High society and fascists—1936!

Lady Pamela is a fashion columnist for the London Times. Her column is headed Agent of Change. (It helps that Lady Pamela moves in the rarified circles that revolve around the Court and King Edward.)
As Pamela leads a fairly separate life from her husband Francis it’s easy for her to be seen in the right places.
Pamela is asked by MI5 to work for them. She has access to high society entities who admire Hitler and Nazi Germany, that includes Wallis Simpson, Mosley and others.
This leads to all sorts of interesting situations.
Her entrée into an interview with Wallis Simpson will be outlining Wallis’ particular style for an upcoming edition for her column.
During the time spent with her, Pamela becomes aware of Mrs Simpson influence on the King.
Pamela is upset by Edward’s irresponsibilities, his cavalier attitude towards security, and the media ban imposed on the English newspapers about printing anything to do with their relationship.
It’s all very daring and hush hush, with quite a few surprises, including her husband’s loyalties.
An interestingly different look at the characters of Wallis Simpson and King Edward exposing their short comings and really pushing their relationships with the Nazis. Wallis comes across as a hard-edged woman with definite Nazi leanings. Edward comes across as a very petulant man.
A sleek start that has the potential to develop into further titles.

A Lume ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

The sense of place and time in this book was wonderful and I was transported back to the highest echelons of society in 1930s London, which was at times far darker than I might have imagined.

Fashion journalist and socialite Lady Pamela More finds herself drawn into the world of espionage as she is asked to report back on Wallis Simpson and her circle, in particular any fascist sympathies she might have. The historical characters including Simpson, the King and the obnoxious Moseley are blended seamlessly with fictional ones, and as Lady Pamela becomes more immersed in their world the plot stretches and thickens and, in the best tradition of Le Carre et al, it becomes hard to know who to trust.

My only issue with this book is that the personal story of Lady P’s childlessness seemed superfluous to the main plot, and sat rather strangely alongside it. The spy story was quite enthralling enough on its own.

I don't know what I was expecting, but this book was WAY different. It was such a great premise and I loved being thrown into this society world with a hint of espionage. I just enjoyed this immensely!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A fantastic book from #SarahSigal. Lady Pamela is a fashion writer for The Times, in the 1930s. Like many women of the era, she seeks fulfilment and when she is enlisted as a spy she is thrilled. Her task is to befriend Wallis Simpson and ensure that the King abdicates because of his supposed right-wing leanings and links to Adolph Hitler. Steeped in intrigue and historical fact this is a great read. I loved its quirkiness!

A socialite, a spy, a King and Wallis, Nazis and blackshirts. This novel has it all… except I found the main character annoyingly naive at times, nothing annoys me more, so 3* rating.

What a brilliant story!!
This book retells the familiar story of the relationship between Edward the 8th and Mrs Simpson, from the point of view of a fellow aristocrat/journalist, Lady Pamela. I loved this character, part-aristo, part-journalist, and fairly quickly part-spy. I feel I could fall into an interesting conversation with Lady Pamela given the opportunity. She is a mixture of sheer guts and bravado and I love her for that! The story follows her journey as she befriends Wallis Simpson in order to get to the truth of her relationship with the King, and to act as an agent of influence for the government. The story is very well researched, depicting the melting pot of politics at this time- the threat from Nazism and communism that existed on the streets of London, and the buildup towards the Second World War. Several well known and real people are included in the book, adding an element of realism to the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story- in spite of the fact that I knew how the Edward and Mrs Simpson relationship was going to end.
I also think that Lady Pamela has more to offer the reader, and cannot wait to read more about her experiences and adventures working for MI5. Absolutely brilliant!

The Socialite Spy throws us into 1930s high society, post WW1 politics and the intrigue surrounding Edward & Mrs Simpson’s affair. Socialite Lady Pamela is recruited as an MI5 spy to infiltrate events in order to draw up a list of fascist sympathisers in the upper echelons of society. Although the novel is fictional, it gives a good account of some of the events leading up to the second World War, the spying activities of the era, and incorporates real people such as Oswald Mosley. Well worth a read as it really resonates with today's politics. However, though well-researched and interesting, Lady Pamela and her partying mean it is certainly not dry!

Summary

Lady Pamela More is a writer for the Times. Her column “Agent of Influence” keeps the who’s who of London society up to date on the latest fashion trends and society gossip. She is well aware that her co-workers consider her decorative at best and vapid at worst. At one point she had hoped to be a serious journalist. Earlier in her career she had followed the news zealously and tried to engage others in discussions about politics, but found nobody would take her seriously. In frustration, she surrendered and focused on what was expected of her.

At the age of 29, Pam has become frustrated with her life. Her husband, Francis, age 40 and a member of Parliament, seems willing to humor her, but she knows he would very much like to have children. This has become a sensitive topic between them, and like so many of their class, they deal with sensitive topics by ignoring them.

It is 1936 and King Edward has just taken the throne. The majority of the British public know nothing about his American lover, Wallis Simpson, because the press has agreed not to publish anything about their relationship. Some members of the press consider this a form of censorship, but the vast majority of the newspapers are owned by wealthy, influential people who are happy to cooperate with the Palace.

