Diana: In Pursuit of Love

From Publishers Weekly
Celebrity biographer Morton’s fourth book on Diana, Princess of Wales, doesn’t contain the shocking revelations of his first exposé, Diana: Her True Story (1992), but provoking a scandal isn’t his intention with this book. Rather, he aims to shed light on Diana’s true personality, which he feels has been distorted by the media and by those who knew or worked for her and subsequently exploited that association. With the help of Diana’s close friends—including her confidante, Dr. James Colthurst, and her astrologer, Debbie Frank—Morton paints a portrait of a princess who, despite her beauty, kindness and popularity, was deeply afflicted by self-doubt, extremely dependent on the counsel of her friends and desperate for a man to love her. "Her heart truly ruled her head," Diana’s masseur, Stephen Twigg, told Morton, and indeed, her fierce determination to enjoy a passionate, genuine relationship is evident in this account. To break free of her loveless marriage, she was willing to defy centuries-old royal protocol and risk losing her position, wealth and even her beloved sons to the Queen, who was legally entitled to guardianship of William and Harry. After the divorce, she pinned her hopes for happiness on several men, adopting their interests and imagining a future with each of them. Morton portrays Diana as lonely and vulnerable, yet possessing an "indomitable spirit." However, he is unrelenting in his criticism of Diana’s butler and onetime friend, Paul Burrell, whose memoir Morton blasts for being exploitative and biased against the Spencer family. Though Morton covers little new ground, he succeeds in putting Diana’s actions in context and presenting a balanced assessment of this indelible figure. 32 pages of color photos.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
When Andrew Morton's world-famous biography, Diana: Her True Story (ISBN: 1-85479-384-5), was first published, it caused a media frenzy, severely jolted the royal family and the Palace hierarchy, and shook the British Establishment to its foundations. Later revealed as having been written with the Princess's full cooperation, this world bestseller is now seen as the nearest thing to her official biography. Yet it was not the full story, nor could it have been, given the circumstances at the time. This is even more apparent in the light of events that have occurred since her death and which have been played out under the harsh gaze of the media, once again catapulting Diana's name back into the spotlight. Figures such as her sometime lover James Hewitt, her butler, Paul Burrell - whose aborted trial for theft of the Princess's property in 2002 was followed by publication of his own kiss-and-tell memoir, causing a sensation in the fall of 2003 - and Prince Charles's valet Michael Fawcett have emerged. In addition, intriguing comments that Diana made to Morton in taped conversations, and which have never been published, become supremely important in the light of subsequent events. Friends, advisors and colleagues, interviewed now, six years after her death, feel a far greater freedom in speaking of her than they once did. In what is bound to be seen as the most definitive study of the Princess in the most crucial period of her short life, Andrew Morton - the biographer she herself chose - provides the last word on one of the most admired, influential and best-loved figures of our era. At long last, Diana: In Pursuit Of Love makes sense of the tragic Princess's life as she changed from downtrodden wife and reluctant royal into a self-confident and independent modern woman, an icon of the twenty-first century and, indeed, a 'queen in people's hearts'.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices