In My Father's House by the Princess Irulan

Title: In My Father's House

Author: Princess Irulan

Publisher: Not known 

Source Book: Dune by Frank Herbert.

Princess Irulan of House Corrino is the daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. She grew up in a court obsessed with politics and no doubt riddled with opposing factions. According to her writings, the Princess and her sisters were encouraged by her mother (a Bene Gesserit of Hidden Rank - so even her husband didn’t know who she really was I suppose) to spy on everyone in the court.

Each chapter in Dune begins with an extract from a fictional book or other fictional work, many of them by Princess Irulan. She only appears in person at the very end of Dune, but we quickly learn she will marry Paul Atreides. She features in the sequels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune and secretly feeds a contraceptive to Paul’s dearly loved Fremen concubine, Chani, to prevent her bearing his children. The Princess fails in her objective and Chani dies giving birth to twins. I understand the prequel trilogy Prelude to Dune, not by Frank Herbert, features Irulan’s early childhood in the third part, Dune: House Corrino.

The Princess Irulan is a principal character in the Heroes of Dune duology [it says in Wikipedia], also not written by Frank Herbert, which is apparently set between the prequels and Dune itself.

I haven't read any of the books not written by Frank Herbert. His vision in the original Dune is so stunning and original it seems a shame to spoil it by reading something he had little to do with.

According to Wikipedia the Princess Irulan wrote 24 books about Paul Atreides, or ‘Muad'Dib’; the revolutionary and visionary leader of the Fremen that Paul became. I could go through the books myself but it might take a while so I think I will rely on Wikipedia to get it right.

A Child's History of Muad'Dib
Analysis: The Arakeen Crisis
Arrakis Awakening
Collected Legends of Arrakis
Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib
Conversations with Muad'Dib
Count Fenring: A Profile
Dictionary of Muad'Dib
The Humanity of Muad'Dib
In My Father's House
Lecture to the Arrakeen War College (probably not a whole book)
The Lens of Time
Lessons of the Great Revolt
Manual of Muad'Dib
Muad'Dib: Conversations
Muad'Dib, Family Commentaries
Muad'Dib, The Man (with a preface by Stilgar)
Muad'Dib, The Ninety-Nine Wonders of the Universe
Muad'Dib, The Religious Issues
Paul of Dune
Private Reflections on Muad'Dib
Songs of Muad'Dib
The Wisdom of Muad'Dib
Words of Muad'Dib

I have to say that many of these (fictional) books sound amazingly dull, but I suppose they do sound like the sort of book one might write about a visionary leader. However, In My Father's House might be worth reading. The story of the Princess Irulan and her sisters at the Imperial court: it’s a shame no-one has written it yet. Or have they? Maybe I should check out Dune: House Corrino after all?

It seems a pity that an imperial princess feels the need to justify her life by writing a whole library of books about Paul Muad’Dib. Oof! History and biography. Hard work. But what else has she to do?

Various films and TV series have been made of Dune but none has matched the scope or lavish vision of the book. Again as far as I know, no attempt has been made to film any of the sequels or prequels.

Images borrowed from the internet