Imagine Pamela’s surprise when her Editor-in-Chief, Geoffrey Dawson, informs her that she is going to write a column for the paper titled “A Week with Wallis.” Her job is to make Wallis seem interesting and relevant, but without mentioning the king. Her focus is to be on clothing, jewelry, parties, and home design. Originally, the column had been assigned to the other female at the paper, Gertrude Leigh, the Agony Aunt, but the previous month Gertrude had fallen under a train and was now in a coma.

Around this time, Pamela becomes convinced she is being followed by a man, likely another journalist hoping to scoop her on the Wallis story. However, this man isn’t trying to steal her story. He’s trying to recruit her to MI-5 to gather information on Wallis, the king, and any Nazis or Nazi sympathizers with whom they interact. Initially excited by the opportunity to do more than write about dresses, Pamela soon becomes aware that the Nazis will target their adversaries ruthlessly and she is concerned that should someone realize what she is doing, she could be disposed of as easily as the last German ambassador.


My Thoughts

This is a detailed, immersive and exceptionally well-researched story. The author’s writing style is highly engaging. While it is a spy novel, it’s also a story about a woman trying to figure out who she is and what she wants from life. There’s suspense and there are also some poignant moments. I found it a very enjoyable story.

Many of the characters mentioned in the story were actual historical figures. Noel Coward, Evelyn Waugh, Vita Sackville-West, Cecil Beaton and other recognizable individuals attend some of the same parties as Pam. It added a very authentic feeling to the book to have real people showing up alongside the fictional characters. I recently finished reading an excellent biography, The Viceroy’s Daughters: Lives of the Curzon Sisters by Anne de Courcy, and many individuals in that biography also showed up in this story. That said, there are a lot of characters in this book, and for those who are not entirely familiar with political figures and the nobility of the UK in the 1930’s, it could be over-whelming. It may help to jot down names while reading.

Lady Pamela is a fascinating character. She’s a highly observant woman who can tell a lot from a person based just on what they are wearing. She notices quality, loose buttons, scuffed shoes - even the smallest details don’t escape her. Pamela doesn’t have much tolerance for hypocrisy and resents things like double standards for women. In her own way, she’s a feminist for the time period.

However, as a spy she has some shortcomings. A major problem is that she’s suffering from a serious case of imposter’s syndrome. She is such a good fit for what they have asked her to do, but she constantly doubts herself and thinks they should have chosen someone who was better qualified.

Perhaps her biggest failing as a spy is that she isn’t really good at keeping secrets and she reveals her secret work to two other individuals. As the book progresses, she becomes more and more paranoid, which seems reasonable given that she is a relatively sheltered woman without much experience of the real world, and she finds the work very isolating. That isolation sometimes allows her paranoia to get the better of her.

Everything was not wrapped up neatly at the end of the story. Normally, that would annoy me, but so much in the world of spies is so ambiguous, so I was actually very happy with how things ended up.

What Else I Liked
Pam’s Aunt Constance is a marvelous character. A former suffragette who went to India to open a school for girls, she has returned to England after many years away and has asked Pam to help her hold a fund-raiser. The more I learned about Constance, the more I liked her and I could envision an entire book being written just about her life.

Jenny, the maid, is also an intriguing character, also deserving of her own book. She does a great deal of information gathering for Pamela, first for her society column and eventually for her work with MI-5.

Pam makes friends in the LGBT community at a time when being LGBT was a criminal offense. Through them she learns of some of the abuses the community faces in general, but also the heightened dangers they face from the fascists in Germany and in the UK and that reinforces her desire to help MI-5.


What I Didn’t Like
Pam’s paranoia occasionally seemed a bit extreme to the point of appearing farcical. For example, she was on a crowded yacht and a German man began to walk towards her, so she freaked out and started to run. I understand many on the boat were Nazi sympathizers, but she was with her husband, aunt and friends on the boat, so I didn’t understand why she fled and where she thought she was going to go.

I love this time period, and I know a lot about this time period, so for me it was a perfect book. For some people, I think the number of characters and political movements could make it bit harder to follow.



Trigger Warnings
Infertility
Antisemitism Homophobia
Abortion
Sexual harassment - verbal and physical

A very well researched and enjoyable historical novel, covering the influence of the Nazi party on the upper echelons of British society in the 1930s. Pamela, married to a member of the House of Lords, writes a fashion column for the Times newspaper, the combination of which gets her entry into the best parties and gatherings in London. She is clever and observant and MI5 decide to recruit her to gain information on Germany's influence on the upper classes.

It's an entertaining read and covers a fascinating period of history. Many of the characters are real, including the Duchess of Windsor, and it's convincing on politics and fashion. I did feel that, if anything, too much was crammed in, particularly in terms of numbers of characters and parties, and at some times she was a pretty terrible spy, telling rather a lot of people about what she was doing!

