Andrew Lownie on Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson's Nazi sympathies, scandals and tragic life.

 

Edward and Wallis stay at Ricardo Espirito Santo house in Cascais, Portugal

 

During the Second World War, despite his wife's Jewish ancestry and the considerable support that BES had provided to numerous Jewish refugees that passed through Lisbon, Espírito Santo came to be suspected by the British spy agency MI6 of being sympathetic to the German side. With the German invasion of France, the British Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII who, after his abdication, had been living in Paris with his wife Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, made his way to Madrid. The couple were planning to move on to Lisbon as a means of reaching London by boat or plane, although it was unclear whether Britain wanted them back. Pursuing Portugal's policy of neutrality, Salazar was concerned not to upset Adolf Hitler, but he also did not want to annoy Winston Churchill. He arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay with Espírito Santo at his home in Cascais, rather than at a hotel in Lisbon, thus keeping the couple out of view and away from German agents in Lisbon, who were aiming to persuade them to go to Berlin. The Duke and Duchess stayed in Cascais for a month and eventually left by ship on 1 August 1940, after the Duke had been appointed Governor of the Bahamas. During the same period, Espirito Santo helped Maurice de Rothschild and Baron de Rothschild to seek refuge in Portugal, receiving the gratitude of both men.

Was Ricardo Espírito Santo a German Agent?

 

While historical research and wartime German diplomatic cables describe Portuguese banker Ricardo Espírito Santo as a German "confidant" or intermediary during the Duke of Windsor’s 1940 stay, historians debate whether he was a formal, registered intelligence agent or a pragmatic, well-connected host managing delicate wartime neutrality.

The Context of the Visit

• The Arrival: In July 1940, the Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII) and his wife Wallis Simpson fled occupied France and arrived in neutral Portugal.
• The Hosting Arrangement: Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar arranged for the couple to stay at Espírito Santo’s seaside villa in Cascais rather than a public hotel in Lisbon to keep them discreetly managed away from intense spy activity.

Debated Allegations and Ties

• German Communications: Wartime telegrams from German diplomats (such as Ambassador Oswald von Hoyningen-Huene) refer to Espírito Santo as a contact or confidant through whom they attempted to gauge or influence the Duke's political sympathies.
• Intelligence Viewpoints: British intelligence (MI6) and modern historians examining declassified archives have alleged that the banker facilitated communication for Nazi interests and acted as a financial go-between, fitting into the wider German conspiracy known as "Operation Willi".
• Alternative Perspectives: Other scholars emphasize that Espírito Santo's actions closely mirrored Salazar’s official balancing act of maintaining trade and diplomatic links with both the Allies and the Axis, noting that the banker also aided Jewish and Allied refugees during the same period

 

Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is a biography of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor by historical writer Andrew Lownie.

Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is a biography of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor by historical writer Andrew Lownie.

 

Content

The former Edward VIII is alleged by Lownie to have been a Nazi sympathiser who gave aid and comfort to his country’s enemies before and during the Second World War. The book discusses his abdication which is portrayed as the first in a series of misjudgments, with Edward and Wallis thereafter fixated on regaining prominence. Their stay in Portugal in 1940 when they came to contact with Nazi agents is also mentioned with Lownie challenging the notion that Edward's sympathies with Nazi Germany were simply shared with the aristocracy or Tory establishment as he suggests something more intentional. The author elaborates how once their ambitions were not fulfilled, their lives devolved into freeloading, snobbery and irrelevance.

 

Reception

In his review in The Wall Street Journal, Dominic Green highlights Lownie's effort to firmly portray Edward not as a hapless pawn but as someone who flirted dangerously with Nazi sympathisers. The Times wrote that the book managed to show Edward as "the trivial, dim and useless royal" that he was. Marcus Field of The Standard stated that the book's central section is dedicated to the "shady" activities of the Windsors during the war. He also complimented Lownie on his ability to discuss financial details of the couple, which he believed showed their greed, in addition to presenting old narratives that he believed Lownie managed to make seem fresh. Rupert Christiansen of The Telegraph gave the book three out of five and stated that Lownie "rehashes a lot of silly tittle-tattle, presented uncritically and even salaciously" and Edward "emerges as simply a weak, sterile and pathetic character".

 

All The New Evidence about The Traitor King | Lownie Explains - Documentary

 

The Cotswold Village Protesting Against Tourists

 

Bourton-on-the-Water had enough of tourists

Bourton-on-the-Water residents have launched public protests against overtourism, culminating in a community "day of action" where locals blocked on-street parking and reclaimed the village green. The Gloucestershire village—frequently dubbed the "Venice of the Cotswolds"—is home to roughly 4,200 permanent residents but swamped by up to 10,000 visitors per day during peak periods.

