Diana in Search of Herself
Portrait of a Troubled Princess
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3.7 • 15 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The first authoritative biography of one of the most fabled women of the twentieth century—Princess Diana—that paints an insightful and haunting portrait, a “chilling vision of loneliness, need, and untreated mental illness” (USA Today).
“[Sally Bedell] Smith has done a remarkable job extracting what’s genuinely pertinent and interesting about Diana. . . . If you’re going to read one Diana book, this should be it.”—Newsweek
For all that has been written about Diana—the books, the commemorative magazines, the thousands of newspaper articles—we have lacked a sophisticated understanding of the woman, her motivations, and her extreme needs. Most books have been exercises in hagiography or character assassination, sometimes both in the same volume. With Diana in Search of Herself, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith has written the first truly balanced and nuanced portrait of the Princess of Wales, in all her emotional complexity.
Drawing on scores of exclusive interviews with Diana’s friends and associates, Smith explores the events and relationships that shaped the Princess, the flashpoints that sent her careening through life, her deep feelings of unworthiness, her view of men, and her perpetual journey toward a better sense of self. By making connections not previously explored, Diana in Search of Herself allows readers to see Diana as she really was, from her birth to her tragic death.
Original in its reporting and surprising in its conclusions about the severity of Diana’s mental health problems, Diana in Search of Herself is the smartest and most substantive biography ever written about this mesmerizing woman.
NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Devotees who remember Princess Diana as a beautiful, warm-hearted mother dedicated to good works, whom an adulterous husband and the British Royal family unfairly victimized, will find little comfort in this treatment of her life. Smith relentlessly but convincingly portrays Diana as a woman with severe psychological problems (characterized here as a "borderline personality") who never overcame a serious eating disorder and was unable to sustain relationships. Based on research and interviews with Diana's friends, Smith (Reflected Glory: The Life of Pamela Harriman) carefully presents Diana's childhood as darkened by divorce and neglect, leaving Diana with deep feelings of unworthiness; by the time of her marriage she was, Smith contends, not only a bulimic but also a pathological liar. According to Smith, Prince Charles had completely severed relations with Camilla Parker-Bowles out of determination to make his marriage work, and did not revive his affair with her until the relationship with his wife fell apart. Diana, certain that Charles was still seeing Camilla from the date of their wedding, retaliated with a series of tawdry romances, and also engaged in self-mutilation, binge eating and other erratic behaviors that alienated Charles. Though Smith acknowledges that the princess dearly loved her sons, she also describes occasions when Diana placed emotional demands on them that they were too young to handle. This is a sharply etched and engrossing study of an insecure and emotionally damaged woman coming apart at the seams. Photos not seen by PW. 11-city tour; 20-city TV and radio satellite tour. First serial to People magazine.
Customer Reviews
Very biased
Diana was a luminous woman which the British establishment recognized in her but failed to acknowledge. She was not perfect. But the author presented such a skewed view of her, very negative to the point of indicating Diana was a lying, conniving crackpot who needed a lot of professional help, without trying to understand what was behind her thoughts and actions. Few people could take on the royal establishment and put them in their place. Her strength and resolve was off the charts. It was truly a David and Goliath situation, not to mention the stress and pressure she was under at all times with no real support. The author fails to paint a full picture of this incredible, yet vulnerable and human woman. Very disappointing.