However, it's good historical fiction and an interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley as the publisher for a copy in return for an honest review.
. #TheSocialiteSpy #NetGalley

This book deals with a period and events that I know quite a bit about having studied the early years of the 20th century at degree level. The story was okay but there were too many characters - and giving the dog a human names in amongst all of the actual human characters seems lacking in thought (or bad editing). The last 25% was interesting but we never got a proper ending. It just stopped. As an older reader I wan't too taken with the book but I am grateful for an e-ARC to read and review.

Lady Pamela More is a Times journalist who writes a fashion and gossip column. When M15 approaches her and asks her to spy on Wallis Simpson, she immerses herself in a life of glittery parties and get-togethers to gather information under the guise of her journalism career.

I found the story a bit confusing with too many subplots to keep track of. I did find the story of King Edward and Wallis Simpson interesting and compelling. Overall, the book is well written but the back half confused me and I never did figure out who was a double agent, if anybody.

I’d give this book 3 stars. Thank you, NetGalley and Lume Books for the ARC. Publication date is October 19, 2023.

I enjoyed meeting Lady Pamela and her household. This book was well researched with good insights into the political intrigues and tensions of the time both within Great Britain and in Europe. . The first half was a really enjoyable read as was the last quarter but it did go off the boil slightly in between. There were too many events, people and plotting to keep apace with and some of Lady Pamela’s actions and decisions were questionable. That said I felt it was left with the possibility of a sequel and I hope there will be, with Pamela and Francis working as a team. The other main characters such as Aunt Constance and Jenny were well drawn and three dimensional although Jenny’s character could be developed further.
Hopefully Lady Pamela will do more work for MI5 in the future!

This was an incredibly enjoyable story: well written, engaging and incredibly entertaining without being 'light' or 'fluffy'. The mix of fact and (presumably) fiction was just right and the author really captured the sense of looming threat beneath the parties and gossip as the world began to tilt on its axis towards the end of the 1930s.

I sincerely hope there will be more to come from Sarah Sigal and Lady Pamela Moore in the future!

This was an enjoyable story and I liked the character although I agree with some of the other reviewers. The character did behave quite naively a few times and parts of the story did not ring true . That aside, I would be interested in reading more about this character if the issues with story and plot were improved.

It is 1936 and Lady Pamela More writes a column for The Times, her husband sits in the House of Lords. The romance between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII is thriving but is hidden from the British public by a blanket ban on the press. Pamela is recruited by MI5 to find out more about the romance and their relationship with the German government, using her column as a pretext for starting a friendship with Wallace Simpson.
An enjoyable read with lots of well known figures.

This is a very interesting take on the years preceding WW2 in early 1930s. Lady Pamela is a social butterfly, in the privileged upper echelons of society in London. She is somewhat clumsily recruited to spy for MI5, in her guise as a fashion writer for The Times. She is particularly tasked with finding her way into the inner sanctum of Mrs Wallis Simpson, as she becomes the paramour of the King. She has to find out, and report back, how strong Mrs Simpson’s influence is over the King. A great deal, as we learn.
The first half of the book is intriguing, as we follow Lady Pamela as she attends various society events, and inveigles herself into the trust of Wallis.
However at around 55/60%, the narrative becomes bogged down in a mad whirl of parties, events, Russians, Germans, spies - are they/ aren’t they? So many characters it becomes almost impossible for the reader to keep track of them all. After this point, the storyline becomes fragmented as to what is actually happening in Pamela’s life, she then makes some very questionable decisions, and behaves in a naive fashion, given her position as a MI5 undercover operative.
The story did bring a very different perspective to an intriguing explanation for the King’s abdication, and the Government machinations behind it. For me, it’s 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I do wonder if there is to be a sequel, given the inconclusive and unsatisfying ending?
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

A light, easy and enjoyable read. Not to be taken too seriously!
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this chance to read and leave an unbiased and honest review.

This is an interesting historical fiction which certainly entertained, as well as educated on the era in which it's set. While I enjoyed it, at times I did feel somewhat overwhelmed with all of the names & trying to keep track of the characters. This is just my personal experience but it did affect my enjoyment of the novel.

**slight spoilers in this review**

2.5-3/5

This book is about Lady Pamela More, an aristocrat and author of “Agent of Influence” column in The Times who becomes a secret agent, and how her life changes from the government and societal intrigues of gathering information regarding King Edward, and Wallis Simpson and Nazi Germany.


What worked for this book was that the characters such as Pamela and intertwining her story with the historical events of London 1936. Additionally, Sigals' ensures to create a well thought out cast of characters to balance the stories within the book.


Although the book did have an intriguing storyline, I found that the slight lack of a resolution regarding Charles was not quite satisfying. The ending of the entire novel left me wondering if maybe there could be potential for a sequel.


Overall, it was an ok read, and I would say this book is for historical and spy agent fiction readers.


Thank you to Netgalley and Lume Books for the ARC.


#TheSocialiteSpy #SarahSigal #Netgalley #bookreview

Absolutely fantastic historical novel. Lady Pamela spies on people of her class, and in particular, Wallis Simpson. The detail is great, historically speaking and the novel drew me in from the first moment so that I couldn't stop reading until I had finished it.