I rate this 3.5 out of 5.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a positive review.

Brief Summary: This book examines the time that Wallis Simpson spent in China. Her time in China totals just over a year and this book includes not only the political climate of China but the people that Simpson encountered during her time there.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. French captured the excitement and tension of a woman venturing from home to find herself. This is the first book that I have read about Simpson that focuses exclusively on a time before she became the obsession of Edward VIII and that novelty makes this book an important part of the works on Simpson.

French’s work has two shining moments. The first is that it details the marriage between Simpson and Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. Given that her third marriage sent the British monarchy into chaos and she was married to Ernest Simpson who she kept in touch with after her marriage (see Anne Seba’s work) the Spencer marriage is often only mentioned in a chapter. I appreciated how French details their early romance and the unravelling of their marriage 10 years later. I was previously unaware of the dynamics of this marriage and the information provided in this work shed new light on Simpson as a person.

The second is that French provides context for the woman Simpson developed into. Particularly the lifelong friends she made and her cultural interests. It was interesting to learn how she started her own business in China selling trinkets to supplement her income.

French’s conjectures on what Simpson was doing during her time in China are well-researched and compelling. He makes an interesting argument given the available evidence. However, the absence of evidence is not proof. When the Abdication Crisis occurred the British government constantly spread rumors about a China Dossier about how Simpson was a spy, a sex worker, and other salacious rumors. French points out that no evidence of the dossier has ever reached the public and thus likely does not exist. However, that is an impossible argument to make. Knowing some rumours and refuting known ones indicates that it was mostly fabricated information, but we cannot know for sure.

Overall, this is an interesting book. If you are interested in understanding Simpson as a person, this book adds to the known evidence and will help you flesh out an understanding of her. However, 50% of this book is about the political landscape of China at the time. This is important information, particularly if, like me, you do not understand what was happening in China during this time. Another 10% of this book is about the friends that Simpson made along the way and what happened to them after the time focused on in this book. The remaining 40% of the book focuses on Simpson.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Infertility and Abortion

I’m of the generation that knows something already about Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor. But are people under 60 years old going to want to read this? Which is a shame, because it is a very good book with meticulous notes at the end of each chapter that source the primary details. And I knew nothing about her year in the East and the author made it so interesting. Thanks to #NetGalley and #HerLotusYear for advanced digital copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Paul French for providing thid advance reader copy of the book. In return I'm providing my honest review.

An almost textbook stroll through the 1920's China socio-economic landscape. When the author states little is known about Wallis Simpsons time there he really means it. Her movement through the country is a timetable without any meat on the bone. The Duchess of Windsor being in China during this time is a convenient addition without adding much to the plot. I was not entertained and didn't enjoy being led to believe I would read about a woman and instead getting a history lesson.

#NetGalley #HerLotusYear #PaulFrench #St.Matrin'sPress #China #1920'sChina

In other books I have read about the Crown I was seeing a different side to Wallis, like perhaps she wasn't a femme fatale out to overthrow England. I always felt that David loved her more than she him so the chance to read of an earlier version of Wallis piqued my interest. I found Her Lotus Year disappointing. There were lots of "it's often said," "some have suggested," and "someone claims" rather than actual fact. What is the point of reading this biography when the author himself quotes her autobiography. I wasn't really interested in the Chinese history, I wanted to learn more about Wallis but this was more about where she stayed and where she went rather than any insight into Wallis.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

