Abdication: A Novel Audiobook

England, 1936. The year began with the death of a beloved king and the ascension of a charismatic young monarch, sympathetic to the needs of the working class, glamorous, and single. By year's end, the world would be stunned as it witnessed that new leader give up his throne in the name of love, just as the unrest and violence that would result in a second World War were becoming impossible to ignore. In pitch-perfect prose, Juliet Nicolson has captured an era in which duty and pleasure, tradition and novelty, and order and chaos all battled for supremacy in the hearts and minds of king and commoner alike. As addictive as Downton Abbey, Abdication is a breathtaking story inspired by a love affair that shook the world.

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"I finished "Abdication" by Juliet Nicolson. This book was an historical novel set in pre-World War II England. May Thomas and her brother have come to England from an English Caribbean island to make their way in the world. They are welcomed by a cousin and his family and immediately set out to find work. May finds work as a chauffer for a very important government official. One of her assignments is to deliver a visitor to Mrs. Wallace Simpson and the soon-to-be King Edward VIII. This visitor is a childhood friend of Mrs. Simpson, Evangeline Nettlefold. Miss Nettlefold is a spinster who is quite clumsy very unsure of herself. Mrs. Simpson makes a game of trying to embarrass Evangeline as often as she can. There is always an undercurrent mystery surrounding Wallace and Edward. Their attraction to each other is noticeable to everyone around them and yet they try to hide it. May is attracted to Julian, who is a friend of her cousin, and who wants to take part in the pre-war intrigue that surrounds England at this time. May has no idea of the part she is playing in this drama except that she is sworn to secrecy concerning those persons and diplomats that she chauffers back and forth. I thought that the interaction between Wallace Simpson and Evangeline and between Wallace and the future king was quite interesting. This story line planted a seed in my mind that I want to read more about this era of history, especially regarding the English monarchy at this time. I would highly recommend this book. I was forced to stay up late in order to keep reading as I did NOT want to put it down. There are so many sub-plots and diversions throughout the story that I could have happily read the continuation of any of them. Suffice it to say that May and Julian's romance was not the most important aspect of this story, to me anyway. Ms. Nicolson is a very talented writer and I will be searching for more of her books."

— Barb (5 out of 5 stars)