The Scribbler: ThePost.ie


TCH Archives > Sunday Business Post > 2004/02/01 > The Scribbler

The Scribbler
Sunday, February 01, 2004
The furore over Cecelia Ahern's novel, PS I Love You, has not gone unnoticed in Britain.The Guardian devoted considerable space to documenting the success of the Taoiseach's daughter and denouncing the reaction of the Irish public to her novel.

"While her sister went out to all the glittering parties," one journalist wrote, "young Cecelia sat up night after night writing a novel. A publisher in London gave her stg£150,000. Before long, US publishers paid another stg£550,000.

"But Irish people, envious of the vast sums, began to indulge in begrudgery. In Ireland, everyone has been asking if [the book is] good enough."

The newspaper also questioned the coverage Ahern received from broadsheets, commenting that a publication such as the Irish Times was not "known for its great interest in chick-lit".

The reaction from the Times? "Cecelia Ahern is a newcomer in a much-watched genre," wrote Caroline Walsh, literary editor of the Irish Times. "This is what interested me: what kind of Ireland would be projected by the new kid on the block."

* So now we know what the Queen of England gets up to in her spare time: she reads Harry Potter novels.

At a service in Norfolk, Rt Rev Dr John Sentamu, the Bishop of Birmingham, asked the children: "A famous professor once told one of his pupils: `It's not our abilities or gifts which define who we are, but the choices we make.' Do any of you know who that professor was?"

The kids didn't, but Queen Elizabeth most certainly did. Afterwards, she commented to the bishop: "Fancy the children not knowing about Harry Potter. I really am surprised. I knew."

The answer, for the record, was Professor Dumbledore.