Prince Harry's memoir *Spare*, which made a massive splash upon its release last year, has now earned the dubious distinction of being the most traded-in biography of 2024—marking two years in a row. Despite *Spare* breaking records as the fastest-selling book of all time, it's now become the centerpiece of an entirely different category: the most unwanted book of the year.
When *Spare* hit the shelves in January 2023, it arrived amid a whirlwind of hype. Penguin Random House, the publisher, likely envisioned it becoming a modern classic—a thrilling tell-all from a disgruntled royal. They even boasted about its record-breaking first-day sales, claiming 1.4 million copies sold in the UK, US, and Canada alone. If you believed the headlines at the time, you might have thought *Spare* was the literary equivalent of the moon landing. Fast forward to today, and it’s clear that the only thing being broken here is the book’s credibility—and apparently its market value.
*Spare* may have been fast off the starting line, but now it’s chugging along in reverse. The hardback edition, priced at £28, is currently fetching just £3.38 from We Buy Books, a website that buys unwanted second-hand books. For those still holding out hope, the book isn’t even accepted by the site anymore. Meanwhile, the paperback edition, once retailing for £10.99, has been relegated to the 75p bargain bin.
What’s even more revealing is the book’s sales trajectory after the initial hype. The paperback edition barely made a dent, selling just 1.89 million copies in its first week in the UK. To put that in perspective, that’s fewer sales than the average self-published cookbook from a local chef. Despite this, *Spare* still managed to outsell many other royal memoirs that didn’t come with a public backlash and scandal after scandal.
The book was originally marketed as non-fiction—an honest account of Harry’s life and struggles within the royal family. But as the dust settles, it’s becoming more apparent that *Spare* could be reclassified as fiction, given the sheer number of unverified and downright bizarre claims. For instance, Harry allegedly inhaled laughing gas while Meghan was giving birth—something experts in the medical field have already debunked. But who’s counting?
The cherry on top of this royal disaster cake is the fact that stores were pressured to buy copies, ensuring that *Spare* flooded the market—and then, inevitably, the returns pile. It’s the book equivalent of having your own Netflix show canceled after one season. Sure, it got a big splash at first, but after a couple of episodes, it’s out the door and into the bargain bin.
With all this evidence that the book’s fastest-selling status was more of a marketing gimmick than a legitimate achievement, we’re left wondering why Penguin Random House is still pretending it’s the book everyone is clamoring for. Despite all the glossy press releases, it seems that *Spare* has earned its place as the most traded-in book of the year, not the most sold.
While Harry may have once dreamed of proving his worth beyond the royal family, it’s becoming abundantly clear that his literary career isn’t looking much better than his time spent in the royal spotlight. When everything Harry and Meghan touch seems to turn to dust, it’s only fitting that *Spare* becomes a lesson in how quickly the public’s affection can sour. The reverse Midas touch is real—and it’s alive and well in Montecito.
