WALLIS IN LOVE by Andrew Morton (Michael O’Mara £9.99, 400 pp)
WALLIS IN LOVE
by Andrew Morton (Michael O’Mara £9.99, 400 pp)
She was the American divorcée who cost a King his throne and caused an irreparable rift within the Royal Family. Wallis Simpson’s story has been usually told from the British perspective.
Wallis’s own journey is less well known. Wallis, a 37-year old, bored Prince of Wales who had a tendency to have affairs with married women at the time that she met Edward, was an experienced woman who could rewrite her story.
Andrew Morton is a Royal biographer who explores the story behind the couture clothing and the rigidly laquered hair. It is the portrait of a complex and enigmatic woman who nearly certainly gave Edward his crown when he renounced it for her love.
LIFE SUPPORT by Jim Down (Viking £9.99, 240 pp)
LIFE SUPPORT
by Jim Down (Viking £9.99, 240 pp)
People clapped for their carers during lockdown to show gratitude to the NHS What was it like for the nurses and doctors who were at the forefront of the Covid crisis’s unfolding?
Dr Jim Down is a critical care consultant at University College Hospital in central London and his remarkable book documents his and his colleagues’ experience of work during the pandemic. His book describes the uncertainties of March 2020, when it was difficult to prepare for an increase in admissions while life went on as usual.
Jim describes his experience with more and more sick patients arriving at the unit. The team faced many challenges, including losing patients. Jim also discusses the thrill of seeing people respond to the new treatments. Humane and deeply moving, Jim’s book questions the future of healthcare in Britain.
THE WESTERN FRRONT
THE WESTERN FRONT Nick Lloyd (Penguin £12.99, 688 pp)
by Nick Lloyd (Penguin £12.99, 688 pp)
While the Great War may be history now, its atrocities are still vividly remembered.
Nick Lloyd’s history of the Western Front, where the majority of British soldiers fell, opens with the declaration of war, ending with the signing of the Armistice and the German Kaiser’s humiliating renunciation of his imperial throne.
Lloyd provides a fascinating insight into the thoughts of senior commanders in the French, British and American armies.
This short history of his life is part one of a trilogy. Later volumes will include the Eastern Front, as well the wars in other theatres like the Middle East.