Carrie Fisher’s The Princess Diarist, now available in paperback, was published shortly before her death last year, aged 60. As suggested by the title (Fisher always loved a pun), it mainly relates to her finding some old diaries from 1976, when she was 19 and had just won the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars. Fisher later reprised the role in two reboots, which felt to her “like an acid flashback, only intergalactic”.
The big reveal of The Princess Diarist is Fisher’s on-set affair with co-star Harrison Ford, a married father 15 years her senior. She labels the two of them “Carrison”. Fisher doesn’t actually reveal much, except inadvertently. For all her swooning over Ford, he comes across like an emotionally distant crashing bore. At this point, Fisher’s rambling diaries feature prominently – perhaps too prominently – though her insecurities are touching and prescient. (In earlier books, Fisher detailed her mental health issues to raw effect.)
Elsewhere, there are few insights into the making of Star Wars, though she gives vivid snapshots of such events as getting the fabled Leia-buns hairstyle. The book is liveliest when Fisher meditates on the downside of mega-fame. Even as the semi-savvy daughter of Hollywood royalty Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Carrie ended up roasting under the Star Wars spotlight throughout her life. Mostly she appreciated it, and even when she didn’t (Fisher barely disguises her contempt for Comic Con-type conventions), she was stuck with it. “Star Wars was, and is, my job. It can’t fire me, and I’ll never be able to quit, and why would I want to?” she observes sagely.
Ultimately, it’s this witty, authentic voice that will be so sorely missed. The Princess Diarist isn’t my favourite of Fisher’s books, but I’m still so sorry that it’s her last.
• The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher is published by Black Swan (£8.99). To order a copy for £7.64 go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
