''Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess'' is one of the books about

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. The book was written by best-selling author

Sally Bedell Smith Sarah Bedell Smith (born May 27, 1948) is an American journalist and biographer. She has been a contributing editor for ''Vanity Fair'' since 1996. Previously, she was a cultural news reporter for ''New York Times'' and ''Time.'' She has writte ...

and was published by the

Times Books Times Books (previously the New York Times Book Company) is a publishing imprint owned by the New York Times Company and licensed to Henry Holt and Company. Times Books began as the New York Times Book Company in 1969, when The New York Times C ...

in 1999. The book is the first authoritative biography of the Princess.

Content

The 320-page book focuses on troubled life of Princess Diana. Smith interviewed nearly 150 people whose reports are used in the book to narrate the life of the Princess. These people were mainly Diana's intimates, including British tabloid journalists. The most significant claim made in the book is that the Princess had suffered from

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...

. It is also claimed that she could not fix her serious eating disorder and was not able to manage to sustain relationships.

Sales

The book was included in the best seller lists of the following: ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', '' USA Today Top 50'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'',

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

''.

Reception

Linda L. Richards of the ''

January Magazine ''January Magazine'' is an internet-based book-related publication. Founded by author Linda L. Richards in 1997, ''January Magazine'' has added various sections and offshoot publications since. The magazine is physically based in Vancouver, B ...

'' stated that the book provides an unbiased portrait of the Princess. In a similar vein, the ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' review of the book indicated "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." On the other hand, the author was criticized by Dorothy Packer-Fletcher because of her claim that Diana had been experiencing borderline personality disorder. Packer-Fletcher suggested that in order to establish this diagnosis there should have been psychiatric examination. She further argued that the author's statement was harmful because it was a "posthumous diagnosis of mental illness". The book became a bestseller and was also cited as controversial.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess 1999 non-fiction books Books about Diana, Princess of Wales Times Books books