| Title | : | The Windsor Faction |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1605984787 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781605984780 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2013 |
| Awards | : | Sidewise Award Long Form (2013) |
It is autumn 1939, and everything in history is just as it was. Except, that is, for the identity of the king in Buckingham Palace—and the existence of a secret organization operating at the highest levels of society and determined to derail the war effort against Nazi Germany. The Windsor Faction is an ingenious exercise in what-might-have-been that assembles a cast of real and imaginary characters in a horrifyingly plausible re-invention of history.
The Windsor Faction Reviews
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This alternate history novel imagines what the world might have been like if Wallis Simpson had died before Edward could renounce his throne for her, concentrating mainly on the war years.
It’s a fiercely intelligent book with an excellent point to make and I did enjoy it...
You can feel the ‘but’ coming, can’t you?
Well, the thing is, as well thought out as it is, it is lacking somewhat in heart. Somebody needs to visit the Wizard of Oz. It’s incredibly dry and this lack of sparkle reduces what could easily have been a four or five star book to a three, I’m afraid. For me, anyway; as ever, your mileage may vary. -
The premise of this novel is that Wallis Simpson died in an operation and there was no abdication. With King Edward VIII seemingly receptive to a peaceful resolution with Germany, the environment is set for serious skullduggery among Britain's anti-Semites and others looking to advance themselves in the event of a new order. I admit that I almost bailed on this one--it's bewildering at first, without a single major character emerging or a consistent point of view to follow. The demise of Mrs. Simpson is described through news articles and overheard conversations. Then the scene shifts to Ceylon, where we meet a bland and passive young woman who ends up having a traumatic experience. We are then privy to the diary of Beverley Nichols, a gay garden writer and socialite based on a true person. Things get much more amusing when narrated by Mr. Nichols, though he also has a role in pushing the plot forward. The book appropriately uses plot elements straight out of pre-war spy thrillers, but on the whole it is a complicated literary novel, told from multiple points of view, and including numerous characters taken from history, such as Captain Archibald Ramsay and Tyler Kent.
Characters such as Mr. Nichols or Desmond, the editor of a Bloomsbury literacy magazine, seem almost comically self-delusional, to the extent that at first I wondered if one or more was included just to lighten things up, but no, these characters participate seriously in the novel's unfolding plot. One scene--a fundraising party for the struggling magazine--appears at first broadly drawn and satirical, but then events occur that delineate exactly how vulnerable some of the population was in those days.
This novel is worth sticking with and the pace does quicken. I'm glad I discovered it at the public library. -
2.5 stars.
Bad advertising campaign; it's being sold as something (alternative history thriller) it isn't. (What it is, is literary fiction.)
For a further review:
http://susannag.booklikes.com/post/75... . -
I'm an sucker for World War II history and fiction, and if it's alternative history, then I lose all resistance whatsoever. Robert Harris's Fatherland, Stephen Fry's Making History, Jo Walton's Small Change trilogy, Kate Atkinson's Life After Life; they're just a few of the books in this sub- sub-genre I've enjoyed, and I have C. J. Sansom's Dominion waiting.
Of course, then, when I hear about a book that imagines Edward VIII doesn't abdicate and is on the throne during the first year of the war (the period known as the Phoney War), I'm all in. You'll remember that Edward VIII, like many of his aristocratic pals, thought the Nazis were just swell and should be allowed free reign in central Europe. It makes for a compelling premise, then, to imagine the what-ifs of Edward VIII still wearing the crown.
The "Windsor Faction" is a group of right-wingers, including politicians, civil servants, journalists and military officers who are certain the Nazis can be dealt with civilly, and there is no good reason to go to war over the Slavs––and certainly not over the Jews. Many of the Faction's members––and a distressingly high number of ordinary Britons––have bought into the notion that this is a war engineered by Jews, for their financial benefit.
Author D. J. Taylor presents Edward VIII more subtly than I expected. He isn't written as the empty-headed socialite with anti-Semite proclivities who is often presented in literature and history. He is a World War I veteran and wants to avoid the senseless slaughter of that war. He hopes that actively engaging the Germans in peace talks will prevent the Phoney War from heating up into the real thing, with the price being, at most, giving Germany free reign in countries where there are large ethnic German populations, in exchange for their promise to treat non-Aryans humanely.
