Diana: In Pursuit of Love by Andrew Morton Book Critique

“The bizarre episode reminded me of why I returned to the subject of Diana, Princess of Wales in the first place , some twelve years after my first biography , Diana: Her True Story, written with her consent and cooperation, was published in 1992.” Page 12. It is wonderful that the author views the topic so personally as it sets up how the book will be. “Even as she lay dying, they would not take no for an answer.” Page 242. Crazy how even in her last minutes, paparazzi would not leave her alone, making it clear that they did not really view her as a human. This review is going to be mostly positive, there is some things the reader did not quite like, which will be discussed. This critique is about a very in-depth book about a princess who even years after her death is still talked about. A person who will hopefully never be forgotten, and a person we should all strive to be like, to not judge anybody – no matter who you are.

“Here was a woman, who in the words of Hillary Clinton, showed ‘courage and persistence in getting up and going on whenever life knocked her to the mat’. This book is an attempt to describe and celebrate that journey.” Page 15. The reader agrees with this statement, as Diana’s life was not always easy and not exactly what you think of when you think of a ‘royal’s life’ she still got up and fought the challenges that her life was plagued with. The purpose of this book is to really dive into Diana’s last years on earth, and how they turned from challenging to finally getting better, and how it is upsetting how her life was just getting good when she passed away. Morton’s writing strategy was unique, he was close to the princess – having made a biography of her before -, yet he worked with other close people of the princess to really get as much information for the book as possible, making it very in-depth from multiple people’s viewpoints. The book is about Diana’s last years on earth, talking about multiple topics including: her divorce with Prince Charles, her mental problems (her eating disorder and suicide attempts), her new flings, her humanitarian work and how it continues even after she passed, and her breaking away from the royal family and getting a new sense of independence and freedom. The significant point of the book is to really showcase in-depth who Princess Diana is – and the legacy she left behind.  

The readers evaluation of the book is good, it was an in-depth book about a person that the reader personally is interested in yet did not know much about. It was informative about how Diana was with her closest friends and how she was not much different behind closed doors as she was in public, a quality not many celebrities have. Some things the reader did not like about the book was how at it always seemed to go through very huge time jumps which seem very unnecessary and how on a couple of pages there is a use of some big words, an example of this is “ Her magnanimous behaviour was part of a wider perception of a rapprochement between them, sustained by the mixed signals she gave out.” Page 132. Other then that it was a very enjoyable read, which the reader found himself wanting to read during their personal time a lot more than they anticipated. 

The reader recommends the book. It was a very fascinating read about a very fascinating person who passed away too soon. The reader found the book in the school library, but they did find it online but sadly does not seem very popular. This book, in the readers opinion, is defiantly worth people’s hard-earned money. The book has great and a very interesting, in-depth read. The author was successful in what he set out to do – show everybody that Diana did not put an act on for the outside world. The reader thinks somebody who is interested in the royal family – or just Princess Diana – would love this book. The book worked as it was clearly a very personal story, kind of like if you wrote a biography about a close friend, not just a get rich quick book about a very popular figure, and really showed just how lovely of a person she truly was. Princess Diana may be gone, but she shall be remembered by making books just like this, showing how she truly was the “People’s Princess”, and how it does not matter who you are, and where you came from, you are still a human being just like the rest of us, and do not need to be held at a pedestal.

Diana: In Pursuit of Love, Andrew Morton, Michael O’Mara Books Limited, 9 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ, 2004, 320, $32.95 Canadian, ISBN 1- 84317- 084- 1.