There is a story doing the rounds about Peter Mandelson that just cannot be true. Well, maybe not just one. But this one concerns his attempts to flog his memoirs for a princely sum. Coldhearts in the publishing world have sponsored varied reports about how nobody is interested because – and this surely is where the tale stretches credibility – not many people like the First Secretary of State etc. Having failed to find a taker for a book after his second fall from grace the rehabilitated Baron Mandelson of Herefordshire and etc, etc had a go at hawking his reminiscences around in the summer. No takers again. Apart from the fact that publishers have taken a cold shower with large advances for books that bombed, such as David Blunkett’s turgid tome, the explanation goes something like: political memoirs don’t sell unless they are by somebody who is liked by the public. And that does not include Mandy, who is even now officially loved by the Labour Party. Let’s see what happens after the election, on both counts.
