The Woman Before Wallis

In the summer of 1926, Thelma Morgan marries Viscount Duke Furness after a whirlwind romance. The daughter of an American diplomat, she steps into a British aristocracy defined by extraordinary wealth and privilege, and her new life feels close to a fairy tale.

Her husband introduces her to Edward, Prince of Wales. Through a twist of fate, the marriage to Duke leads Thelma into a love affair with the prince, a true story that precedes the one history remembers about Edward and Wallis Simpson.

The happiness does not last. Thelma's sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, is caught up in a scandal whose consequences reach far, and Thelma sails to New York to support her. She leaves Edward in the care of her trusted friend Wallis, with no idea what will follow.

This is historical fiction built on real people, told in the third person. The settings move from the Paris Ritz and the French Riviera, loud with glamour, to the quiet private rooms of St. James's Palace. Love, loyalty and betrayal drive the plot, and the tone mixes high society scandal with a more intimate focus on the sisters and the prince.