The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
With lyricism, intelligence and an extraordinary historical voice, Beatriz Williams brings World War II-era Nassau, Bahamas to life in her new original saga, The Golden Hour (William Morrow), set inside the court of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
It’s 1941, and newly widowed Lulu Randolph arrives in Nassau to investigate the new Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the Duke and Duchess, that infamous couple posted to this colonial backwater during World War II after their marriage nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees.
What more compelling setting for a magazine feature than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires?
Or so Lulu imagines. 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 glamour of Wallis and Edward’s marriage lies a complex and treasonous reality. In fact, Windsor-era Nassau roils with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of magnetic charm and murky national loyalties. Inevitably, the willful and wounded Lulu falls in love.
Then Nassau’s wealthiest man is murdered in one of the most notorious cases of the century, and the resulting cover-up reeks of royal privilege. Benedict disappears without a trace, and Lulu embarks on a journey to London to unpick his complicated family history: a fateful love affair, a wartime tragedy, and a German mother, the Baroness Elfriede von Kleist, from whom all joy is stolen.
It’s a remarkable tale of espionage, sacrifice, human love, and courage, set against a shocking true crime – and the rise and fall of a legendary couple.
Williams, whose 2018 novel The Summer Wives received critical acclaim, has won a legion of passionate fans with her voice, settings and portrayal of complex female characters.
The Golden Hour is available for purchase.