Publishing: Split success for 'English Patient'

Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient was the biggest earner in British bookshops last week, taking more than pounds 38,000. There are two paperback versions of the novel, on which Anthony Minghella's Oscar-nominated film is based. One has a picture of Ralph Feinnes (right) on the cover, and reached number 7 in the paperback best-sellers list, while the edition with the original cover reached number 9. If everybody had bought the same edition, the combined sales would have put it at number 2.

However, the number 1 positions in both paperback and hardback were held by women last week. Catherine Cookson went straight to the top of the paperback list with The Upstart, knocking Graham Swift's Booker Prize- winning Last Orders to number 2. Patricia Cornwell topped the hardback chart with her new thriller, The Hornet's Nest.