Taylor tells the story from several points of view, including the King, journalist and gay bon vivant Beverley Nichols, a shop clerk who passes messages for the Faction, an MI-5 agent, and Cynthia Kirkpatrick, a young woman just returned to England from several years living with her family in what was then the British colony of Ceylon. We follow Cynthia's reintroduction to London life, employment at a literary magazine, and acquaintance with characters who take different positions on the war. She is ambivalent, but she will be forced to choose, and this is what gives the story its thriller plot.
As with most historical novels, The Windsor Faction includes a mix of real and imagined characters. Here, though, Taylor takes the daring step of placing several real figures in the Faction. Captain Ramsay is based on Archibald Ramsay, the MP who led the "Right Club," a Fascist organization on which the Faction is based. Beverley Nichols was a real-life journalist, social gadfly and pacifist who, in The Windsor Faction, is represented by fictional journal entries detailing his helping the King insert peace propaganda into the monarch's traditional Christmas Day broadcast––along with asides about Noël Coward and allusions to Nichols's assignations with young men who make a habit of lifting his belongings. Tyler Kent was an American cipher clerk at the American Embassy who, in this novel, is part of the Faction and regularly conspiring with Captain Ramsay.
While I found the novel's ideas compelling, and its depiction of London during the Phoney War evocative, there are some weak points in the execution. The most significant is the Cynthia character. She's so ineffectual that I wanted to give her a kick in the pants. She has the puzzling habit of sleeping with men she doesn't like, apparently just because they want her to. I didn't expect her to turn into some kind of superhero in the thriller plot, but she was so passive most of the time that it was frustrating. While someone in her position was a good choice of protagonist, her weak-willed character was hard to respect or identify with.
The writing style is a bit uneven as well. There is some beautiful and imaginative writing, but then there are some real clunkers and oddities, like comparing things to gravy (of all things) so often throughout the book that it was distracting. The book is also very talky for about two-thirds its length, when it suddenly turns into a thriller––one that strains credulity at times.
The book is also likely to present some challenges to American readers, unless they have a depth of knowledge not only of the wartime history of England and its political figures, but also of cultural personalities. Most history buffs will know about Edward VIII, Churchill, Lord Halifax and a number of other less prominent characters in the story. But I doubt many Americans will have any idea who Archibald Ramsay, Beverley Nichols and Tyler Kent were, and they are major characters. While I don't think that is a huge problem, it makes for a layer of meaning and nuance that will be missing.
With these caveats, I would recommend The Windsor Faction to readers with a strong interest in World War II alternate history novels. Despite its faults, Taylor's evocation of London's atmosphere and the depiction of its citizens during the Phoney War is compelling.
Note: I received a free review copy of this book. -
I bought it thinking it was going to be a thriller, and loved what it actually is, i.e. a highly literary depiction of the Phony War. Wallis Simpson dies in the prologue, and is thereafter barely mentioned. Edward VIII remains on the throne (a bit problematic given the novel's own timeframe; by December, 1936 things had progressed to the point where it is doubtful Edward could have stayed even without Mrs. Simpson hovering around Fort Belvedere) and the novel picks up the story in 1939 as war breaks out.
At which point The Windsor Faction turns into a sly examination of the Phony War, the period between October, 1939 and the Western offensive of May/June 1940. Taylor takes us into several scenarios, some of which deal with the appeasement faction that continued in operation right up until the invasion of France. They make attempts to involve the King, who does wind up giving a hesitant endorsement of a negotiated peace. Whereupon he is packed off by his government to visit hospitals and military bases in the north of England. At the end of the book Edward manages to write a self-pitying note of thanks to Beverly Nichols, his "contact" with the appeasement . . . party is far too strong a description. Sympathizers? Taylor is perfectly aware that George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon belonged to this group in real life (both liked Chamberlain and were deeply suspicious of Churchill at the start of the war) and his point is simple: it really didn't matter which Windsor's royal duff was parked on the throne, the entire war was far too serious for the opinions of the Royal Family to matter.
