THAT WOMAN The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

With a shrewd eye toward the spoils, Wallace Simpson, later the Duchess of Windsor, dedicated herself to years of hobnobbing and the occasional double-crossing of true friends to climb to the top of the social ladder. Samantha Bond is a regal-sounding British performer whose voice is strong enough to portray Wallace’s deliberate escape from her drab days in the middle class. Bond portrays Wallace’s strategies of enchanting businessmen, artists, dignitaries, and aristocrats while carelessly using many of those who cared for her. Elegantly, Bond describes details of Simpson’s early life as well, her relationship with her parents and her marriages, affairs, and exotic rendezvous, capturing the essence of what made this complicated yet transparent woman tick. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2012]