What a little gem of a book! For those of us who like historical fiction, this well researched book about 3 of the most important women in 20’s and 30’s is just a delight. The author has focused on Thelma, Lady Furness, sister of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, aunt of Little Gloria Vanderbilt and confidante/rival of Wallis Simpson. The reader gets a view of the private lives of these women and that of Edward VIII, told with dazzling historical accuracy.

I have always been interested in the lives of Gloria Vanderbilt and Wallis Simpson, but I had no idea that Thelma was such a pivotal character in the sagas of both Gloria and Wallis. Many years ago I had the bizarre experience of meeting the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and I was impressed at how well they were captured in this novel.

There was so much historical richness in the book that I kept interrupting my reading and doing a bit of research to dig deeper into the lives of these characters. Anglophiles and social historians will love this.

Thank you Netgalley for this fascinating ARC.

Bravo, such a great read.

Historical fiction at its best allows readers to immerse themselves in another place and time.  When it is done very well, I often find myself wishing for a different ending...even as I know what happened historically.  That was exactly my reaction to this novel; I kept wanting to guide the characters when the events are, in reality, long past.


The woman who was the woman before Wallis Simpson is Thelma.  For anyone who may not know, Wallis married David, the heir to the British throne who abdicated, paving the way for Elizabeth to be the current monarch.  Thelma, nee Morgan, was a twin and her twin was Gloria Vanderbilt.  Again, for any who may not follow such things, Gloria was involved in a dispute over the custody of "little Gloria," her daughter, with Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.  (Little Gloria grew up to be the mother of Anderson Cooper).  Thelma, herself, had an early divorce and then married Duke Furness.  He introduced her to the future king with whom she had a long term affair.


The author lays out all of these events in glorious detail with characters who come to life and settings that I would love to visit.  There are country estates, chapters set in Paris, London, the English country side and New York.  Readers visit David's bolt hole, Belvedere Castle, and watch it come to life.


Each of these personages tried to live their life while others tried to heavily influence their actions.  This creates the conflict of the novel and real life. 


I wanted each of these historical personages to find happiness and that was the gift of the author, as I knew how each of the plot lines ended.  If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend adding this to your TBR list. 


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.


#TheWomanBeforeWallis #NetGalley

I wanted to love this book but ultimately it was just an okay read for me. There were a few things that I struggled with. One was the non-linear timeline. It was hard to keep up with what was happening when. I also felt like too many different plotlines were covered in this book. I realize it's based on real-life events, but I would have preferred it if the book had stuck to being primarily about the relationship between Thelma and David. The other thing that bothered me was that Thelma just doesn't come across as very likable or sympathetic. I don't feel like we really ever get to know her outside of her actions. If you are a huge fan or the royals and their history then you will likely enjoy this book, but if you are looking for an emotional spin on historical events, you might want to pass.

1934, Thelma Morgan sails from England to NY to support her twin sister Gloria in her divorce process.

The story goes back in time to Paris 1925 and reveals how Thelma meets Lord Furness, her second husband. And while married to him, at a ball party she meets the Prince of Wales. This story progresses and alternates with 1934 story.

The story progresses slowly. There are outings, dinners, conversations, but not much of essence to make it feel that the story is moving forward. It is all about family affairs. There is no historical background of any kind.

If you enjoy romances, then it might be a book for you and I recommend looking at other reviews.

Everyone thinks they know the story of Wallis & Edward, but who knew there was another American divorcée before her or that she was related to the Vanderbilts. Weaving facts and fiction, the author brings the time periods and Thelma to life, a fascinating and delicious read!

Historical fiction at its best.I was drawn right in to this story a perfect read for me . A book that took me out of my world into the life of Wallis Simpson.A view of her I had not read before.A very entertaining read,#netgalley#harlequinbooks

Historical fiction is the genre that I read when I need to escape. Historical fiction based on Britain's Royal Family is like the very best kind of security blanket, I looked forward to reading this story every night for a week- I stretched it out on purpose. It has romance and intrigue with just enough realism to make you wonder how much might be close to the truth,

4.5/5 Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say, this is probably one of my favourite "royal-ish fiction" books! I don't know much about Edward VIII and his partners, or the Vanderbilts, but I found their world fascinating. Turnbull does a fantastic job of building the world and bringing in these characters that were real people. I appreciated that she brought in more royals- most of these "royal-ish fiction" books only feature a few pages of the royal in question, but you spend quite a bit of time with the Prince of Wales. (Not to mention Bertie, Elizabeth, and George.) A wonderfully written book, I look forward to seeing what she does next!

This is the story of Thelma who, although married, started an affair with the Prince of Wales, before he committed to Wallis. Thelma's husband started having affairs after Thelma gave birth and refused him for a while. Then, Thelma met David, and she thought what was good for the goose...