The primary friction points driving the community to a breaking point include:

1. Severe Infrastructure Strain

• Traffic Congestion: Residents compare the daily gridlock on local roads to "living next to a busy motorway".
• Parking Shortages: Illegal and unmanaged parking blocks residential access. A community survey found 92.6% of residents believe traffic management is entirely ineffective.
• Crowded Spaces: The massive crowds leave locals unable to access basic public spaces or walk safely through their own village.

2. The Rise of "Fast Tourism"

Local officials have criticized a shift toward social media-driven "TikTok tourists". Community leaders note that many day-trippers arrive solely to shoot brief video content and take selfies without engaging in the local heritage, culture, or spending money at independent shops.

3. Safety and Quality of Life

The grass-roots group Bourton Residents' Voice organized a local survey revealing that 90.8% of participants felt tourism had a net negative impact on their quality of life. Organizers described the situation as "lawless", pointing to incidents of littering on the village green and verbal abuse toward residents trying to navigate the traffic.

The Community Divide

While local advocacy groups emphasize they are not completely anti-tourism, they are demanding immediate policy intervention to establish a sustainable balance. Local business networks recognize the tension but point out that many businesses "absolutely" need visitor revenue to survive. Local government councils are facing heavy pressure to introduce strict parking limits, coach drop-off restrictions, and crowd control measures

 

The Duke of Marlborough, Lady Spencer-Churchill & Philip Treacy | The Art of Living – Vintage Film

In this England Special, Nathalie visits Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and ancestral home of the Spencer-Churchill family, for an exclusive private portrait of John Spencer-Churchill, the 11th Duke of Marlborough, in his personal chambers. As a member of the same historic family, the Duke was a distant relative of Britain’s legendary wartime prime minister.

 

She also meets his daughter, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, an acclaimed interior designer known for bringing the elegance of the English country-house tradition into contemporary homes. Nathalie visits her at her interior design shop, where historic influences, fine fabrics and a distinctly British sense of comfort come together.

 

The journey continues at the Feathers Hotel in Oxfordshire, a historic retreat close to Blenheim Palace, before Nathalie enters the fragrant and highly refined world of a florist associated with the British Royal Household.

 

In London, she meets Philip Treacy, the internationally celebrated milliner whose sculptural and often daring creations have transformed hatmaking into an art form. His extraordinary designs have been worn by members of the Royal Family, leading fashion figures and some of the world’s most famous women.

 

A portrait of British aristocracy, private heritage and refined interiors. It’s an evocative journey into another era, shaped by remarkable people, extraordinary places and the timeless worlds they inhabited.

A unique encounter

 

Out of curiosity, I include a photograph of my father in Ericeira in Portugal during a summer vacation, wearing a Pullover that can be mistaken for Cricket, but which was used to play Tennis.

Something extraordinary happened. Over the years my visits in Amsterdam to the Waterlooplein, the local version of the "Marché aux puces", have become a frequent ritual in my daily life. With the phenomenon of hyper-awareness of Vintage, this translated into a galloping growth in prices and unfortunately associated with a loss of quality and authenticity of a saturated market, the flea markets are the last stronghold of trouvailles and unexpected surprises.

Over the years I have become a kind of curator and keeper who recognizes, in the midst of the greatest chaos, the quality and authenticity of pieces completely lost in oblivion and lost in a chaotic mix stretching along the floor.

This cricket "Spencer" was found on the ground and recognized by me as an authentic piece, and not as a reproduction and "fashion" version of Ralph Lauren or Hillfiger.

This was confirmed by the name of the former cricketer and owner of the "pullover" which was still clearly visible.

A few days ago, during a walk with a friend, when I was wearing the "Cricket" jumper, I was approached by a Young and Sporty Gentleman, clearly British, who asked me about the school associated with this club that was represented by the emblem present on the chest of the "pullover".

I told him the story of how the piece had been saved from oblivion by my act of recognition and  that the name of the former owner was still mentioned on the Pullover.

Great was his astonishment and feeling of magical surprise when he recognized the name as one of his former sports students. He amazed me with the photos still present in his cell phone of this young athlete in question. He was, therefore, the Sports Teacher of this Private School. A pleasant atmosphere of conversation was thus established.

This surprising coincidence and amazing encounter culminated in a joint photograph.