An early chapter in the life of Wallis Simpson

When most people (myself included) think of Wallis Simpson, they conjure up an image of a social climbing American divorcée for whom a British king gave up his throne. I will admit that I knew little of the woman who would become the Duchess of Windsor beyond that, other than that she had been in a bad marriage. Author Paul French has written this book to shed light on the year Wallis spent in China starting in 1924 (what she referred to in her memoirs as her “Lotus Year”), which were long speculated to be a time of licentious behavior. Fake news, it seems, is not a new phenomenon. Wallis travelled to Asia, while her then-husband and US naval officer Win Spencer was stationed in Hong Kong, hoping to either make their marriage work or obtain what she had heard would be a relatively easy divorce in the International Settlement in Mainland China. Neither, it turned out, would work out….Win’s drinking problem was as bad as ever, and she did not have the necessary two year residency in China required for a divorce. She would travel to Shanghai, Canton, Peking and Tientsin during a time of political turmoil between feuding warlords and political parties as European ex-pats partied in the coastal cities. Wallis was fascinated by the beauty to be found there…the elegant lacquer, porcelain and silk with which buildings were decorated, and the jade which she would collect for years afterword. When her relationship with the future King of England was viewed with disfavor, the British government painted this period in her life as one of promiscuity and suspicious behavior (her style of living seemed more costly than her budget could have afforded)…but could the truth have been less salacious and more intriguing than people were led to believe?
Her Lotus Year does a very good job of describing Hong Kong and China during that period of history, the political climate within China and the life of the Europeans living and traveling there. Mr. French also sets out to correct the fallacies of the “China Dossier” that the British government purportedly amassed, and speculates that Wallis may actually have been one of the navy wives used by the US government as couriers to get messages to different locales when other methods of communication were unreliable. There is little documentation of this period in Wallis’ life beyond where and when she stayed in different locales (and her own memoirs, which are a fairly subjective source of material) so much of Mr. French’s case is conjecture, but he is persuasive. Did I learn more about the maligned Wallis Simpson? Yes, and I discovered quite a bit about a period in Asian history as well. I would not call the book a true biography, but it is an intriguing bit of speculation about this oft-maligned woman. Those who enjoy reading about members of the British monarchy and those who are interested in Chinese history will find this book of interest, as will readers of Hugo Vickers, Alexander Larman and Laurence Leamer. My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me early access to a copy of Her Lotus Year,

I am a diehard fan of this topic. That being said, this book is dry like a textbook. That dry writing style made it incredibly difficult to get through reading it.

I've never really been interested in Wallis Simpson or her duke--they always sounded like a couple of dull stuffed shirts with a taste for whining and moaning about their lot while expecting the world to support them in the lifestyle they thought they deserved. My indifference turned to contempt when I read a couple of well-researched histories that made it clear that they both were quite willing to deal with Hitler in order to assure their eventual securing of the English throne. Wallis wanted to be Queen of England, with all the jewels, and did her damndest to get there.

But I hadn't known she'd spent time in China during the Republican era, when warlords were busy carving up China while Europeans on the make disported in the coastal cities, giving them a glitteringly raffish name.

This bio was quite disappointing as a biography. I don't blame French--there apparently isn't a lot of primary source evidence, except Wallis Simpson's own highly re-invented story. He tries to make a case for her being used as a courier during a time when all other forms of conveying intel were exceedingly untrustworthy. May even have been true, once or twice? But despite his sometimes farfetched-seeming alternate reasons, it seems fairly clear that she developed her well-known taste for jewels and jade while in China, and ramjetted around the louche parties and snob events looking for guys who could afford the lifestyle she wanted. Rank, too, if she could get it.

There is a lot of transitional "It was decided," a deadly phrase in a biography, for the reader wants to know WHO decided, and what's your source? But the answer invariably is, "we don't know"--unless you resort to reading Wallis's romanticized autobiography. In other places, he elides with what can only be called telepathy, telling us what Wallis Simpson thought, or making little judgments (she "valiantly" tried to do this or that). But too few citations of sources, other than her own words.

However, I finished the book because though I think French fell down on the biography side, he's terrific at depicting with vivid assurance, the weird world of twenties and thirsties Shanghai and Beijing (Peking in those days), before the rising violence tipped over into Japan's invasion and the bloodbath of the middle and later century. Here, French is at his best.

Mrs. Wallis Warfield Spencer, 28, was married to Navy pilot, Earl Spencer. When he was transferred from Washington, D.C. to China, he begged Wallis to follow him. Thus begins her year spent in several areas of China 1924-1925.

Her husband is an abusive drunk. When he was transferred to China, Wallis didn’t mind during to his treatment of her. But his insisting that she follow him meant a big chance in her lifestyle. She was interested in learning more about the culture of the country and wanted to be a part of the group of people known then as The Lotus Eaters. These were people who grouped together and just sat back and enjoyed the easy life.

While in China, the book explains in excruciating detail about the different conflicts in the country and the daily life that Wallis lived. It is believed that she agreed to transport documents for U.S. authorities in Hong Kong, but that has not been proven.

