Author Description

Before He Fell In Love With Wallis Simpson, Edward Viii Had Fallen In Love With America. Edward's Fascination With America Was Not Unreciprocated. America Was Equally Fascinated By The Prince, Especially His Love Life, And He Became An International Media Celebrity Through Newsreels, Radio, And The Press. Before He Fell In Love With Wallis Simpson, Edward Viii Fell In Love With America. As A Young Prince Of Wales, Edward Witnessed The Birth Of The American Century At The End Of The First World War. Captivated By The Energy, Confidence, And Raw Power Of The Usa As It Strode Onto The World Stage, He Paid A Number Of Visits To America: Surfing In Hawaii, Dancing With An American Shop-girl In Panama, And Partying With The Cream Of New York Society On Long Island. Eventually, Of Course, He Fell Violently In Love With Wallis, A Southern Belle And Latter-day Scarlett O'hara. Forceful, Irreverent, And Sassy, She Embodied Everything That Edward Admired Most About Modern America. Edward's Fascination With America Was Fully Reciprocated. The American Public Took Edward To Their Hearts, And He Quickly Became A Media Celebrity On A Par With Hollywood Stars Like Charlie Chaplin And Clark Cable, His Affairs With American Women The Staple Of Gossip Columns From Boston To San Francisco. Indeed, Even In The Decades After His Abdication In 1936, Edward Remained A Celebrity In The Us And A Regular Guest Of Presidents And The Elite Of American Society. Using Previously Untapped Sources, Historian Ted Powell Now Tells The Full Story Of Edward's Relationship With America For The First Time. In Doing So, He Challenges The Conventional View Of This Controversial English King As A Shallow, Pleasure-loving Nazi Sympathizer. Instead, Powell Reveals A Very Different Edward, A Complex And Vulnerable Man Struggling, And Ultimately Failing, To Reconcile His Destiny As Heir To The British Throne And His Love Affair With The American Dream.--jacket. Introduction: An American Love Affair -- Edward Viii And The Birth Of The American Century -- The Prince And The Doughboys, 1918-1919 -- A New World: Edward's Tour Of North America, 1919 -- Jazzin' Around: Panama, San Diego, And Hawaii, 1920 -- The Ep Ranch: A Fantasy Of Escape -- An Englishman In New York, 1924 -- 'the Prince Of Wales And Other Famous Americans': Edward And The American Media -- Luckiest Of Females: The Prince And American Women -- David Against Edward -- Inner Emigration: The Americanization Of A Prince -- 'the Great Catastrophe': The Prince, The Depression, And The Usa -- Wallis -- 'the Greatest Story Since The Crucifixion': America And The Abdication -- The Frog Prince: The Windsors In Exile, 1937-1945 -- Epilogue: A Fly In Amber, 1945-1972. Ted Powell. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 293-302) And Index.