Winston Churchill wrote about 50 more and better books than I have done but as the Cecil tome now hits the shops I can at least share in his famous dictum. “Writing a book,” he said, “is an adventure. At first it is a toy and an amusement. Then it become a mistress, then a martyr. Then it become a tyrant and just when you become accustomed to your servitude, you slay the monster and fling it to the public.”
I have yet to see it in the shops but am assured it is already in Waterstones in Piccadilly and it is now climbing up the Amazon best seller list. The good news is that it has reached number 79. The bad news is that it is still one behind a title called “You had me at Hello.”