The novel Victorian Spankings, which promises tales of “hard, over-the-knee correction” where “authoritarian males remind Victorian ladies of their place, appears on the “wish list” of a “Michael Gove” on the Amazon website.
The lists are posted by shoppers to help friends and family with gift ideas and are published for all to see, unless their owner changes their privacy settings.
Could it be then that the government’s chief whip is exploring new avenues for disciplining misbehaving MPs? Or perhaps even his wife, the Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine?
His spokesman said: “This is not Michael’s wish list — his is private. There are three public wish lists for Michael Gove on Amazon, none of which are his. One, in particular, appears to be a spoof.”
Perhaps it was a teacher scorned.
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Among the 11 other items is a copy of Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography by Charles Moore. Another is a pair of black-framed “Geek/Nerd Retro” glasses — not dissimilar to his own spectacles — at a cost of £1.97.
Classical literature features, with The Aeneid by Virgil, The Histories by Herodotus and The Art of Warby Sun Tzu included. After all, the former education secretary once contributed to The Times Literary Supplement. More difficult to explain is the copy of English Grammar for Dummies, because he was also once the chief leader writer at The Times. A number of other Amazon wish lists share names with senior politicians. A search for “Ed Balls” contains one book: The Rainbow by DH Lawrence, who, like the shadow chancellor, attended Nottingham High School.
A search for “Stella Creasy” reveals Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women And The Rise Of Raunch Culture, by the New Yorker writer Ariel Levy that rejects female chauvinism as symbolising feminism. The shadow minister for crime prevention once wrote of taking on “sexist dinosaurs who overlook female ability”.
A list for “Chuka Umunna” contained a £39 face cream from Neal’s Yard, a pair of Brook Taverner moleskin trousers and the book The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion by Malcolm McLaren. A spokesman for the shadow business secretary told the Mail on Sunday: “It is a different Chuka Umunna.”
The newspaper found lists posted by people with famous names. A Benedict Cumberbatch asked for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Another Nigella Lawson wanted cupcake cookbooks.
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Amazon has been criticised for automatically making the lists public. Users can make their list public, shared or private. Those that are shared can only be viewed by people given a direct web link. Amazon does not list any detail other than a name linked to a wish list. However, the owner is able to add more detail about their identity.