Diana

by Sarah Bradford

Book Overview

Soon to be the subject of a major motion picture starring Naomi Watts as the Princess of Wales An icon remembered in death as vividly as she appeared in life, Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of the most enduring personalities of the twentieth century-and one of the most enigmatic. With exclusive access to all those closest to Diana, Sarah Bradford now casts aside the gossip and lies and takes us to the very heart of the royal family to separate the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670038075
• ISBN13: 9780670038077
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 443 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Diana

I enjoyed this book, especially the detailed information about Diana's history and ancestors. Her family is very impressive on both sides, but also had their many problems. It is easy to see why the royals thought she would make a good match for Charles. This book covers Diana's life from beginning to end, and now almost twelve years after her death we have all heard her story several times, but I liked Sarah Bradford from the interviews I had seen and I like her writing style. I believe she is fair in her portrayal of Diana, telling her strengths and weaknesses. It is like reading a history book about Diana, and I appreciated all the photos, some that I had not seen before.

Very good book

If you're like me and just want to know Princess Diana's whole story, this is the book you need to read. It tells her life story in such an intertaining way that i just couldn't stop reading it until the very end. Sarah Bradford's work is remarkable. I highly recommend it.

The best biography of Diana I've read!

I've read many biographies of Diana written by the usual suspects and wasn't going to read this one. It was recommended to me by a friend and I'm so glad I bought it. It is a very well written biography by an author who obviously knows her craft. She touches on some events that are well known, but treats them in a different way---crisply and to the point. I'm learning some new things, too. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a good book about a subject that seems will never be over.

Well researched and written

This is a quality book about the late Diana, Princess of Wales..very factual...a must read for anyone who wants the truth about the life and times of Diana..

Superlative biography of a truly remarkable woman

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and found it an extremely well researched and thoughtful biography of the late Princess of Wales. Diana's life is chronicled from her life as the youngest daughter in an influential, aristocratic British family to her untimely death in Paris in 1997. Diana indeed was from a notable family and of which she was rightly proud. The ill fated union of her parents is described as well as the impact of their turbulent divorce on their young children, especially Diana. Diana was said to be very much influenced by her paternal grandmother whose charitable works and compassion were passed on to her granddaughter (Diana's paternal grandmother looked remarkably like Diana as well--one of the portraits shown in the illustrations demonstrates this--it is a rather striking resemblance). The center of the book is Diana's relationship with the Prince of Wales, their courtship, engagement, marriage, separation and divorce. The author maintains that Charles loved her; however, oddly enough she doesn't talk about Charles saying he never loved Diana to his biographer Dimbleby in 1994. My opinion is that he didn't love her and was attracted to her. Nobody in love would have allowed another woman to interfere in the relationship with his wife (my opinion). Another thing I would question is that the author maintains that though Diana said Charles rarely got in touch with her when she was on her pre engagement announcement trip with her mother and stepfather to Australia; oddly enough Bradford doesn't refer to Frances Shand Kydd's authorized biography where Frances witnessed Charles' neglect first hand. I am surprised Ms. Bradford didn't use Frances Shand Kydd's biography as a source. Bradford doesn't spare Camilla Parker Bowles as some of Diana's less sympathetic chroniclers have (e.g. Seward and Junor). Bradford does emphasize how Mrs. Parker Bowles' hold on the Prince of Wales eroded the Wales' marriage. She chronicles how Mrs. Parker Bowles did go to the media with "her side" of the story--which does refute the "discreet" Camilla spin. And reading up to events leading up to the wedding it seemed that everyone but 19 going on 20 Lady Diana knew about Camilla's influence but didn't warn her. Bradford mentions for instance how Princess Margaret wondered if Camilla would give up the Prince after his marriage. The Princess of Wales close relationship with her boys is perhaps one of the most touching parts of the book. Diana is depicted as an excellent, caring mother who wanted the best for her sons. Diana's personal relationships are covered as well. The author maintains that Hewitt and Diana loved each other and Diana was deeply let down by Hewitt's telling all to the press and via his cooperation with Anna Pasternak who wrote Princess in Love. The author agrees with Burrell's recent account that the real love of Diana was not Dodi Fayed but Hasnet Khan. The author does emphasize Diana's great role in charitable work an