{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/68e4c0be965488b63a6987c5/6ad17ea55f788808a7858c5e?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Inbox: Barbara Cartland, The Great Dictator | Matthew Sweet","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/68e4c0be965488b63a6987c5/1792118430153-b3c71353-c1c3-4f2b-b1e0-f6318c2ce371.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>How did a woman lying on a sofa with a Pekingese on her lap write 723 books?</p><p><br></p><p>Why did the queen of pink chiffon put shoe polish on her eyelashes?</p><p><br></p><p>And, if she sold around 750 million copies, why can&#39;t you find her books in a shop today?</p><p><br></p><p>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.</p><p><br></p><p>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&#39; rights, and the author of sex advice manuals. Plus Private Eye&#39;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.</p><p><br></p><p>Join <strong>Legacy Plus</strong> for bonus episodes, early access, Q&amp;A&#39;s, fewer adverts and more.</p><p><strong>legacy.supportingcast.fm</strong></p><p><br></p><p>[0:00] 723 books, a Pekingese and shoe polish on her lashes</p><p>[4:14] Alien bookworms: the strangest way into a biography</p><p>[7:00] Why &quot;The Great Dictator&quot;: a lost fortune and a family rebuilt by work</p><p>[9:41] Writing from the couch: war, grief and the women left behind</p><p>[17:37] The Tory councillor who fought for travellers&#39; rights</p><p>[21:21] Nigerian romance writers, and her plan to conquer the world</p><p>[25:12] War paint: the lashes, the hair and the dog</p><p>[28:33] Private Eye cartoons in the downstairs loo</p><p>[31:00] Motherhood, and a family where everyone had to confess</p><p>[37:53] Third best-selling author ever, so why has she vanished?</p><p><br></p><p>Stay connected with Legacy:</p><p>Instagram: @originallegacypodcast</p><p>TikTok: @legacy_productions</p><p><br></p><p>Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:</p><p>Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com</p>","author_name":"Original Legacy Productions"}