Ping! An email pops up in Steerpike’s inbox. ‘Boris Johnson’s memoir acquired by HarperCollins’ roars the subject line, heralding the arrival of an effusive press release to mark the exciting news. Not content with earning £250,000 per speech and unveiling portraits of himself, it seems our former PM has decided that the time is now right for his considered reflections on his time in office (read: settle some old scores and make off with the moolah.)
In suitably gushing tones, Arabella Pike, the publicity director of the HarperCollins publishing house, promises that: ‘This will be a prime ministerial memoir like no other. I look forward to working with Boris Johnson as he writes his account of his time in office during some of the most momentous events the United Kingdom has seen in recent times.’ No publication has yet been set however – perhaps a sign that Johnson’s time in No. 10 is not yet over?
Johnson’s announcement is just the latest in a steady stream of books reflecting on his colourful three years as PM. Journalists Sebastian Payne and Andrew Gimson have penned accounts; Matt Hancock has attempted his own ‘Pandemic Diaries’ while Nadine Dorries is believed to be currently working on her own version of events about the ‘coup’ that brought down Bozza. HarperCollins must just be hoping Johnson delivers the manuscript sooner than his long-awaited Shakespeare book for Hodder & Stoughton. Eight years and counting now Boris…
Still, the onetime premier will have a tricky challenge in choosing what to keep in and leave out, given his own, er, unreliable memory. At least he will have plenty of titles to choose from: ‘Lying in state’ and ‘Etonment’ have already been nominated, while Steerpike’s favourite is ‘Hair’ in a nod to the other best-selling Etonian memoir of 2023. All other suggestions welcome in the comments…
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