JEEVES / TWEEDLAND

THOSE WERE THE DAYS !

A History of the Novel in Britain by Philip Hensher

 

Review

A History of the Novel in Britain by Philip Hensher review – a masterpiece of criticism

 

This joyous book takes readers on a literary adventure across 200 years of fiction, from Defoe to Zadie Smith

 

Kathryn Hughes

Wed 12 Aug 2026 07.00 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/12/a-history-of-the-novel-in-britain-by-philip-hensher-review-a-masterpiece-of-criticism

 

In his opening paragraph, Philip Hensher declares that a novel not only “tells a good story” but is a good story in itself. We could extend that neat formula to include this book, which is not only a masterful account of fiction since 1719, when Daniel Defoe set Robinson Crusoe down on his desert island, but is itself a wonderful read. There is nothing dreary here; no sense of being back in the seminar room taking notes. Instead it is 600 pages of deep pleasure, an excuse to revisit old literary loves and be reminded of ones that have slipped from view.

 

Hensher is smart enough to know why his book works so well and vain enough to tell us. The usual methodology for a survey is to assemble a roster of academics and invite them to trot out a chapter on their specialism, whether that be “Thomas Hardy” or “High Modernism”. The result is a series of silos, with little sense of historical connection or intellectual unfolding. Hensher, by contrast, gives us a joined-up account of creative call and response. Equally crucial to this project’s success is Hensher’s own experience as a novelist. He brings a practitioner’s informed eye to such questions as why some chapters in Dickens’s Dombey and Son are in the present tense or how Henry James pulls off free indirect speech in What Maisie Knew.

 

After setting out the novel’s origin story, we are plunged into the inky churn of the middle-18th century. Samuel Richardson writes Pamela in 1740, Henry Fielding shoots back with his snarky parody, Shamela (1741), followed by the more sustained inversion of Joseph Andrews (1742). Richardson, in turn infuriated by the lack of moral purpose in Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749), storms back with The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1754).

 

One of the delights of Hensher’s capacious narrative is being alerted to authors and books that never got their proper due

 

Hensher is brilliant on the warring duo’s finances, giving us a forensic account of the risk and reward of their different publishing models. Richardson was a printer before he was an author and hung on to his own copyrights. This allowed him the autonomy to shape the fledgling genre in ways that he wanted which, in the case of Clarissa (1748), meant 1m words written entirely in epistolary form. Fielding, no less lucky, had a patron and printer who supported him no matter how eccentric his artistic choices.

 

Few authors were so favoured. Jane Austen chose to sell Pride and Prejudice for a flat fee to Thomas Egerton in 1812, having previously lost money on Sense and Sensibility when she insisted on retaining copyright and paying for the printing. Under the new arrangement, Egerton was under no obligation to spend more than the minimum on production. When Pride and Prejudice eventually appeared in 1813 it was in such tiny print and scrappy paper that disgruntled readers decreed it “almost unintelligible”.

 

That sort of thing can kill a career, but Austen went on to rise above it, even if it took until the 1940s before the literary establishment caught up with her glory. One of the delights of Hensher’s capacious narrative is being alerted to authors and books that never got their proper due. Hannah More, usually written off as a Sunday school prig, turns out to be “a beautiful and graceful writer”, while Tobias Smollett, who generally gets dismissed these days as an unfunny hack, is rehabilitated as an inventive craftsman with supreme control over narrative voice. Arnold Bennett, characterised as a dreary bore thanks to Virginia Woolf’s unkind take-down of 1924, is lovingly restored as the author of the incomparable Old Wives Tale (1908), which “ought to be acknowledged among the 20 greatest novels in English”.

 

If Hensher is generous with plaudits, he is equally vigorous in his loathing. Ann Radcliffe, author of the hugely popular and preposterously gothic The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) “was (and remains) a simply terrible writer”. DM Thomas, Booker nominated in 1981 for The White Hotel, is “patently untalented”. And poor David Lodge, who tried so hard with modish literary pastiche in Changing Places (1975), is simply “not up to the task”.

 

Hensher never falls into crankiness, but he is unafraid to point out home truths. Such as the fact that so much of the pleased-with-itself “experimentalism” of the 1960 to 1980 period was merely a retread of things that had been done better before. Tickled by the clever wheeze of having central characters with no name? Fanny Burney was already doing that in 1814. Keen on using fragmentary collage to signal modernity? That blustery old fogey Evelyn Waugh got their first with Vile Bodies (1930). As for self-reflexivity, that process by which the novelist comments on the process of writing a novel, you should go back to Fielding.

