The shortlist for the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction has been announced, and Alan Bennett's latest is among the nominees.
Untold Stories has shifted 333,268 copies in hardback in the eight months since it was published, considered an extraordinary performance for a work with literary qualities. It sold more than £150,000 worth of copies at Christmas alone.
Sales figures for the shortlist's other titles are: 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, by James Shapiro, 18,201 copies; Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt, 5,303; The Orientalist, by Tom Reiss, 1,221; Bad Faith, by Carmen Callil, 1,108; The Sale of the Late King's Goods, by Jerry Brotton, 796.
* Get yer minds outta the gutter, people ...
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