The Woman Before Wallis was a beautiful story about life, love, and heartbreak. I will start this by saying I enjoy a good historical fiction. I really respect the author for writing such a fantastic story and for making such a grand effort to have all the details from the actual story correct.

Thelma, is the main character of this story. She is a wonderful woman. Truly special. For her time she is independent, motivated, and just wanted something different for herself than what was the expectation. Her character took me on this whirlwind of an adventure that at times filled me with happiness and at other times filled me with sorrow. I would say I am a sucker for a love story and if you think this is going to be a love story - you are mistaken. There are relationships and yes, some love, but this is far from a love story. It is rather heartbreaking actually, but in a beautiful way.

Thelma is a divorcee, which during this time, is not well received. She then gets lucky and marries a new man (Duke Furness) and becomes part of the "high society" in England. Lucky lady, indeed. Throughout the rest of the story, Thelma is constantly fighting for happiness. While she marries a lovely man, she cannot stay happy. The instability of marriages during this time was unbelievable. Having affairs was more accepted than getting divorced. This part especially hurts Thelma. This leads to her meeting and ultimately, to her relationship with the Prince of Wales. Again, lucky lady! Again, she struggles with this relationship and many events occur throughout the rest of the book that are full of love and happiness and as well, full of sadness.

To be honest, I didn't know whether or not I was even enjoying this book until I got about half way through. I was getting confused trying to keep up with the characters and the names. I had a hard time remembering the family names and keeping track of this "social map" of people. I can only imagine how stressful this would be in real life. It was exhausting keeping up. I found at the half way point it became easier and I started to feel very attached to some of the characters.

I was so drawn into the story. I read this book in 2 days. It sucked me in. I loved the fancy life of English royalty and upper class. It made me want that life. However, as scandals came up throughout, it made me realize that is NOT the life I want. I really did enjoy that part though. It was so fun to read about the fancy parties and events that these people had on a regular basis. I loved reading about the extravagant dresses and outfits as well. It was so dream like.

When it came to the end of the book I felt so mixed! I truly loved this story. Thelma has a special place in a heart. She was so strong and while at times did not make the best decisions, she sure stuck to her heart and that is very respectable. I wish it would have ended differently for her. It was a sad ending in my opinion, but not everyone gets a fairy tale ending. The only reason I did not rate this as 5 stars was simply because the ending left me asking questions and wanting to know exactly what happened. Of course, I understand that filling in the gaps would probably be an entire other book, but I felt almost cheated not know exactly the events that led to Wallis and David. I'm actually not too sure my heart could take it now that I'm thinking more about it!!

Overall, this was a fabulous book. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction in its truest form. It was a beautifully written story.

** Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was everything I needed. Historical fiction based on real people, romance, and royals galore! I read this book as slowly as possible and still finished it in less than a day because I couldn’t put it down. Very well written!

Royal intrigue abounds in the retelling of Thelma Furness's opulent and dramatic international life as an American socialite living in Europe. Anyone swept up in the drama of Meghan and Harry will flip the pages, anxious to experience court life and grandeur of the years between World War I and World War II. Layering timelines of Thelma's courtship and marriage to Viscount Furness alongside her twin sister, Gloria Vanderbilt's trial for custody of her daughter, Gloria Vanderbilt (aka Anderson Cooper's mom), Turnbull pumps up the drama. And then Prince Edward (aka David) asks for a dance. And then Wallis Simpson arrives. There's a lot going on, not all historically accurate, but rich in details and quality storytelling. I like the title, but I think it doesn't give Thelma Morgan Furness enough credit. This is, after all, her life.

What kind of woman would make a long want to give up his crown for? Apparently that woman is Wallis Simpson. I wish I could say I liked her but I didn't. Edward deserved someone better then that selfish woman. I wonder how different England would be if Edward kept his crown? This book is wonderful and I highly recommend it.

This was historical fiction at its best . It was a new and different take on the Wallis Simpson story . It was an enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved this time period and the vivid descriptions and that this is based on fact. Seems everyone in society back then was involved with others no matter if they were married or not. Poor Gloria and Thelma.

There are so many books about Wallis Simpson, David and Wallis, it was a nice change to have the point of view from Thelma view. It brought in the story of the custody battle timeline of Thelma's sister, Gloria Vanderbilt as well. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more by this author.

Historical Fiction at its Best!

I was swept away after the first few pages of this novel. Completely absorbed and distracted from what was going on around me.. and right now.. that is a very good thing. I had requested this book, not really knowing if it was "my type of book", but sometimes I like to push myself outside of my comfort zone.. and I'm SO glad I did. This was about British royalty. If you like anything having to do with kings, queens, or princes, this is for you. This was historical fiction, which means, base on true events. The story centered on the woman Prince Edward fell in love with before stepping down from the throne. Such an interesting and salacious read! Two very big thumps UP! WAY UP!

This was a wonderful historical novel with characters that draw you right in and don’t let go. The storyline flowed seamlessly and kept me glued to the pages.