Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words [Mass Market Paperback]

Andrew Morton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 1998

The sudden and tragic death of Princess Diana caused the world to reflect on how much this singular woman meant to us all. This new edition of her life story -- which includes Diana's personal recollections in her own words, as well as an account of the events surrounding her death -- poignantly strengthens her hold on our hearts.

From her fairy-tale wedding and the births of her two wonderful boys to the stunning collapse of her marriage, Diana's luminous but troubled life transfixed millions. Despite enduring heartbreak, illness, and depression, she never wavered in her commitment to the less fortunate, or in her determination to make a better life for herself and her sons. This revealing book is the closest we will ever come to her autobiography -- a lasting and powerful testament to her courage and spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Diana: Her True Story was originally published in 1992 under the guise of a quasi-authorized biography, with mostly unnamed courtiers and royalty as the accredited sources. It instantly became a sizzling, international bestseller that lanced the boil of Windsor family dysfunction, triggering a chain of events that led to Charles and Diana's divorce. After her tragic death in 1997, Andrew Morton revealed that Diana herself had not only been the main source for the book, but had also edited his original drafts for accuracy. In return for this gold mine of information, Diana wanted complete anonymity for fear of retaliation from the queen. Her True Story in Her Own Words is enhanced by more than 75 full-color photographs of the princess, from her childhood in Althorp to her marriage to Charles at Westminster Abbey to her humanitarian efforts, and finally to her unforgettable funeral service. However, the most poignant portrayal of the princess emerges from the unedited transcriptions of Diana's interviews with Morton: "I think I'm going to cut a very different path from everyone else. I'm going to break away from this setup and go and help the man on the street." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Paul Levy The Wall Street Journal MR. MORTON STRONGLY INSINUATES THAT HE HAD THE PRINCESS'S HELP...[he is] an ideal mouthpiece for the Friends of Diana, who have openly blabbed to Mr. Morton, a brilliant ploy that allows the princess herself to deny any involvement.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Rep Rev edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671024124
• ISBN-13: 978-0671024123
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Diana, the "People's Princess November 12, 2003

By happymammaw

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I enjoyed reading this book, and found it to be fascinating. However, I have since read "A Royal Duty" by Paul Burrell. Some of the statments made in these two books are conflicting. In "Diana, Her True Story", it is made to sound like Princess Diane was always at odds with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. In "A Royal Duty", Paul Burrell tells a different story. He maintains Diana had a loving and close relationship with the Queen and Prince Phillip right up until the time she died. It is a very interesting book, but after reading almost everything written about Princess Diana, there are so many different views and stories, it is hard to know which to believe.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, but definitely one sided June 24, 2000

By Becky

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book has been called "the longest divorce petition in history", and when you read it, you would have to agree with that statement. But what you have to remember is that at the time when Diana agreed to co-operate with Mr Morton, she was feeling sad, lonely, and unhappy, but she was never allowed to express that publicly. She was unhappy with her life, unhappy with her royal image, and most of all, unhappy with her marriage, yet she couldn't do what anyone else in that situation would be able to do - she couldn't visit a local solicitor and obtain a divorce. Poor woman, she couldn't even go to the gym without being followed by a throng of photographers.

When this book was published in 1992, it was dismissed by the establishemnt as being a pack of lies, but ultimately they, and the public too, discovered that it wasn't when Charles admitted his infidelity with the redoubtably ugly and gauche Camilla Parker Bowles, and when, in her astonishingly frank Panorama interview, Diana candidly shared the harrowing details of her eating disorder, bulimia.

This book succeeded on many levels. It certainly exposed the shocking truth about the Royal marriage and portrayed the Royal Family, for the first time ever, not as cherished icons but as ordinary individuals with more than their share of character defects (and this means Diana, too!) But it ultimately succeeded in its portrayal of an immature twenty year old girl, who won the hearts of the world when she kissed the Prince, only to have him become a toad, to the beautiful, compassionate symbol of kindness, caring, and humanity that she was when she was so tragically snatched away from the world. For it was the publication of this book that enabled Diana to seek a new life for herself, and in doing so she developed the character traits that enabled us all to fall in love her, this time more completely, again and again and again.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I would definitely recommend this book for several reasons. December 10, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I primarily wanted to read it becasue when Princess Diana died, people all around the world mourned for her. She touched the lives of so many people in lots of different ways. Not only did I think it was interesting because of that reason, but also because she had many struggles and hardships to overcome. I found that encouraging. Also, Diana was of the royal family, which added to my curiosity. Lastly, it was very interesting to discover how misleading appearances, statuses, titles, clothes, money, jewelry, and other materialistic things are. These things don't make lives perfect and carefree. Sometimes being a normal, ordinary, plain person isn't that bad after all. Katie Cannada