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Meghan Markle’s book slammed by critics as a ‘semi-literate vanity project’
Meghan’s children’s book is already on its way to the bargain bins after poor sales and panning by critics.
Meghan Markle’s children’s book was lowered to half-price mere hours after its debut at a UK bookstore, and some critics dismissed it as a “semi-literate vanity project”
The Duchess of Sussex’s debut book, which costs £12.99 and is based on a poem she penned for Prince Harry’s first Father’s Day a month after Archie was born, explores the ‘special bond between father and son’ as ‘seen through a mother’s eyes.’
The Bench debuted on physical and digital stores in the United Kingdom on Tuesday morning, marking the Duchess of Sussex’s first foray into children’s literature, which she announced last month.
On its first day, The Bench failed to crack Amazon’s top 200 best selling list, landing at No. 60 on the children’s books ranking.
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Despite a £3 discount on the £12.95 cover price on the website, sales were disappointing.
According to the Daily Mail, The Bench by the Duchess of Sussex was sighted on a ‘buy one, get one half price’ bargain at a WHSmith shop in Newcastle.
The Telegraph labeled Meghan’s debut book as “bland” with “no story” while The Times described it as a “self-help manual for needy parents”
“The story [is] so lacking in action and jeopardy you half wonder if the writing job was delegated to a piece of furniture.”
Meghan dedicated the book to Prince Harry and Archie, writing beside a portrait of a father and child playing with toy dinosaurs that they make her heart go ‘pump-pump.’
Claire Allfree of The Telegraph described it as “semi-literate” and adding, “One wonders how any publisher could have thought fit to publish this grammar-defying set of badly rhyming cod homilies, let alone believe any child anywhere would want to read it.”
She also pointed out that Harry is shown as a person who sits on a bench while Meghan “gets on and conquers the world”
The Bench was inspired by a poem Meghan penned for Prince Harry on Father’s Day.
It comes after the Duchess of Cambridge’s photographic book, Hold Still, debuted at No. 2 on Amazon on its first day.
The National Portrait Gallery and a mental health charity will divide the revenue from Kate’s project, which included 100 photos taken by members of the public during the UK’s first Coronavirus lockdown last year, whereas Meghan’s is thought to be a commercial endeavor.
It’s unclear if Meghan received a book advance or whether any of the revenues would go to charity, but a branding expert earlier estimated that the book could have already netted her £500,000 after a ‘bidding war to secure her first venture.’
On Amazon, critics similarly slammed Meghan’s book, with many giving it a one-star rating.
According to one person: “We didn’t enjoy this book at all – I have no idea why the author thought this story would appeal to children. It’s incredibly boring and uninspiring.
“Clearly based on the author’s life, it would have perhaps been better as a private project kept within the family that they can read themselves, and then treasure in the future.
“For anyone else, it’s just completely irrelevant. The grammar is also questionable at times. Absolutely do not recommend.”
Others, on the other hand, commended the “sweet story with beautiful illustrations”
“I find the way the book explores the relationship between father and son through the mother’s eyes very warm and cute,” another satisfied Amazon buyer remarked.
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