The Last of the Duchess is the account of Caroline Blackwood's attempts to write a final article on The Duchess of Windsor, who spent her last years under the thumb of her eccentric lawyer. • “A sharply observed (and sometimes very funny) portrait of the frivolous world of wealth and luxury inhabited by the Windsors.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times In 1980, Lady Caroline Blackwood was given what she thought would be a simple task: write a
Sunday Times article on the aging Duchess of Windsor, who was said to be convalescing in her rambling French mansion. Unknown to Blackwood, what began as an easy assignment would become one of the most troubling experiences of her writing career, and would launch her into a cat-and-mouse game of wits with the Duchess's grande dame of a protector, Suzanne Blum. Fiercely protective of her client, Maitre Blum refused to let Blackwood near the Duchess, spinning elaborate excuses as to why she was unavailable but threatening to sue anyone who dared suggest that the woman who once inspired a king to abdicate his crown was in less than the best of health. Blackwood turned her experiences into this riveting and excoriating modern classic about the frailties of old age, the foibles of society, and the dual-edged nature of celebrity.
“Beguiling. . . . Blackwood is witty, understated and perceptive.” —The Washington Post
In 1980, Lady Caroline Blackwood was commissioned by The Sunday Times to write an article on the aging Duchess of Windsor, who was said to be convalescing in her French mansion in the Bois de Boulogne. Yet what began as a curiosity was to become for Blackwood one of the most challenging experiences of her writing career, launching her into a battle of wits with the Duchess's formidable lawyer, Maître Suzanne Blum.
Maître Blum refused to let Blackwood near the Duchess, spinning elaborate excuses as to why she was unavailable and threatening anyone who dared suggest that she was in anything other than the best of health. Still, while Blum's machinations restricted Blackwood's ability to publish a frank interview, it only served to pique her interest in the bizarre relationship between the infamous Duchess-a woman who once inspired a king to abdicate his crown-and her eccentric, domineering gatekeeper. Sixteen years later, Blackwood turned her experiences into this riveting and excoriating modern classic about the frailties of old age, the foibles of society, and the dual-edged nature of celebrity.
“A sharply observed (and sometimes very funny) portrait of the frivolous world of wealth and luxury inhabited by the Windsors.” —Michiko Kakutani,
The New York Times “Beguiling. . . . Blackwood is witty, understated and perceptive.” —
The Washington Post “The central character in
The Last of the Duchess never appears at all but, like Godot in Beckett’s play, becomes more powerful by her absence. . . . Brilliant—and brilliantly entertaining—journalism.” —
Chicago Tribune “A fierce, scintillatingly funny report on a dying social circle.” —
The Independent (London)
