when she has clearly become the Prince of Wales' mistress. Mary's loyalty is unswerving until her own future happiness is on the line.The two story lines go back and forth with little to connect them until the end of the novel. Each of the two separate stories is told in third person limited, meaning that the reader sees Alex and how Rachel feels about their fraying connection only from her perspective and sees the scandalous but captivating Wallis through the eyes of Mary, her good friend and staunch defender for so many decades. The historical time line about the eventual Duchess of Windsor is far more interesting than the 1997 story but the latter is completely invented and imagines very little about Princess Diana's life, perhaps in deference to her sons, focusing instead on Rachel and Alex. The details on Wallis Simpson's life are fascinating and well researched and the afterword is clear about which details are culled from research and which are invented to help the story move along. Interestingly, none of the information on either Wallis or Diana contradicts the public perception of them. Diana was a good, kind, and beloved friend while Wallis was a selfish, Nazi-sympathizing social climber. The connection that Paul draws between the two women is a fragile one but it causes the entire novel to not only come together but makes it, retrospectively, go in the first place. Although the bulk of the information about Diana centers on her death and what really happened in the Alma Tunnel that night rather than her life before, during, and after her marriage to Charles, readers who are interested in the royal family will still enjoy this fun novel, especially if they have any interest in the Abdication Crisis and the woman who nearly toppled the British monarchy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wallis Simpson and Princess Diana were both women who ended up married to men who one day were destined to be the King of England. They got there in different ways and never knew each other, but author Gill Paul puts their stories together in her brilliant historical novel, Another Woman's Husband.Their stories are told through two other women- Mary Kirk, a real person who was best friends with Wallis Simpson since childhood, and Rachel, a fictional young British woman who owns a vintage clothing consignment shop.Rachel's documentary filmmaker boyfriend Alex has just asked her to marry him in the beautiful city of Paris on August 31st, 1997. As they are driving through a tunnel, they come across a car accident, with a gravely injured Princess Diana in the back seat of a car and dozens of paparazzi ghoulishly snapping photos of her.Alex tries to help, and he finds a small bracelet on the ground, which he picks up and gives to Rachel for safekeeping. They are horrified by the aftermath of the crash.Back home in England, the entire country is mourning the loss of Diana. Her death shocked the entire world, and Alex believes that he can make a good documentary about her death, especially when conspiracy theories pop up about whether she was murdered or it was just a tragic accident.In 1912 Virginia, teenage Wallis Warfield and Mary Kirk meet at a summer camp for girls and become fast friends. They end up at the same boarding school in Baltimore and become even closer.Mary is the prettier of the two, but Wallis is the wilder one. She is an outrageous flirt with the boys, and Mary takes a backseat to her more adventurous comrade.As the years go by, Wallis marries a war pilot, and Mary marries a romantic French pilot. When Wallis' marriage falls apart due to her husband's alcoholism, Mary is there for her friend. When Wallis' father, stepfather and mother all pass away, it is Mary who picks up the pieces of her friend's life.When Wallis begins an affair with a friend of Mary's, Mary is appalled, but doesn't end the friendship. Wallis and her new husband move to England, and Wallis becomes close to the Prince of Wales, the future King of England.Their relationship is scandalous, upsetting Wallis' husband and Mary, who finds her friend's behavior unacceptable.Another Woman's Husband is a terrific book, especially for Anglophiles and fans of shows like The Crown. Mary and Rachel's stories are fascinating, and telling Wallis and Diana's stories through these women adds a unique element to the novel.Many times dual timeline stories can be uneven; one story is much more interesting than the other. In Another Woman's Husband, I found all four women intriguing and couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next.Fans of vintage fashions will get an added element of enjoyment through Rachel's storyline as we read about the fabulous clothes she sells in her shop. And after reading Another Womans Husband, I will be looking for more books about Wallis Simpson- what a complicated woman she was!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It seems quite popular lately in fiction to write a story with dual timelines with something connecting the two whether it be a book, a piece of jewelry or a castle. In Another Woman’s Husband the connection is a visit that Diana paid to Windsor Villa just outside of Paris on the day she died. That and a small platinum bracelet.The chapters that dealt with the life of Wallis Simpson were far more interesting to me than the ones that took place in the more modern era – although Diana did die 21 years ago so that is certainly “historical.” Just not enough so for me. It’s still just a little too much a part of my reality. This preference for the older sections is typical for me.I found the story of Wallis and her long time friend, Mary fascinating. This was a friendship forged early in their lives that stayed strong – as long as Mary performed her role and didn’t take from Wallis. Only Wallis could take and shine. As I noted above, people tend to have very strong feelings about Wallis – I for one don’t think very highly of her and this book did nothing to change my opinion. If anything it solidified it.The story that takes place in the present about the relationship between Rachel and Alex was nothing extraordinary. In truth I found that much of it just didn’t ring true for me and I was just reading through to get to the parts about Wallis and Mary. That was what the book was for me. The relationship between these women was the driver of the story and what I wanted to read. The rest was fluff.I am sure others will disagree with me and that is the beauty of reading. This book is delightful for the story of Wallis and Mary. Even if Wallis drove me to distraction – I expected that, she just is that kind of woman.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When I read the synopsis of this book I knew it was a book I had to read. From being small I always loved the Royal Family. I still find them fascinating even now when there's very little mystery surrounding them. So a book that combines the life of Wallis Simpson and the aftermath of the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was always going to appeal to me.The obvious link between the two women is that they both, in their own way, caused a massive earthquake within the Royal Family. Wallis Simpson famously made Edward VIII so smitten with her that he abdicated the throne for her. And we all know about Diana's incredible effect on the world. But in this book there is another link which I'm not going to tell you about (read the book!).The Wallis side of the story is all about her and her school friend, Mary Kirk. The story is about their friendship which lasts for many years but Wallis's story is told from Mary's viewpoint so we see Wallis through an observer's eyes. Wallis is portrayed exactly as I expected her to be: selfish and flirtatious. I knew nothing about Mary but she definitely came out of the story in the best of lights and was the perfect antidote to Wallis really. The Diana part of the book, however, does not focus on her but is about Rachel and her partner, Alex, who find themselves behind Diana's car in the Alma Tunnel on that fateful night. Alex is a documentary maker and immediately turns to the obvious subject for a programme but Rachel has reservations about his motivation. Meanwhile, Rachel is running her vintage clothing shop and I loved that that was how she made her living. There's quite a bit of detail about the items she's selling there and I found this really interesting, especially when it helped to link other threads (excuse the pun) of the story.I do love a book that combines fact and fiction. It's clear that the author has done a lot of research for this book, but she also weaves fictional elements in seamlessly and I was pleased to see there were author's notes at the back of the book, explaining what was true and what wasn't as I could well have believed that it was all based on fact. It was so well done. I thought this was a really fabulous read. Right up my street with the dual time frame, the Royal connection and the history. The characters are well portrayed, both the real ones and the fictional ones. I was interested in all of their stories. The two sides of the story are told a couple of chapters at a time before we swap over and I love books that drip feed a story to the reader in that way. All in all this was a delight to read and although it's my first Gill Paul novel I just happen to have all of her others waiting to be read and I think her writing is something I will enjoy again in the future.