 

Hensher doesn’t bring his account right up to date, preferring to stop in 2000 – at Zadie Smith and her “wonderful ear for speech” – on the grounds that it is impossible to form a proper critical judgment until plenty of time has passed. It is a wise decision and a tactful one, underscoring the moral seriousness of this master­piece, quite aside from its buoyant joy. Reader, I could not put it down.

 

A History of the Novel in Britain by Philip Hensher

A History of the Novel in Britain by Philip Hensher is a comprehensive literary study published by Pelican Books that maps out the evolution of British fiction over a three-hundred-year span. Spanning roughly 704 pages, the book explores the novel not just as an artistic medium but as a commercial industry shaped by the dynamic interplay between authors, publishers, and the reading public.

 

Key Themes and Scope

•             Chronological Range: The narrative traces the medium's lineage from its 18th-century pioneers like Daniel Defoe up to the year 2000, concluding with Zadie Smith. Hensher deliberately avoids evaluating contemporary post-2000 works, arguing that sound critical judgment requires historical distance.

•             Art Meets Industry: The book analyzes the "evolutionary scramble" for reader attention. It details how market demands drove technological shifts in printing, book distribution, and stylistic writing techniques.

•             Expanding the Canon: Alongside legendary British authors, Hensher evaluates "once famous" and "unfairly forgotten" novelists to present a broader, more accurate history of British prose.

•             Debunking Modernity: Critics have noted Hensher's sharp observations dismantling the uniqueness of mid-to-late 20th-century "experimental fiction". He highlights that literary devices like unnamed protagonists, collage structures, and self-reflexivity were executed centuries prior by writers like Fanny Burney, Evelyn Waugh, and Henry Fielding.

Britain in the 1950s

REMEMBERING 4 Years Ago: Gentlemen's Day Out In London | Kirby Allison & Tom Chamberlin

REMEMBERING 1973: The Death of the Local Pub? | Man Alive | Voice of the People | BBC

Twilight

Ladies in Black

 

Ladies in Black is a 2018 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford.[5] Starring Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Julia Ormond, Ryan Corr and Shane Jacobson, the film is based on the 1993 novel The Women in Black by Madeleine St John, and tells the story of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney. The film was released on 20 September 2018.

 

Plot

Lisa is hired as a new assistant at Goode's department store in Sydney during the 1959 Christmas season. She makes friends with Fay, who is initially wary of immigrants; Patty, who seeks more attention from her husband; and Magda, an immigrant from Slovenia who introduces her to her other European friends. Patty buys a pink nightdress to get her the attention from her husband she seeks, but he believes he has upset her with his attention and disappears for the season. Magda invites Lisa and Fay to a New Year's Eve party at Magda's house and introduces Fay to Rudi, a Hungarian immigrant who is looking for a wife. Lisa is introduced to Michael, the son of Hungarian immigrants to Australia. A dress Lisa wants to buy is marked down from 150 guineas to 75 guineas during the next summer sale, then later to 50 guineas.

 

Patty's husband returns and they reconcile when she explains she wants his attention, and Patty soon becomes pregnant. Lisa gets honours on her school leaving exam and applies for a scholarship at Sydney University after getting the approval of her father. Rudi buys a new apartment and proposes to Fay in it. Lisa is upset the dress she likes is no longer on display, but Magda has only hidden it away now so it has been reduced to 35 guineas, which Lisa can now afford. She buys the dress and wears it to a party celebrating her test scores. Magda says she has picked out a location for a store where she will sell high-end fashion. Magda asks Lisa what she will do after finishing her studies at Sydney University and Lisa says she wants to be an actress, or a poet, or a novelist, or maybe all three.

 

Cast

Julia Ormond as Magda

Sepideh Fallah as Rania

Angourie Rice as Leslie 'Lisa' Miles

Rachael Taylor as Fay Baines

Ryan Corr as Rudi

Susie Porter as Mrs. Miles

Shane Jacobson as Mr. Miles

Noni Hazlehurst as Miss Cartwright

Genevieve Lemon as Mrs. Wentworth

Nicholas Hammond as Mr. Ryder

Alison McGirr as Patty Williams

Vincent Perez as Stefan Szombathelyi

Kate Miller-Heidke as Nightclub Singer

Jesse Hyde as Michael

Luke Pegler as Frank

Danny Adcock as Doctor

Deborah Kennedy as Myra's Mother

 

Production

Ladies in Black was twenty years in the making, with writer-director Bruce Beresford attached to the project. Beresford and novelist Madeleine St John, who wrote the book of which the film is an adaptation, were university friends, and Beresford had promised to one day adapt her novel into film since first reading it around its original publication.[7] Ladies in Black is the film that almost got away from Beresford and his friend and producer Sue Milliken, a film the funding agencies kept rejecting. But the X-factor was the involvement of Allanah Zitserman as co-producer. Zitserman's credentials include: producer of three movies, including Russian Doll (2001) and the founder and director of Dungog Film Festival in NSW's Hunter Region. "If it hadn't been for Allanah's dynamism, we'd never have got the money" says Beresford. "She was relentless."

