RORY STEWART is racing ahead of Tory rival Boris Johnson – in book sales.
The leadership contenders are both published authors but the Aid Secretary has won far more new readers since the leadership campaign started.
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Industry figures obtained by The Sun reveal that sales of Mr Stewart’s well-regarded travel books have tripled in recent weeks, with hundreds flying off the shelves.
But there has only been a “very slight uplift” in bookshops selling copies of Mr Johnson’s biography of Sir Winston Churchill or history of Rome.
A spokesman for experts Nielsen Book Research said: “There have been increases in the print book sales of all Rory Stewart titles in the last two weeks of sales.”
His account of walking across Afghanistan, The Places In Between, sold 190 copies across the UK in the week ending May 25th.
But last week it sold 635, and sales are expected to have risen still further after his viral online videos and high-profile media appearances in recent days.
Occupational Hazards, Mr Stewart’s tale of trying to run a province in Iraq after the US-led invasion, sold just 36 copies in the last week of May but this had risen to 118 in the week ending June 8th.
And sales of The Marches, about his trek along the Scottish border with his father, tripled from 52 to 166 over the same period.
By contrast, Nielsen – whose figures cover more than 6,500 retailers including chains, independent stores and major online shops including Amazon – said of Mr Johnson’s works: “There has been a very slight uplift to the sales of The Churchill Factor and The Dream of Rome.”
Waterstones said: “We can confirm that interest in The Places In Between has significantly increased.
“We are currently selling seven times the number of copies than we did before Rory Stewart joined the leadership contest.”
Bookies are also taking money on the pair – both of whom went to Eton and Balliol College, Oxford – with odds on former rank outsider Mr Stewart becoming Prime Minister shortening to just 10/1 in recent days while Mr Johnson is at 1/7.
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