Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 31, 1995                   TAG: 9507310122
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA.                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOOKSELLERS: WORBY BOOK IS IN DEMAND

``Divided Lives: the Public and Private Struggles of 3 Accomplished Women'' has been a hit at bookstores and shop owners are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

``It's been incredible. It's probably the biggest-selling book we've had this week,'' Chuck Atkinson, manager of B. Dalton Bookseller at the Town Center mall, said last week.

Waldenbooks, at the same mall, was expecting nearly 50 copies to arrive last week, said the store manager, who refused to be identified.

``We've had tons of requests for the book,'' he said.

The book by Washington Post reporter Elsa Walsh profiles Worby, who is the wife of Gov. Gaston Caperton and conductor of the Wheeling Symphony; ABC television reporter Meredith Vieira; and Dr. Alison Estabrook, chief of breast surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

Worby's details about her sex life, her relationship with Caperton and her feelings about politics and West Virginia have stirred strong feelings in the Mountain State, both for and against the first lady.

National publications, including the Washington Post and USA Today, have covered the controversy. Also, Time magazine, in its July 31 issue, has a one-page article about the controversial first lady and her disclosures in the book.

The official distribution date for the book is Aug. 7, but Atkinson said a few copies reached his store before the book came under public discussion.

``We've had it for three or four weeks,'' he said. ``We didn't know a thing about the book until about four days ago. Since then, we've been constantly reordering it.''