 

In October 2017, the cast was announced, with principal production commencing that month in Sydney, Australia.

 

The exterior of the fictional "Goode's" department was the former Mark Foy's store, currently the Downing Centre.

 

Release

Box office

Prior to release, Ladies in Black was projected to have "a sizable opening weekend and a long run sustained by word-of-mouth and repeat business."[13] On its opening weekend, the film earned $1,865,134 in Australia, placing second behind Johnny English Strikes Again.

 

Critical response

Ladies in Black received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Ladies in Black gleans socially relevant observations from Australian history with entertaining flair, embroidering a tale that touches on immigration and female empowerment with a fashionable pizazz [sic]."

 

Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter said of the film, "Ladies in Black quietly but effectively points out the seldom-stressed positives of immigration and integration, and thus deserves attention far beyond its own native shores". Jake Wilson in The Sydney Morning Herald says the period details "carry the authority of first-hand experience". Australian film critic David Stratton, writing for The Australian, wrote "Ladies in Black may be seen mistakenly as lightweight or slight; it isn't. It brims with subtext and nuance and at the same time succeeds in being a thoroughly enjoyable entertainment."

 

Accolades

Award Category          Subject             Result

AACTA Awards

(8th)     Best Film         Sue Milliken   Nominated

Allanah Zitserman    Nominated

Best Direction             Bruce Beresford         Nominated

Best Adapted Screenplay   Nominated

Sue Milliken   Nominated

Best Actress  Julia Ormond               Nominated

Angourie Rice              Won

Best Supporting Actress      Noni Hazlehurst        Nominated

Best Cinematography           Peter James   Nominated

Best Editing   Mark Warner Nominated

Best Original Music Score  Christopher Gordon               Won

Best Costume Design            Wendy Cork   Won

Best Hair and Makeup           Anna Gray       Won

Beth Halsted Won

Jen Lamphee Won

JEEVES at his garden / SUMMER 2026.

 

"Jeeves" is the pen name (or heteronym) of António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho, a Lisbon-born (1953) architectural historian based in the Netherlands. He is well-known for creating "Tweedland" The Gentlemen's Club, a digital and cultural gathering space celebrating classic style, architecture, and gentlemanly etiquette where talking about money and business is forbidden.

Who is Jeeves?

• Born in Lisbon in 1953.
• Works as an architectural historian.
• Moved to the Netherlands for love.
• Writes articles for the Portuguese newspaper Público.

Tweedland: The Gentlemen's Club

• Founded by António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho.
• Operates primarily through his classic blog Tweedland The Gentlemen's Club.
• Focuses on classic tailoring, aesthetics, history, and camaraderie.
• Enforces a strict rule: members do not discuss money or business

 

1981: The Englishwoman and the Horse | BBC Archive

1981: The Englishwoman and the Horse | BBC Archive

"1981: The Englishwoman and the Horse" is a documentary segment preserved and shared by the BBC Archive on YouTube. The archival footage explores the deep, lifelong connection, unwavering devotion, and sacrifices shared between British girls, women, and their horses.

Key Highlights of the Footage

• The Twins: Features 10-year-old twins, Nikki and Sara Hall, who live on a farm near Badminton in the West Country.
• Sara’s Pony: Owns a chestnut pony named Counselor who loves rolling in the mud and famously dislikes having his tail washed.
• Nikki’s Pony: Owns a fast-jumping mare named Pinky, who was severely mistreated by a previous owner (resulting in a visible dent in his neck and extreme nervousness around his head). Nikki tenderly cuddles Pinky to calm him down before putting on his bridle.
• Local Reputation: The active twins are known locally as the "doodle bugs" due to how fast they move around the farm.
• Core Theme: The documentary frames the high demands of horse care—and the unquestioning dedication it requires—as a profound, real-life love story

Half Of England Enters “Serious Drought” | Rivers Run Dry As Fourth Heatwave Hits Europe | VERTEX

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