Diana: The Portrait: Anniversary Edition - Softcover

Coward, Rosalind

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0740767925 ISBN 13: 9780740767920

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007

Synopsis

As the only book to be fully endorsed by the late Princess's estate and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, this Anniversary Edition by journalist Rosalind Coward stands as a unique and lasting testament to the life and work of one of the most extraordinary and enduring icons of the 20th century.

Drawing on more than 200 original interviews with friends, family members, and international luminaries, the book features a foreword by Nelson Mandela and an introduction by Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale. More than 400 photographs illustrate this lavish volume—many of them published only within the context of this work.

Structured around the final lines of Earl Spencer's eulogy, the book offers perspective on Diana, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary, and the irreplaceable—whom many remember as a passionate advocate for those marginalized by society.

About this title

Reviews

Coward's lavish book, updated for the 10 year anniversary of Princess Diana's death, is a rich but frustrating biography featuring iconic and candid photographs of the People's Princess from throughout her life. Those who've read the recently-released biography by Tina Brown, The Diana Chronicles, will find Coward's Diana a much more sympathetic figure, generally characterized as likable and humane in numerous interviews with friends, family and others who witnessed the power of her care and attention. Focusing largely on her good works, the book gets a new foreword by Nelson Mandela, who notes that "we can all insist, as she did, that nobody deserves to suffer from stigma and prejudice on top of their illness and disability." Unfortunately, the book's design is unwieldy, alternating between pages crammed with tiny, single-spaced text and stretches of largely uncaptioned photographs. Coward's thorough research is commendable, but a stronger edit might have cut less relevant interviewees (like Diana's father's neurosurgeon) in favor of a more detailed look at Diana's long love-hate relationship with the press. Still, the photos collected here, particularly the later portraits that open and close the book, highlight what the young Princess of Wales brought to so many: beauty, warmth and compassion.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0740767925
• ISBN 13: 9780740767920
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248