PA
Publishers have rejected a children's book by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, because of fears Americans will find it offensive.
The book is about a pear tree that survived the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York.
The Duchess of York, 51, sent publishers an outline of the 32-page book, The Little Pear Tree, in June.
Fergie, the author of Budgie, The Little Helicopyer, told the publishers she intended to present a copy to President Barack Obama at the opening of the Ground Zero Museum in New York in September.
An insider said: "The Duchess got her people to contact at least three publishers but none showed any interest because the Americans regard works of fiction about 9/11 as insulting."
Last night a spokesman for the Duchess said she now planned to self-publish online. 'She is going to publish The Little Pear Tree herself as an e-book on the internet. All proceeds will go to charity.'
A real pear tree near the Twin Towers had its branches stripped during the attack. Workers brought it back to life as a symbol of hope.
The Duchess is currently touring the U.S promoting her new book, Finding Sarah: A Duchess's Journey to Find Herself, and her TV show of the same name. The six-part series documents her emotional struggle to rebuild her life after her divorce from Prince Andrew.
She is reportedly being paid £200,000 to tell all in the show (although we rather think she has already told all, many times over) and it's due to be broadcast in Britain later this year.
What do you think? Does the book sound offensive or simply smack of barrel scraping?