What a lot of new books there are about the queen. I count 24 biographies, photograph collections and retrospectives all produced to mark the Diamond Jubilee. There is only so much to say about Her Majesty before writers begin to repeat each other. Either that or a biographer is left to record the inane and the absurd.
One such example landed on my desk a few days back. Sally Bedell Smith’s The Queen: The Woman Behind the Throne contains **NEW INFORMATION**, according to the press release, on the well-trodden ground of the Paul Burrell trial, the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death and the Queen’s relationship with Tony Blair. But my favourite of her scoops is revealing the contents of Her Majesty’s handbag. Sadly, the index is no help in uncovering this tantalising piece of trivia, and I don’t have the stamina to read 537 pages describing ‘tiara time’, whatever that might be. But if anyone does manage it, £5 says the handbag contains lipstick, tissues and a hand mirror.
The centenary of the Titanic disaster has inspired a similar publishing bonanza. There are 18 newish books out telling a familiar story: big ship sinks, some people survive, but most die.
There is a captive market for these commemorative books, but can it possibly sustain 42 broadly similar books? It’ll be interesting to see the end of year sales figures.
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