For the months of June and July we will be discussing Diana: Her True Story by Adam Morton. This will be our very first biography on Shelf Explored Book Club! We are very excited to dip our toes into a new genre, and it happens to be one that we aren't very familiar with. We have decided to dedicate two months to this autobiography because of not only how long the book is but also how complex we know Princess Diana's life, and death, to have been. We have also chosen to read the 25th anniversary edition of Diana: In Her Own Words, since it is the author's most updated version of his work. Now on to the summary!
"An icon in life and a legend in death, Diana continues to fascinate. This book is the closest we will ever come to her autobiography.
When Diana: Her True Story was first published in 1992, it forever changed the way the public viewed the British monarchy. Greeted initially with disbelief and ridicule the #1 New York Times bestselling biography has become a unique literary classic, not just because of its explosive contents but also because of Diana's intimate involvement in the publication. Never before had a senior royal spoken in such a raw, unfiltered way about her unhappy marriage, her relationship with the Queen, her extraordinary life inside the House of Windsor, her hopes, her fears, and her dreams. Now, twenty-five years on, biographer Andrew Morton has revisited the secret tapes he and the late Princess made, revealing startling new insights into her life and mind. In this revised, commemorative edition of his groundbreaking biography, Morton considers Diana's legacy to the modern royal family and the world."
- Summary from Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton 25th Anniversary Edition
Pre-Read Thoughts:
Michaela: I have been in love with learning about the British monarchy and British history ever since I was about twelve years old. However, I have always learned about the monarchy of the past and not the modern one we have today, unless you count watching The Crown. So learning about Princess Diana will be truly educational for me. Jacilyn convinced me to listen to the Diana episodes of the podcast You're Wrong About a few months ago and it really got me obsessed with learning more about Princess Di and the modern royal family. I never understood the obsession with Diana and her death until listening to that podcast and a few others afterwards. She truly had an incredible influence on how the world views the British royal family, and potentially their future.
I'm excited to read this book. Not only is this book about Diana but she actually provided interviews for the author to write it. It will obviously be a biased take on her life since it's through her own eyes and Andrew Morton's, who was a supporter of her. However, I think we will still get a good picture of how complex and dangerous life is for someone who has to live in the world of "fame" and "royalty".
Jacilyn: My introduction to Princess Di was from the podcast You’re Wrong About, hosted by journalists Michael Hobbes and Sarah Marshall. Michael did a multi-episode series on Diana, using this biography by Andrew Morton and another by Tina Brown as source material, so I am familiar with much of the book’s contents. Until listening to this series, I honestly had no real interest in the British monarchy and knew very little about Diana, but the way Michael discussed her life and the monarchy as an institution hooked me. Diana, like all of us, is a complicated, multi-faceted human, and I wanted to read this entire biography myself because of that. As someone who had any power over her own life taken away like she did, I feel like her participation in this biography was one of the ways she started to take that power back. Of course, Diana’s own participation and Andrew Morton’s previous writing on her (which was very positive) means that this book isn’t exactly an unbiased look at her life, but I don’t think that makes it any less genuine, if that makes sense.
The transcripts of the tapes that Diana recorded for Andrew Morton are included in this edition of the book, and I’m looking forward to reading about her life in her own words. Her death was tragic, both because of the circumstances and the timing - she had just found her own freedom and began to live the life she wanted. I feel like she changed the way we see the Royal family forever, and her impact can’t be understated. I’d like to think that by reading this biography and discussing Diana’s story, we are continuing to give her voice power, even in death.
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