THE CROWN IN CRISIS: ALEXANDER LARMAN IN CONVERSATION WITH SAVILIAN DAVID OLDROYD-BOLT, THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE ABDICATION SAGA
The abdication of Edward VIII was one of the most significant moments in 20th century history. It was the first time that a British king had voluntarily abdicated the throne, and his motivation was a romantic one: love for the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Yet the saga is a more complex one than previous histories and biographies have hinted at. Why, for instance, was there an assassination attempt on Edward in July 1936 by an MI5 informant, and what was the involvement of the Nazis in the abdication crisis? And was Edward’s motivation really romantic, or something altogether more complex?
Using newly discovered and rare documents, the author and historian Alexander Larman has written a thrilling and revisionist new account of the events of 1936. The Crown in Crisis has been critically acclaimed, with the Times calling it one of the best books of 2020, and is being published in the US in January 2021. We are delighted to welcome Alexander to the Savile Club on 9th July for an ‘in-conversation’ event with the writer David Oldroyd-Bolt, during which he will discuss his research into the subject, the major discoveries that he made while writing the book – and, of course, the contemporary parallels between the abdication and the actions of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Alexander Larman is an author, historian and journalist. His most recent book, The Crown In Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication, was a ‘book of the year’ in The Times, Daily Mail and Daily Express. His earlier publications include Blazing Star, a biography of the decadent poet Lord Rochester, Restoration, a social history of the year 1666, and Byron’s Women, an ‘anti-biography’ of Lord Byron and the women in his life. He is contributing editor of The Critic and writes regularly about literature, history and the arts for many national and international publications.