Sales of Boris Johnson‘s highly publicised political memoir, Unleashed, have significantly underperformed, falling far below expectations. Despite receiving a reported £2 million advance for the book, the former prime minister managed to sell only 42,528 copies during its first week. This figure is a stark contrast to sales of political memoirs by previous prime ministers, such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, who sold 120,000 and 92,000 copies respectively in their first weeks.
A Major Disappointment for Publishers
Johnson’s publishers, HarperCollins, likely expected Unleashed to perform on par with major releases like Prince Harry’s Spare, which sold 450,000 copies in its first week. However, Unleashed fell short of these lofty expectations by a significant margin. This slump in sales has left bookshops across the country with large, unsold stocks of the memoir, and sales are predicted to continue declining.
Richard Osman, speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, commented on the disappointing sales figures, noting: “They [HarperCollins] thought he was going to do Prince Harry numbers, but he sold 42,000, which is so far below any expectations they would have had. They have overpaid massively.”
Sales Slump Despite Media Attention
Despite a barrage of press coverage, Johnson’s memoir suffered a 62 per cent drop in sales during its second week. The book narrowly held onto the number one spot, selling just 133 more copies than The Food for Life Cookbook by Tim Spector.
Although 42,000 sales might seem impressive for a debut author, expectations for Johnson’s memoir were much higher. Osman remarked: “A lot of people would kill for 42,000 books, but [it’s] almost impossible not to sell that many when he’s had that much free advertising and is very, very famous. But yeah, that’s the Christmas bonuses at HarperCollins gone.”
Mixed Reviews and Fiction Comparisons
Unleashed has received a mixed critical reception. Some readers found its content bizarre, especially Johnson’s anecdote about considering a military “raid” on the Netherlands to seize Covid vaccines. Other readers were sceptical of his claims, such as his story about advising Prince Harry to remain a frontline royal.
Social media posts show the book being placed in the fiction section of various stores, with some copies situated next to titles like Surrounded by Liars and Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson. The Independent gave Unleashed just one star, calling it “shameless and predictable.”
A Small Victory Over Liz Truss
Despite these underwhelming sales figures, Johnson’s memoir still managed to outperform Liz Truss’s book on her short-lived time as prime minister. Her book sold only 2,228 copies in its first week in the UK.
HarperCollins has attempted to spin the sales figures positively, posting on social media that they were “thrilled” with Johnson’s book being the UK’s best-selling title for the week. However, it’s clear that Unleashed has not met the high expectations set by the publisher, and booksellers are left with piles of unsold copies.
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