Suzanne Blum (lawyer)
Suzanne Blumel, known as Suzanne Blum (24 November 1898 in Niort, France – 23 January 1994)[1][2] was a French lawyer and writer under the pseudonym L.-S. Karen with three crime novels.
Early life
[edit]Suzanne Marguerite Blumel was born at Niort in western France, daughter of merchant Joseph Blumel and Amélie, née Cahen. The family were from Alsace.[3]
Career
[edit]As a lawyer, she joined the bar in 1922 and worked on several famous cases, notably representing Warner Brothers against Igor Stravinsky in a copyright case, and Rita Hayworth during her divorce from Prince Aly Khan.[4] Upon the death of the Duke of Windsor, she looked after the assets of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, and gradually became her single representative, until her death in 1986; Blum's presence and actions during these years are a subject of controversy.[5][6] The biographer Hugo Vickers recounted that the Duchess's affairs had been the responsibility of Sir Godfrey Morley of Allen & Overy, but the "sinister" Blum had "sacked" him and taken control, the Duchess's "increasingly dismal health" meaning "Blum was able to do whatever she pleased"; much of her fortune was directed to the Louis Pasteur Institute in Paris, with which the Duchess had no known connection, she having had little interest in charity during her life.[7][8]
Personal life
[edit]In 1934, she married Paul Weill, the Duke of Windsor's attorney in Paris. He died in 1965, and she subsequently remarried, to General Georges Spillmann (died 1980).
References
[edit]- ^ "Bibliographie policière".
- ^ Greg King (May 2011). The Duchess Of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson. Kensington Publishing Corp., 2011. ISBN 9780806535210.
- ^ Behind Closed Doors, Hugo Vickers, Penguin Random House, 2012, p. 66
- ^ Francis Wheen (17 June 1996). Lord Gnome's Literary Companion. Verso, 1996. ISBN 9781859840450.
- ^ Hugo Vickers (26 January 1994). "Obituary: Maitre Suzanne Blum". Independent, Wednesday 26 January 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25.
- ^ Andrew Morton. Wallis in Love (2018), Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. P.336.
- ^ Vickers, Hugo (2024-01-30). "Of course the will of Elizabeth II's aunt was kept secret – blame the randy Prince Frank of Teck". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ The Windsor Style, Suzy Menkes, Grafton Books, 1987, p. 200
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