Jeremy Paxman needed help for book

Although Jeremy Paxman’s latest hit book, The Victorians, is said to be written by him - at least on the cover – this, it transpires, is not the total truth. It seems the BBC Newsnight presenter was responsible only for the introduction, handing over the rest to a young Irish writer, Neil Hegarty, because he "simply did not have the time" to "finish the thing".

While Paxo makes this clear in the acknowledgements section at the end of the book, which accompanied the recent BBC television series of the same name, some might think it a bit of swizz, especially as reviews of The Victorians - currently number eight in the hardback non-fiction bestseller list - highlighted Paxman’s ability to "turn a phrase".

In fairness, Paxman admits he never had much interest in cobbling together the text. He said: "In the end, the solution arrived in the form of the young Irish writer, Neil Hegarty. Quite apart from pulling together the various elements - scripts, research notes, ideas and other material - his creative talents ensured, I hope, that the book is a worthwhile thing in its own right. He is a gifted writer and we shall, I think, hear much more from him."

Hegarty, clearly a modest young man, feels he cannot take credit for the work, nor demand half the profits. He told The Bookseller: "As Jeremy Paxman notes in his acknowledgements, I worked with him to bring his existing text to completion."
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