Wallis Simpson

The revealing story of the legendary Wallis Simpson’s controversial and formative year in China in the 1920s.

‘Compelling’ Dr Amanda Foreman

‘Fascinating’ Lisa See

‘Riveting’ Anne Sebba

‘Surprising’ Anne de Courcy

‘Convincing’ Hugo Vickers

‘Intriguing’ Julia Boyd

‘A book of fascinating revelations’ Laurence Leamer

‘Magisterial, beautifully written and impeccably researched’ Alexander Larman

In her memoirs, Wallis Simpson described her time in China as her ‘Lotus Year’, referring to Homer’s Lotus Eaters, a group living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness, never to return home. That year, however, was also used to damn her in the eyes of the British Establishment. Determined to ‘save’ the monarchy, the British government’s ‘China Dossier’ of Wallis’s rumoured amorous and immoral activities in the Far East portrayed her as sordid, debauched, influenced by foreign agents, and unfit to marry a king. But little was really known about how she spent that mysterious period in her life – until now. 

Paul French, the New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian of China, uncovers a completely different picture, portraying a woman of tremendous courage who may have acted as a courier for the US government, undertaking dangerous undercover diplomatic missions in a China torn by civil war. Despite the many challenges she faced, from violent riots to the breakdown of her abusive first marriage, it was there that she established her confidence and independence, developed her unique fashion sense, and forged friendships that would last a lifetime. She emerged from that year as the elegant, stylish, cosmopolitan and worldly woman for whom a king gave up his throne. 

Wallis Simpson: Her Lotus Year in 1920s China takes a headlong dive into Wallis’s early, formative years – and into the chaotic and thrilling China of the period – to explore the untold story of a woman too often maligned by history. 

‘This original and fascinating book makes you think of one of history’s supposed villains in an entirely new way.’ Daily Express, Best Books of 2025