Candy and Tori Spelling in memoir war

The two women in the life of the late Aaron Spelling - his widow Candy Spelling and his actress daughter Tori Spelling - are squabbling over their memoirs of life with the Texan television tycoon, and with each other, like two characters in one of his famous soap operas.

Spelling, who made a fortune creating shows such as Dynasty, Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 - in which Tori also made her name as an actress - died in 2006 aged 83, leaving $500m to his 'trophy wife'
Candy. The trouble began when Candy then passed on a mere $800,000 of this to Tori, since when the actress has made a new career out of taking potshots at her mother on TV reality shows.

Among other allegations, Tori, 35, has accused Candy of dressing her up in adult outfits, complete with fake breasts, when she was only five. She also remembers asking her mother when she was 12, and dressed up for a family photo, whether she looked pretty and Candy responding: "You will be when we get your nose fixed."

These psychological dramas were played out against a life of extraordinary wealth and luxury. The family home in west Los Angeles, the Manor, has 100 rooms and remains the biggest private residence in California. It was well-known to soap fans because it was used as Charlton Heston's fictional home in another Spelling drama, The Colbys.

Last week, Candy announced she was putting the house on the market for $150m, explaining plaintively that there was no point in having a 'family home' if her family - by which she meant Tori and her two grandchildren - had no wish to visit.

Now the catfight appears to have reached its climax, with both women releasing rival memoirs.

Candy's book, called Stories from Candyland, was published at the weekend, and is a typically anaemic account of life in the lap of luxury. "We were invited to every great party, got to meet many of the most interesting people in the world, and enjoyed experiences that were better than those of a lot of his television characters," Candy writes. "There's a big celebrity culture that you'd have to be here in LA to appreciate or truly understand."

As the New York Times reviewer Liesl Schillinger said, "It's the public feud between Candy and Tori that will draw Candyland its audience."

Tori has already told her story once, in her 2008 biography, sTori Telling. But that hasn't stopped her coming back with more: a new memoir called Mommyland, is due out next week. ·