Diana’s brother Earl Spencer’s £28 memoir about the late princess is slashed to half price on release day
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister went on sale for the first time on Tuesday. Dozens of copies were already marked with half price stickers
Bookshops across London appeared quiet on the release day of Earl Spencer’s memoir about his late sister Diana, Princess of Wales – with the £28 book marked at half its cover price.
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Swan Song: Diana, My Sister went on sale for the first time on Tuesday, with copies lining the windows of bookstores across the city including in Waterstones Piccadilly – which is the largest in Europe.
Dozens of copies with red “half price” stickers were stacked in the store’s display, which included a quote from Charles Spencer reading: “When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her.”
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A handful of customers arrived at the store early on Tuesday to buy copies, including retired pharmacist Mary Scheible, 69.
Speaking just after 9am, she said she has “always been fascinated in Diana and her story”.
The customer, from Atlanta in the United States, added: “I was married the same year that she and Charles were married, so there was kind of an affinity there.
“So I wanted to see her brother’s side of the story and what he had to say, and mostly read about growing up in their family and that part of her life.”
Asked what she think of the dispute surrounding extracts that have already been published, she said: “I just really don’t know what to make of it, and I know some of these things have been taken out of context or whatever, so I’d really like to read the book in it’s entirety and see if what’s being said is really what he’s trying to convey in the book or not.”
The grandmother, who is visiting London on a trip with friends, said she plans on reading the book “as soon as I get back to the hotel”.
The Waterstones branches in Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, and the Foyles flagship bookstore in Charing Cross, appeared quiet on Tuesday morning.
The hardback costs £28, but is marked as half price in stores and on Waterstones’ website.
The book marks the first time that Earl Spencer, 62, has spoken at length about his sibling, three decades after her death.