If there is a hero(ine), it is Cynthia, a colonial's daughter who returns to England with her parents just as the war begins. She goes to work for Duration, a homage to the literary magazine Waugh planned to found that was supposed to last for the length of the war. Cyril Connolly beat him to it with Horizon. The magazine office is peopled by a collection of characters that would do a Waugh novel proud, and largely through them, we get an effective look at the tedium and excitement of the first seven months of World War II.
Again, not a thriller, although it has superficial elements of one. A major character is kidnapped. There is a meeting with German intelligence on an Irish beach. Neither event goes much of anywhere. When the Germans invade France, the novel comes to a quick end, almost as though the characters are galvanized at last.
The writing is of a high order. Taylor has been shortlisted for the Booker, and it is easy to see why.This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I would give it a chance if the period is interesting to you. Not Wallis and Edward, mind you. -
If Wallis Simpson had not died on the operating table in December 1936, Edward VIII would not be King of England three years later. He would have abdicated for "the woman he loves," but now, the throne is his. If Henry Bannister's car had not careered off the Colombo back-roads in the summer before the war, Cynthia Kirkpatrick would never have found out about The Faction.
It is autumn 1939, and everything in history is just as it was. Except, that is, for the identity of the king in Buckingham Palace--and the existence of a secret organization operating at the highest levels of society and determined to derail the war effort against Nazi Germany. The Windsor Faction is an ingenious exercise in what-might-have-been that assembles a cast of real and imaginary characters in a horrifyingly plausible re-invention of history.
One of the main characters is Cynthia who Kirkpatrick who works for the Duration, a newly-founded literary magazine. She finds herself at the center of a web of intrigue. There are parties held in wealthy country houses where guests try to size up each other and decide who is for and against the war. A clerk from the American Embassy pilfers presidential telegrams and everyone is under suspicion as M15 widens their net.
Journalist Beverly Nichols is working on the most important undertaking of his life: a secret King's speech that will shock England. As Hitler's armies encroach further into Europe, Cynthia discovers that choosing sides can be very dangerous.
Taylor goes into the minutia of detailing the daily activities of the main characters so that the reader feels as if he were among the English waiting for war. The routine actions contrast with the overwhelming certainty that war will not be avoided.
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published September 25th 2013 by "Pegasus" (first published S -
What if Wallis Simpson had died, removing Edward VIII's reason for abdication? Would there have been conciliation with Hitler? This alternate history, mostly set in 1939, is not as straightforward as you'd think but it is utterly engrossing, led by a host of intriguing male and female characters, each of whom is vividly brought to life, including Edward himself. Very thought-provoking and well told.
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To be honest, I wasn't impressed with this book. The title was misleading, the plot was odd, the narrative was disjointed and I am still not sure how the individual stories fit together. Not really a book I would ever recommend to any type of reader.
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75 pages in, I'd rather watch reruns and play Angry Birds. Nothing to hold my attention, characters seem anemic and not terribly likeable and little information is provided about what are supposedly the surrounding events. Too many books and too little time to go on with this one.
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Poor execution of an interesting premise. The central character was just unbelievable and the dialogue was weak. A wallbanger -- as in toss it against the wall and wonder why I bothered.
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This book received an average of three stars? What a crock. I wouldn't recommend reading anything by this author.
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Imagine a world where Edward didn't marry Mrs Simpson because she died of heart failure on the operating table. Well that world is pretty much the same as the one that happened. Hitler still invaded Poland, Churchill still became PM. We are still at war with Germany. It's not a "butterfly flaps its wings and suddenly Lord Halifax is the PM and loses the war" kind of deal.
Our Alice down the rabbit hole is Cynthia, lately of Colombo, Ceylon, returned to London for the duration. She gets i) a job on a Scamp-style magazine and ii) wrapped up in a spy plot as the spy-catchers hunt down the King's Party, a pro-fascist group. Some of the characters are bit-players from real life (don't make the mistake of Wikipedia-ing them otherwise you'll spoil the plot), some are cameos, Orwell, about whom D.J. Taylor wrote a biography, and Betjeman both turn up. IRL, Orwell wrote in his diaries that the intelligentsia and the bourgeois were traitors, trying to subvert the war effort, and in this book it is true.
Cynthia feels that she is in a play, that in the magazine's dim office feels like it's underwater, that landscape is a painting, that people are playing parts; this all unreal. It's not quite The Man In The High Castle unreal, in which the characters surmise there's another universe where Japan/Germany didn't win the war.
Taylor's MO seems to be "no flat characters": even the errand boy, taking the McGuffin list of Right Club names from person to person, is given a background, motivation, desires and fears, and while this is engaging, it is also a slight weakness. But what's happening to Cynthia, you wonder, whilst there's a chapter on a secret service operator's love life. Cynthia herself has an ambiguously happy ending, and the novel comes full circle as she once again ends up in foreign climes, as if the last two years have been an unreal dream. -
Alternate histories hinge on one turning point, one moment when our history zigged and the other zagged. In D.J. Taylor’s The Windsor Faction, that moment came in 1936 when Wallis Simpson died rather than caused the abdication crisis. Edward VIII, in this history, stayed king through 1939 and on, rather than his brother, George VI. In our history, Edward was a German sympathizer. (In fact, if you look him up on Wikipedia, you’ll see a picture of him from 1937 with Hitler.) World War II was inevitable. You’d have to change more than Wallis Simpson’s fate to change that. The Windsor Faction revolves around an attempt by some men in the British government who are definitely not the heads of state trying to negotiate peace with Germany before anyone actually starts fighting...
Read the rest of my review at
A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration. -
I struggle to grasp why The Windsor Faction has a low average rating of just 2.80 on Goodreads. It's a mature, engrossing and very readable novel populated by a cast of fascinating characters and with a fair share of jeopardy and intrigue. Perhaps it has something to do with the look of the book and the way it seems to be marketed as an out and out thriller; while it certainly has some classic thriller elements, it's a more subtle book than that, delving deep into the motivations that drove some elements of the British establishment in the early days of the war (either through sympathy with fascism or a belief in peace at all costs) to attempt to broker a rapprochement with Nazi Germany behind the back of the UK government. The Windsor Faction is an alternative history, predicated on Edward VIII not having abdicated in 1936, Wallis Simpson having died unexpectedly before he could take that drastic step, but Taylor uses that one counter-factual event as a catalyst to develop and explore undercurrents that already existed in British society. He does so triumphantly and with real feeling.
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Like Taylor's
Derby Day: A Novel, which I adored, this is a slow-paced novel with multiple characters and points of view, culminating in a slow-motion crash of characters and events told in an epilogue. There are lots of plot elements (Edward VIII is on the throne, Nazi sympathizers are attempting to influence the King, spies and traitors are everywhere, scenes are set in Ceylon, London and the English countryside), but read this for Taylor's perceptive, vivid prose. -
This book came highly recommended by the blog Cosy Books, and the premise appealed: Wallis Simpson dies, there is no abdication and Britain slouches towards war with a peripatetic butter-haired monarch, who is constantly muddying the waters with his mild Nazi sympathies/ineptitude/wishes of peace. Not so much an alternative history as a shade of difference - but beautifully executed and sustained throughout.
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An interesting and detailed 'hypothetical history' with some entertaining characters. I found the plor rather slow-burning - the first third of the book was introductory, the second third building gradually, and it was only the final third where anything actually happened. I liked that the heroine was plausibly morally ambiguous, but her apathy towards all the event happening around her was rather frustrating.
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Very disappointing. It was not really and alternative history. So much more could have been done with the concept of the king not abdicating. There were too many characters that had no purpose. You kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. Don’t read it!!
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terribly boring.
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Fantastic. I have now ordered all the other books I can find by D J Taylor at the library.
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The Windsor Faction is an alternative history about the beginnings of World War II and the desire on the part of some, called the King's Party or the Windsor Faction, to stop the war before it really began by negotiating peace with Hitler. The book begins with the death of Wallis Simpson from appendicitis before she and Edward could marry and his abdication. So in this book, he remains the king. Because of his own experiences in World War I, Edward is reluctant to see England dragged into another tragedy so he is encouraged by the Faction to put pressure on the government to negotiate. In the meantime, there are forces at work in the government trying to find out the names of the people in the Faction and arrest them for treason. Into all of this Cynthia, a young woman working for a new magazine, is drawn. Reluctantly, she agrees to acquire incriminating evidence against the Faction and is drawn into a dangerous situation.
