Battle Royal

Behind every strong man stands a strong woman, the adage runs. It would perhaps be overly generous to label either Edward VIII or George VI a Hercules, but their respective wives were certainly clashing colossi, engaged in a titanic struggle that outlasted the Second World War, and which briefly threatened to alter its course dramatically. The story of the abdication crisis has been told and retold, but Kirsty McLeod's account cuts as striking a dash as one of Wallis's dresses (and at a fraction of the price).