In both his novels and non-fiction, D. J. Taylor has long been fascinated by the period between the wars. Now in The Windsor Faction, he brings us a counterfactual version. What would have happened in 1939 if Mrs Simpson had conveniently died three years earlier, leaving Edward VIII free to stay on the throne? Would he have prevented war with Germany — perhaps even by treacherous means?
Taylor explores these questions from a variety of perspectives. In big London houses, groups such as the Nordic League and the White Knights of St Athelstan meet to campaign against Britain’s involvement in a ‘Jewish war’, convinced that they have the king’s unspoken support. In Buckingham Palace, the man himself frets about the limits on his power, but remains uncertain what he’d do if he had more of it. Meanwhile in Bloomsbury, even a small literary magazine finds itself drawn into the world of plot and counter-plot.
And yet, when we do finally get the answer to those counterfactual questions, 370 pages later, it proves distinctly anti-climactic.
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