One of Britain's most distinguished biographers turns her focus on one of the most vilified women of the twentieth century. Historian Anne Sebba has written the first full biography by a woman of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor. ' That woman' as she was referred to by the Queen Mother became a hate figure for ensnaring a British king & destabilising the monarchy. Neither beautiful nor brilliant she nevertheless became one of the most talked-about women of her generation & she inspired such deep love & adoration in Edward VIII that he gave up a throne & an empire for her. Wallis lived by her wit & her wits while both her apparent & alleged moral transgressions added to her aura & dazzle. Based on new archives & material only recently made available this scrupulously researched biography sheds new light on the character & motivations of a powerful charismatic & complex woman.