It took me about 140 pages to really get into this book. I kept going because the story seemed to have possibilities, and after getting that far, I kept at it and finished it. The problem with the beginning of the story is that there are a multitude of characters with stories that seem to have nothing in common at all. So just as I would get interested in part of it, the story would switch to something else with different people. But, things are eventually brought together and the book is an interesting blend of real people and creativity about what might have happened. Although I'm glad I read it, I'm not necessarily a big fan of alternative history. -
History shows us that public opinion in Britain during the Phoney War period (Sept. 1939 through May 1940) at the beginning of WWII included elements that opposed the war. Among those who opposed the war were those sympathetic to Germany, including significant a significant anti-semitic component, and pacifists who opposed the war on principle. Among those who are believed to have been sympathetic to Germany was the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII.
But what if Edward had not abdicated the throne to his brother? Would a sympathetic monarch embolden the opposition to the war? Such is the premise of this book, which opens with the funeral of Wallis Simpson in December of 1936. Unable to marry his love, Edward remains on the throne as the war looms, those opposed to the war look to him for guidance.
This is not a grand re-writing of history, but rather more of an exploration of the nature of the opposition to the war during the period between the declaration of war and the actual outbreak of hostilities. It explores the motives and actions of those on both sides of the issue, illuminating how this strange prologue to a long and bitter war impacted a nation.
While the premise of this book was interesting and the characters and plot intriguing, I found the pacing to be slow almost to the point of tediousness. And while I enjoyed the story overall, it was a bit of a chore to read, and had it been any less compelling, I probably wouldn't have been able to bring myself to trudge all the way through to the end. -
This "what if" story by D.J Taylor is well written and very intriguing. Ever wonder what would have happened during WWII if Edward VIII didnt abdicate his throne for Wallis Simpson and became king instead? D.J Taylor explores the unknown with thought provoking historical scenarios during "King Edward VIII" 's reign. Filled with real and imagined characters, this engrossing tale captures an era of wartime and politics.
The only drawback might be that only true history buffs can get the full effect of this novel since there are so many historical points the author has drawn from. If a common reader who doesnt have a complete knowledge of the Phoney War or 1930s to 40s politicians during the monarchy may not understand the true depth and effect of this novel. However, this doesnt mean that readers from any background cant enjoy "The Windsor Faction". I will definitely be recommending this book to any imaginative history buffs and bookworms. Two thumbs up!! -
In dieser alternate history stirbt Wallis Simpson, bevor der englische König Edward ihretwegen abdanken kann. Die echte Geschichte rund um Bertie kennt man aus "The King's Speech" - das macht das Einreihen der alternativen Handlung doch deutlich einfacher.
König Edward wird auch diese Weihnachtsansprache halten, doch wird sie sich im Inhalt unterscheiden.
D.J. Taylor drückt gar allzuviele Worte aus der Zeit in den Text: das Buch wäre perfekt am Kindle, um dort das Wörterbuch schnell und einfach zu befragen.
Die Handlung folgt vielen Charakteren, aber sie geht flott dahin, und man hat das Buch recht schnell ausgelesen. Die Ansprache bildet den ersten Höhepunkt, das Ende der Geschichte lässt zwar nicht viel offen aber ist dennoch nicht ganz zufriedenstellend. Daher nur 3,5 Sterne. -
A very evocative reimagining of late 1939 into 1940 with Edward VIII on the throne, Mrs Simpson having died previously. The story surrounds the Kings Faction, a clandestine group of fascists who want to deal with Hitler to keep Britain out of any war.
Cynthia Kirkpatrick, ex expat now living in London as a secretary to a magazine publisher, finds herself caught up in this, first peripherally then more and more.
Beautifully written and hugely evocative of the period. What starts as a very much above average thriller deteriorates into a bit of an average one as it goes on. Still, very enjoyable, especially the characters who are all very believable both as people and in this time period.
