Prince Harry autobiography Spare becomes Ireland’s fastest-selling non-fiction book

Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare, has become the fastest selling non-fiction book in Ireland since records began 20 years ago.

His book sold 20,584 copies in its first week in the Republic, surpassing the previous record set by Paul O’Connell, whose autobiography The Battle sold 17,800 copies in its first week during Christmas 2016.

The success of Spare is all the more remarkable given that the book was released in January, a quiet period for book sales.

The book sold 467,183 copies in its first week in the UK.

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Spare is the sixth top selling book in its first week in the Republic since records compiled by Nielsen BookScan began in 2002.

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The fastest selling title is JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which sold 81,008 copies, followed by three other Harry Potter titles. The fifth best-selling book was Dan Brown’s The Last Symbol.

The success of Prince Harry’s book come despite press hostility in Britain and generally unfavourable reviews. It has vindicated publisher Penguin Random House’s decision to pay a reported $20 million advance to Prince Harry for his tell-all memoir.

The book is reported to have sold 1.43 million copies during its first day on sale in the UK, US and Canada making it the fastest selling non-fiction book in the English-speaking world.

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Harry’s book sales blew away the former record holder, “A Promised Land,” penned by former President Barack Obama, which sold 887,000 copies on its release day.

Penguin Random House publisher Michel McLoughlin described the Prince Harry sales as “exceptional. It is the largest ever one-week sale of any non-fiction book since Nielsen started recording numbers. Well done to bookshops for their tremendous job bringing the book to readers.”

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