I have read several books about Wallis Simpson and considered them all to be quite informative and centered on her. However, I really did not care for this book as it was too centered on the conflicts/politics of China itself and I couldn’t care less about that and not so much as Wallis Simpson as i was led to believe. Thus, I cannot say that I enjoyed this book at all.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’ve always been intrigued by Wallis Simpson and this book for me did not disappoint. This story offered new insight into this highly controversial figure and offered insight into things I never knew about her.

Well written, well researched and highly entertaining, this author took a unique direction in writing about her time in China.

While Wallis is a highly controversial figure and my opinion of her didn’t change. However, in this story she was presented in a more relatable and likable way.

What’s myth, what’s fiction and what’s real…you decide!

A fascinating look at Wallis Simpsons life in China revealing her reasons for being there and her interactions and the people she was involved with.Really interesting and informative.#netgalley #herlotusyear

I'm always happy to see a new book about the Duchess of Windsor, and Her Lotus Year is one of the best I've read. Mr. French covers her time spent in Asia during and after her marriage to her first husband. Mr. French's knowledge of China and Asia is evident on every page. He brings life and color to early Twentieth Century China.

What I really appreciate about this book is his complete dismissal of the famed "China Dossier" that supposedly highlighted Wallis's immoral and deviant lifestyle. He points out that no one has ever seen the dossier, there is no evidence it ever existed, and it was obviously created to make her look bad.

Mr. French has painted a portrait of a woman of immense strength, who broke out of the confines of her staid upbringing and created a life for herself. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it.

This was a very interesting talk about Wal I.S And her first marriage did not .. She, she was very unhappy and went to China to be with her husband this did not work out. The book was interesting because there was another side of this woman's life. She had two affairs there With the other men. She went to Peking. She called this L o t u s Year. She?
Was trying to find yourself before she made her next move.. It was a very interesting book.I learned a lot about her and how she came to that conclusion.

I was interested to read about Wallis Simpson’s time in China. This wasn’t just about Wallis, but a lot about China at the time. At times it felt like the Wallis story was a secondary storyline to what was going on in China. I learned a bit more about her, but not as much as I’d hoped. I’m sure that is due to limited information from that time.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Everything I know about Wallis Simpson I know in relationship to the abdication crisis and World War II, so when I saw the description of this book I thought it might be interesting to learn more about her in a completely different, earlier, setting.

Sadly, the book is disappointing in two big ways. One is in the highly repetitious writing- always a major problem for me in a book. The other is if you picked up the book expecting to read a definite biography in the "making of Wallis Simpson". Because while I think author Paul French does a relatively good job making arguements against some of the slanders Wallis faced later in life, I didn't end the book feeling like I really knew much about Wallis.

Much of the problem is probably the lack of source material on Wallis herself. Instead what your read is plenty on the history of the various parts of China that Wallis traveled through in 1924-25 and quotes by other travelers on what it was like at the time. I was intrigued and mildly convinced by French's arguement that Wallis may likely have been one of the Navy wives used at the time to courier documents in China as the actual reason for her traveling to places instead of her offhanded comments of "going there shopping" that she uses in her autobiography. But I wish French had gone into the phenomenon more (maybe that's still classified and there are only rumors of the practice as a whole and not just Wallis' participation? French left me unclear there). To fill space he does give you mini biographies of every man Wallis meets for even one encounter, with what I thought was noticable less attention paid to the women she met.

Wallis remains more of a shadow by the end than someone we can really understand, let alone see how her year in China shaped her. There was no "before" and "after" sense to her because I got no sense of her personality throughout the book at all.

This is more of a book I'd recommend to people wanting to start learning about Chinese politics, war, and colonial interactions in 1924-25 and the European travelers who went there than anything else.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have to say I struggled with this book. I knew it was not about the scandal of twice divorced Wallis Simpson wooing and eventually marrying the king of England. This is about the year of her life in China and events that led up to this time. The writing style is not fluid and very repetitive. It was very easy for me to put the book down and read something else. Maybe I am not the author's demographic. I have already told friends to pass on this one.

