#Blogtour: Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul @GillPaulAUTHOR @headlinepg @Phoebe_Swinburn

Book Description:

Two women who challenged the Crown.
Divided by time. Bound by a secret…

1911
At the age of fifteen, carefree Mary Kirk and indomitable Wallis Warfield meet at summer camp. Their friendship will survive heartbreaks, separation and the demands of the British Crown until it is shattered by one unforgivable betrayal.

1997
Rachel’s romantic break in Paris with her fiancé ends in tragedy when the car ahead crashes. Inside was Princess Diana. Back in Brighton, Rachel is haunted by the accident, and intrigued to learn the princess had visited the last home of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, only hours before the crash. Soon, the discovery of a long-forgotten link to Wallis Simpson leads Rachel to the truth behind a scandal that shook the world…

Richly imagined and beautifully written, ANOTHER WOMAN’S HUSBAND is a gripping, moving novel about two women thrust into the spotlight, followed by scandal, touched by loss.

My Review:

I loved Gill Paul’s first book, The Secret Wife, so when an opportunity arose to be on the blog tour for her new book I happily volunteered.

It was fascinating to learn more about Wallis Simpson and discover more about her early life.  I felt she was quite a complex character and I could never work out whether i liked her or not.  At times I felt desperately sorry for her as she definitely goes through some tough moments but at others I just wanted to shake her as I found her so uncaring.  The story line relating to Diana’s death was also very interesting.  I do remember seeing it on the news but I hadn’t remembered a lot of the facts and figures or the conspiracy theories surrounding her death.

The author does a great job of transporting the reader back in time to Wallis’s early years and capturing the lifestyle that was lead then.  I loved the descriptions of the clothes and parties, I really wanted to be there too! It was a time of a great shift in attitude towards women and I thought it was clever how this was portrayed through the characters of Mary and Wallis.  The national outpouring of grief from Diana’s death as well as the frenzy to try and discover the truth is also perfectly captured and described.

The story has such a great flow to it which makes it very easy to read and gradually draws the reader in as more of the story is revealed. It really kept me guessing as to how the two stories would fit together which was unusual for me as normally I do manage to figure it out.

This is Gill Paul’s fifth book and I really look forward to reading more from her.  She is brilliant at writing atmospheric and engaging historical fiction and is fast becoming one of my favourite authors!

Thank you to Phoebe Swinburn and headline publisher s for my copy of the book and for letting me be a part of the blog tour.

About The Author:

Gill Paul writes historical fiction, including The Secret Wife (about the Romanovs), No Place for a Lady (set during the Crimean War), Women and Children First (set on the Titanic) and The Affair (set in 1960s Rome during the making of the Burton-Taylor Cleopatra film).

She also writes a historical non-fiction, including A History of Medicine in 50 Objects and a historical Love Stories series.

And she writes on nutrition and health, after studying to be a doctor then changing her mind…

Gill lives in London and swims in an outdoor pond all year round. Bonkers!