Inbox: Barbara Cartland, The Great Dictator | Matthew Sweet

How did a woman lying on a sofa with a Pekingese on her lap write 723 books?

Why did the queen of pink chiffon put shoe polish on her eyelashes?

And, if she sold around 750 million copies, why can't you find her books in a shop today?

Matthew Sweet, author of the first biography to take Barbara Cartland seriously, tells Peter Frankopan and Afua Hirsch how a Doctor Who audio play about alien bookworms led him to her private papers.

A house left almost untouched since she died in 2000. A father killed in the Great War, two brothers lost at Dunkirk, and two suitors who threatened to shoot themselves if she said no. Then the paradox: a woman who told readers to put their husbands first while working six days a week, a Tory councillor who fought for travellers' rights, and the author of sex advice manuals. Plus Private Eye's cruellest cartoons, bought and hung in her downstairs loo, the Nigerian romance writers who name her as their inspiration, and why Matthew will never sit on her sofa.

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[0:00] 723 books, a Pekingese and shoe polish on her lashes

[4:14] Alien bookworms: the strangest way into a biography

[7:00] Why "The Great Dictator": a lost fortune and a family rebuilt by work

[9:41] Writing from the couch: war, grief and the women left behind

[17:37] The Tory councillor who fought for travellers' rights

[21:21] Nigerian romance writers, and her plan to conquer the world

[25:12] War paint: the lashes, the hair and the dog

[28:33] Private Eye cartoons in the downstairs loo

[31:00] Motherhood, and a family where everyone had to confess

[37:53] Third best-selling author ever, so why has she vanished?

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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:

Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

Join Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.

legacy.supportingcast.fm

Stay connected with Legacy:

Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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