My full review is at https://www.mwgerard.com/lotus-year/

It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have an opinion about Wallis Simpson — even harder to find someone with a good opinion of her. Even the staunch mutual devotion of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor loses some of its sheen when you know that they basically honeymooned with high-level Nazis, including Hitler, Göring, and Goebbels.

But what if you could take a look at Simpson before any of that — before she was thrust into the international spotlight or deemed a viper who sought to destroy the British monarchy. In the 1920s, Wallis Simpson was then Wallis Warfield Spencer, a young woman from Baltimore who was trying to repair her marriage to an American aviator stationed in the Pacific.

Now out of the air and posted to an administrative role, Lt. Commander “Win” Spencer was even less of a pleasant husband. Assigned to Hong Kong, Wallis decided to visit Win to see what could be salvaged of their relationship. Not much, as it turned out, but she still vaguely followed his routes up the Chinese coastline. They eventually agreed divorce was the best option and separated until they could finalize the paperwork. Wallis headed inland, to Peking.

It was 1920s Peking (now Beijing) that Wallis spent most of what she called her “lotus year.” She stayed with friends, began to ride horses, encamped in ancient temples, and practiced the art of buying antiques and jade. She learned how to be herself (rather than a military wife) and to consider a future happiness. She also learned she loved the (well-to-do) expatriate lifestyle. She had a modest alimony payment from Win but she lived in a stylish hutong with the very wealthy Herman and Kitty Rogers. She partied on rooftops with other nouveau riche, diplomats, and expatriots.

This is a new look at a famous figure, set against a very specific time and place. It brings new perspective to both Wallis Simpson and 1920s legation Peking.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the review copy.