Q&A with Georgie Blalock

 

 

Georgie Blalock is the author of the new novel The Windsor Conspiracy. It focuses on Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. Blalock's other novels include The Other Windsor Girl. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Windsor Conspiracy, and was your character Amelia based on a real person?

 

A: I was inspired to write The Windsor Conspiracy by research I’d done a few years ago about Wallis’s early life for a novel that I ended up not writing.  

 

I wanted to revisit Wallis because she was a fascinating person, and when I returned to my research, I was drawn to the story of her treasonous activities during WWII. Wallis's desire to become Queen, and how she and the Duke schemed with the Nazis to regain the British throne, was too dramatic to ignore and I had to write about it.

 

Amelia is a fictional character, but I drew from a number of real people to help create her. Not many of Wallis Simpson’s employees wrote about what it was like to work for the Windsors but two people did.  

 

I tracked down those two secretaries’ books and while they were filled with valuable details, they weren’t juicy tell-all books. However, their accounts helped me piece together what it was like to be the Duchess of Windsor’s personal secretary.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Amelia and Wallis?

 

A: The dynamic between Wallis and Amelia is one of uneven power. Amelia is in a precarious financial state and ends up relying on Wallis. Wallis pretends to help her out of family love but when it suits Wallis’s aims, she doesn’t hesitate to hold her generosity over Amelia’s head in order to get Amelia to do her bidding.

 

Wallis is manipulative in many of her relationships, but especially with Amelia. Correcting the power imbalance and getting out from under Wallis’ thumb is one of Amelia’s goals.

 

Q: Can you say more about how you researched the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I researched the novel by reading every book about the Duke and Duchess that I could find, and then zeroing in on their lives during WWII. There are a number of books about their activities during WWII but most of them are older and I had to hunt to find them.

 

The depths of their treasonous activity really surprised me. The Duke and Duchess are often portrayed as sympathetic people who were mistreated by the British Royal Family because of their love.

 

The reality behind their relationship is much darker. They were self-centered people who actively worked to bring about Britain's downfall for their own benefit, and neither of them cared about the many individuals who suffered because of their ambitions.  

 

Q: The writer Bryn Turnbull said of the novel, “Blalock has weaved a chilling narrative about the lengths to which the embittered and myopic Duke and Duchess were willing to go to restore their grip on power.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think that is a very accurate description of the Windsors. The Windsors’ Nazi activities, and their desire to do anything to regain the throne of England, including working against the British people and the British Royal Family is a story that isn’t often told. However, reading book after book detailing their activities, and then seeing actual FBI documents online was very eye opening.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Right now, I’m working on proposals for a new book. I love classic Hollywood so I’m hoping to write something about a golden age of Hollywood. We’ll see!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Readers who wish to know more about what is was like to work for the Windsors should read The Windsors I Knew: An American Private Secretary's Memoir of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Nassau, Bahamas 1940 – 1944. It provides an interesting peek into the Windsor's time in The Bahamas and is available on Amazon Kindle.

 

If they want to know more about what the Windsors were up to during WWII, Andrew Lownie's Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and 17 Carnations: The Royals, The Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History by Andrew Morton are great places to start.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Georgie Blalock.