Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess

Sally Bedell Smith

Aug 2012 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

The first authoritative biography of one of the most fabled women of the twentieth century—Princess Diana—that paints an insightful and haunting portrait, a “chilling vision of loneliness, need, and untreated mental illness” (USA Today).
 
“[Sally Bedell] 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.”—Newsweek

For all that has been written about Diana—the books, the commemorative magazines, the thousands of newspaper articles—we have lacked a sophisticated understanding of the woman, her motivations, and her extreme needs. Most books have been exercises in hagiography or character assassination, sometimes both in the same volume. With Diana in Search of Herself, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith has written the first truly balanced and nuanced portrait of the Princess of Wales, in all her emotional complexity.

Drawing on scores of exclusive interviews with Diana’s friends and associates, Smith explores the events and relationships that shaped the Princess, the flashpoints that sent her careening through life, her deep feelings of unworthiness, her view of men, and her perpetual journey toward a better sense of self. By making connections not previously explored, Diana in Search of Herself allows readers to see Diana as she really was, from her birth to her tragic death.

Original in its reporting and surprising in its conclusions about the severity of Diana’s mental health problems, Diana in Search of Herself is the smartest and most substantive biography ever written about this mesmerizing woman.

NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.

Ratings and reviews

This is a hate fest on Diana. Diana wasn't perfect but this author let her hatred for Diana and adoration for Charles show too much. The author's dislike for Diana shines through NON STOP. A little of that is to be expected, but this author took it too far. It made my stomach hurt to read it. To the author : PLEASE stop playing arm charm psychiatrist. Any woman would've been driven to bouts of emotion and anger around the clock if they were in the situation Diana was in- tricked to marry someone she thought loved her and ONLY HER. To the author I'd also say: Honey, the behaviors Diana portrayed didn't mean she was "mentally unstable" It meant she was a heartbroken woman who's husband was in love with someone else and she had to smile and pretend like everything was perfect. DON'T buy this book. Buy "The Diana Chronicles" by Tina Brown. Tina doesn't deny Diana had flaws, but she gives a fair & well rounded telling of Diana's story. Sally Bedell Smith ought to be ashamed of herself.

Not a bad book, but it's dark and gloomy and does get repetitive after a while. Can't say I'd recommend it.

Learned a lot that I did not know. Very nice read.

About the author

Sally Bedell Smith is the author of the bestselling biography of William S. Paley, In All His Glory, and Reflected Glory: The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman. Ms. Smith began her career at Time magazine and has since worked at TV Guide and The New York Times, where she was a cultural-news reporter. She joined Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 1996. She was awarded a Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for magazine reporting in 1982 and was a fellow at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in 1986. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Stephen G. Smith, editor of U.S. News & World Report, and their three children. She can be contacted via the website www.sallybedellsmith.com.