UK: Earl Spencer’s Controversial Princess Diana Book Slashed to Half Price on Launch Day
LondonSales of Earl Spencer’s memoir about his sister, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, began Tuesday, but the book’s price was cut in half — from £28 to £14 — on its very first day amid controversy sparked by excerpts published in the Daily Mail. The discount applies uniformly across major retailers and the Waterstones website….
London
Sales of Earl Spencer’s memoir about his sister, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, began Tuesday, but the book’s price was cut in half — from £28 to £14 — on its very first day amid controversy sparked by excerpts published in the Daily Mail. The discount applies uniformly across major retailers and the Waterstones website. The book went on sale September 22 at stores including Waterstones Piccadilly, Europe’s largest bookstore, displayed alongside a quote from Spencer recalling memories of growing up with Diana.
Reports indicate the book did not draw the exceptional buyer turnout that had been anticipated. Early buyers included Mary Shebel, 69, a retired pharmacist from Atlanta, who said she married the same year Diana and Charles did, giving her a personal connection to the story. Asked about the controversial pre-published excerpts, Shebel said some material may have been presented out of context, and that she preferred to read the whole book before forming an opinion. Foot traffic was also slow that morning at other central London locations, including Waterstones branches in Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, and the flagship Foyles store in Charing Cross.
This marks the first time in nearly three decades since Diana’s death in 1997 that Spencer, 62, has written at length about his sister — a release that comes amid public controversy between Buckingham Palace and the Spencer family over claims made in its pages.
