Matthew Sweet’s acclaimed biography of Dame Barbara Cartland, titled *The Great Dictator: A Life of Barbara Cartland*, emerged from an unusual creative project involving a science-fiction premise for a *Doctor Who* audio drama. Sweet, who is shortlisted for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, revealed that the idea for the drama involved aliens who conquer the world by speaking lines taken from Cartland’s novels. This concept led Sweet to reach out to Cartland’s family for permission to use her work.

Sweet initially contacted Ian McCorquodale, Cartland’s son, to request access to his mother’s texts for the *Doctor Who* project. McCorquodale, though initially puzzled by the unusual request, granted permission generously. Their correspondence deepened, and Sweet subsequently obtained access to Cartland’s archives, enabling him to craft a biography praised for detailed revelations about the prolific author’s life and career.

Cartland, who died in 2000 at the age of 98, was a prolific writer credited with producing 723 novels that have sold over one billion copies worldwide. Only William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie have outstripped her in sales. Her political novel *Sleeping Swords* was notably the first work of fiction accepted into the House of Commons library.

According to Sweet, Cartland meticulously cultivated her public image, particularly during what he calls her "late imperial phase." She became recognizable for her trademark frothy pink gowns, heavily applied false eyelashes, and powdery makeup. She was also known to use Sellotape to tighten her facial skin. Sweet described this persona as a deliberate construct tailored to capture public attention after the introduction of color television in the late 1960s.

Cartland reportedly spun a colorful story about her lifelong affinity for pink, claiming it originated from a tour of Tutankhamun’s tomb with archaeologist Howard Carter. She suggested that the pink wall colors there inspired her signature look and intimated that Carter made romantic advances toward her. Sweet dismissed these claims as fabrications, noting that there is no pink seen in the tomb and no evidence that Carter acted in such a manner. Nonetheless, the narrative served as a public explanation for her eye-catching aesthetic, acting as a “lure” to captivate audiences.

While Cartland’s views and influence were widely critiqued, notably by feminists such as Germaine Greer who opposed her conservative messaging in *The Female Eunuch*, Sweet argues that Cartland maintained her own complex ideas on women’s power. For instance, she advocated for domestic labor to be financially recognized, a point also supported by Italian Marxists. However, Sweet highlights a “central paradox” in Cartland’s life, noting that the practical advice she dispensed was often at odds with her own relentless work ethic. She was capable of dictating up to 8,000 words a day, relying on secretaries to transcribe and assemble her work.

Even in her final days, Cartland remained intensely devoted to her craft. Sweet recounts that Cartland’s granddaughter, Tara Parker, observed her muttering phrases associated with romantic fiction that suggested she was still mentally composing stories. Sweet noted that “somewhere in her head was a plot and a hero and heroine and an expression of love” up until her death in 2000.