I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com and the publisher in return for a fair review. The most I can say is that author Paul French knows his Asian history. The problem I found with this book was not with the research, but with the story of Wallis Simpson that I thought it was supposed to be about. Page after page contained detailed historical facts about Peking and other Asian people/places, but not one mention of the woman herself. I began to wonder if the book was really about her or about where she lived for one year. I did not learn a whole about the lady, but I did learn a whole lot about China, Hong Kong, etc. Unfortunately, that was not what I was looking for. If you are fascinated by the Far East, this book might be for you. If you are looking for information about the life of Wallis Simpson, you will not find it here.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily. So much has been written about Wallis Simpson, and so much speculation about parts of her life, that it’s hard to sift through it all and know what’s fact or fiction. I, for one, am here for it. As someone who was a tween and discovered the “love story of the century” with a TV movie starring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, I’ve taken great interest in the story of American Wallis Simpson.

There were some trashy rumors that always followed the Duchess, during her life and after her death, about a “China Dossier” that the British government had on her about her time in China in the mid-1920s, a time of great turmoil in the country. No one has ever produced the document, only repeated rumors of what was in it, speculating that what was inside the dossier was what, in fact, brought down King Edward VIII and forced his abdication. This book attempts to sift through all the rumors and get down to the facts.

The problem is, there’s scant documentation about Wallis’ time in China, other than where she went and when, as well as her own sanitized recollections in her memoir. The book acts much like a travelogue of China in the 1920s once the Duchess arrives there. There’s a lot of “Wallis could have” and “Wallis might have,” but without actual facts surrounding the events, one comes away from the book without any concrete answers.

There’s speculation that Wallis was actually a courier for the U.S. government, given her naval husband’s salary, which was usually spent on drink, and the fact that once she left her husband, her stipend from him would not allow her to stay in the high-quality hotels that she ended up in. Clearly, she was getting extra money from somewhere, and the circumstances described in the book would leave the reader to come to the same conclusion as the author. She had always had a generous uncle, so maybe she just got money from him. However, Wallis’ movements while in the east sometimes don’t make sense, that is, unless she was acting as a courier. Ultimately, it’s still a guessing game.

Overall, this book paints the future Duchess of Windsor in a most favorable light, at least at that time in her life, married to an abusive, alcoholic husband, doing whatever she could to survive. Because the book is hyper-focused on the 1924-25 year that Wallis was in the east, there’s scant mention of her now-known sympathy for the Nazis during WWII. I’m not sure one’s reputation can recover from that knowledge, no matter how sympathetic a book about her can be.

Intelligent, insightful observations pepper the reader throughout this book. Wallis Simpson, a controversial figure to say the least, trips across the pages with a smile and hardly a glance over her shoulder, oblivious as to whether the reader is following or what they are thinking. And by this I mean Wallis is here, mysterious and beautiful and adept as always, but frustratingly absent as well. The author does a brilliant job of tracking her whereabouts and situation during this obscure yet exciting time in history. I do not mean to imply that this book gives an understanding of the woman who denied a country their King. Rather, it lays to rest some myths and allows the reader to form their own opinion of the ways actual history affected the outcome. French is a diligent researcher, and I am very glad to know more about this time and the circumstances, as it tells as much about the period and its people as it does about the subject of Wallis.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from @netgalley 🐉
🏯Before she was Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, she was Wallis Spencer, the unhappy wife of heavy drinking Navy man, Win Spencer. A lot has been written about Wallis, mainly focusing on her years as Wallis Simpson and then as Duchess of Windsor. What is written about her time in China spans the gap from brief mentions to the downright scandalous. While it is true that Wallis spent time in China (Hong Kong 🇭🇰, Canton, Shanghai and Peking), her time there has been rather misrepresented. The author, Paul French, does a good job of analyzing the then-young woman's sojourn through a country, while exotic, was rife with political strife. French theorises that Wallis, instead of being a China Bird and freelance traveler, was instead a special courier for the United States Navy. While no definitive proof has ever been found, French shows the little arrows that point to this theory. Rather than spending her time providing services to men in brothels in Shanghai, French shows Wallis to be an active socialite and business woman, buying and selling China's most beautiful commodity: jade.
It was interesting to me to get to know Wallis in this way, before the nights at Fort Belvedere and the dreary smoke filled loneliness of Villa Windsor. Wallis was once young and vibrant and a woman in her own right, and I'm happy to have met her, and I think you will be, too.

This was really a book about China with the inclusion of what Wallis Simpson would be experiencing. Wish there was more about her and less about the geopolitical climate