The force certainly was not with James Middlehurst this week. The chief executive of Dorling Kindersley paid the price for a spectacular misjudgment of the Christmas demand for Star Wars books by stepping down on Monday, just 18 months after taking up the post.

The book publisher, which specialises in the children's and educational sectors, printed 13 million books to tie in with the blockbuster movie but managed to sell only three million. Now it is faced with a loss of up to £25 million sterling (€40.1 million) at the half-year stage as a result.

The news, combined with word that the group might entertain a takeover bid, knocked a gaping hole in its share price. The stock plummeted 40 per cent on Monday and only started recovering late in the week to stand at 370p sterling, a long way off the 513p sterling it recorded last Friday.