In a bustling Waterstones in London, nestled among the popular non-fiction display, lies an unassuming 288-page book written by a 63-year-old woman that has sparked a media firestorm.
The Salt Path, a cosy, heartwarming memoir about a couple who undertake a 630-mile trek of England’s southern coast after being left homeless, financially destitute, and with a potentially fatal medical diagnosis, sold two million copies and was adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. The book, written by author Raynor Winn, spawned two sequels with a third available for pre-order.
But the future of the author and her enterprise are now under doubt, after reports by The Observer exposed apparent inconsistencies in the narrative that struck a chord with so many.
The investigation claimed the book misrepresented how the couple lost their home, which, according to Winn, was due to a bad business investment. However, The Observer reported that the couple lost the property after Winn allegedly defrauded her employer of £64,000 in 2008, which she apparently attempted to repay after taking out a loan from a relative.
Winn has called the investigation “grotesquely unfair” and “highly misleading”. The fourth instalment, On Winter Hill, was due to be released on 23 October, but has now been delayed until next year.
The controversy has led to debates surrounding whether memoirs justify some embellishment, and booksellers across the country have been left with the mundane logistics of the scandal’s aftermath. What do they do with all the pre-orders they took for a book whose future is now uncertain? And what about stocking a title billed as a “true story” whose authenticity is now in doubt?
Red Lion Books in Colchester have been forced to issue refunds for pre-orders after they felt a duty to inform their customers that Winn’s forthcoming release had been delayed. In fact, in a gesture that was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, they moved the book to their fiction section.
Jo Coldwell, who has been manager at the store for over ten years, says The Salt Path was one of the shop’s most popular titles. “She is really popular,” Coldwell told The Independent. “People believed in the brand. They loved the covers, the aesthetic of it all is just beautiful. Something about it resonated with people. It was a phenomenon. It was a middle-aged, middle-class woman, and that’s probably a lot of our customers. There is quite a bit of voyeuristic excitement around it.”
Of 12 pre-orders, Coldwell said she has issued three refunds after she sent out an email alerting customers to the situation.
Jules North, of North Books in Haye-on-Wye, said that some people feel the books now have “less credibility” – but added that nobody had yet asked to return one. He did praise the ensuing debate caused by the firestorm, though.
"Anything that promotes conversation is an interesting thing and yesterday I had a great three-way conversation about the controversy in my bookshop.
“One person felt the author has been proved to be a liar and therefore would regard the three books with less credibility. As a bookseller, it offers the opportunity to promote similar titles (for me, in Wales, One Woman Walks Wales and The Edge of Cymru) about walking and life.”
But Elaine Sinclair of Daydreams Bookshop, a bookseller in Milngavie just outside of Glasgow, said her customers have been far more empathetic and understanding of Winn.
“It's quite a popular book because the cover is designed by Angela Harding, who is a Scottish illustrator, so a lot of people pick it up because of the really beautiful cover. Many people in our area like books about nature and walking, so it's always done quite well in the shop.
“A few people told me they thought it was quite similar to Nan Shepherd's A Living Mountain, which is an older Scottish version of it.”
Sinclair noticed an uptick in sales once the movie came out, but said nobody had asked for a refund since the scandal surfaced.
“The conversations that I've had with members of the public tend to be about whether we should be judging someone without really knowing them and there's a lot of press coverage. My personal opinion is the story could still be true. It's the sort of darker backstory that hasn't been revealed until now. One person said: ‘Are we expecting authors to have a perfect life, as well as writing a really good book?’”
Daunt Books in Marylebone, one of the most popular stores in the capital, said it hadn’t noticed a change in the book’s sales in their store, although one person rang the store to say they were “disappointed’” that the story had been revealed to be different to what was portrayed.
“With social media, you'll get very strong opinions one way or the other, and that debate gets carried out there on social media,” Brett Wolstencroft, co-founder and store manager of Daunt Books, said. “But as far as books go, I think people certainly don't react in quite the same way physically as perhaps they do online. I think a lot of people are just waiting and thinking: ‘Time will tell.’”
