The Golden Hour

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This novel contains all the ingredients for a fascinating work of historical fiction, and it’s penned by a gifted wordsmith. There were many points in this book where it brought tears to my eyes so be warned this is a very emotional tale, but it was also so funny and surprising.

Elfriede plays Chopin in the evenings, and the soothing music and the soothing conversations lead to a close friendship with Wilfred that quickly evolves into something more. If you need a memory jog, that was when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were living in the Bahamas (The Duke – former King Edward VIII of England – was Governor of the Bahamas). In fact, Windsor-era Nassau seethes with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle of it all stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of tremendous charm and murky national loyalties.Indeed she can and she did with THE GOLDEN HOUR, set inventively in Nassau, WWII intrigue swirling ‘round the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, multilayered plot lines also weaving in the War to End All Wars. But, all of the brilliantly developed individuals voices seem to come right off the page and live with you while you listen to their stories. The stories of two remarkable women a generation apart are cleverly entwined in Williams’s sweeping family saga… Williams illuminates the story with exotic locales and bygone ambiance, and seduces with the irresistible Windsors.

This piece of historical fiction, using the backdrop of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as residents of the Bahamian Government House, is superb. But as she infiltrates the Duke and Duchess’s social circle, and the powerful cabal that controls the islands’ political and financial affairs, she uncovers evidence that beneath the glister of Wallis and Edward’s marriage lies a complex—and even treasonous—reality.

It’s a dual narrative about two women: American Lulu in the 1940s and German Elfriede a generation before.

Newly-widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives in Nassau to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. Just like this book turns up with in plot "surprises" (usually about an "oops" in the past) about 5 or 6 times. The New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives and A Certain Age creates a dazzling epic of World War II-era Nassau - a hotbed of spies, traitors, and the most infamous couple of the age, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.However, if looking to disappear for a few hours, The Golden Hour will keep you intrigued about how all these characters touch and impact each other's lives and how it could feel so helpless and hopeful all at the same time during World War I and II. I found myself closing the book just to remind myself silently in my head who was who and what character was related to what character and how and why and so on.

I’m working on an article for School Library Journal on mental health depictions in middle grade fiction.The perfect blend of fact and fiction sprinkled with intrigue, espionage and royalty make Beatriz Williams the ‘Queen of Historical Fiction. Key plot points felt glossed over, almost like it was jumping from point A to point C, with nothing really linking the two things together.