Behind Closed Doors

An illuminating and moving portrait of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, in her later years after the Duke’s death.

The true story behind the film The Duchess and I, starring Isabella Rosselini and Joan Collins

Acclaimed biographer Hugo Vickers holds an encyclopedic knowledge of the Royal Family, but his his fascination with the Duchess of Windsor runs deeper, going back to his own youth. Long misunderstood, the Duchess of Windsor and her story has both fascinated and polarized. While there have been many books the doomed couple, Behind Closed Doors brings a new perspective to Wallis specifically by focusing on the later years of exile.

While Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself—and he makes it very clear that Wallis did not lure the King from the throne—the drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an old sick woman after the death of her husband. Readers will be shocked by the ruthless French lawyer known as Suzanne Blum and come to understand how the Duchess's precarious position once she was widowed only added to her plight. Her once-glamorous life quickly spiralled into one of desperation and fear.

Using previously unpublished papers and other personal testaments, Hugo Vickers paints a resonant portrait of a complex and tragic icon and reveals the truth behind her final years.