Hillary Clinton's score-settling, Dem-rattling book tour only getting started

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Hillary Clinton embarks on her blame game book tour

Former Democratic presidential nominee points plenty of fingers for her 2016 election loss in her new memoir; reaction and analysis on 'The Five'

The Hillary Clinton road show is only just beginning.

While the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee spent the last week doing TV interviews and even signing books at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble, that was political prologue – to the extended book tour that formally kicks off Monday evening.

The former secretary of state will take the stage at Washington, D.C.'s Warner Theater sometime after 7 p.m. ET for what's being described as a "conversation about a story that’s personal, raw, detailed and surprisingly funny."

It might not be so funny for Democrats already fretting about the tensions that Clinton's return to the spotlight has stirred up.

Former Bill Clinton pollster Doug Schoen, also a Fox News contributor, said last week that it's "time for her to step off the stage, find something productive to do and stop pointing fingers."

Critics, including her former opponent President Trump, have dismissed the book promotion so far as a blame tour, as Clinton calls out a wide range of culprits to explain her surprise defeat last fall.

“Crooked Hillary Clinton blames everybody (and every thing) but herself for her election loss. She lost the debates and lost her direction!” the president tweeted.

But Clinton has a packed schedule, and America can expect to see her in the spotlight through the holidays.

Starting Monday, she hits the road for live events across the United States and Canada to promote her “What Happened” campaign memoir. The former secretary of state is scheduled to visit 15 cities for these “Hillary Clinton Live” appearances between now and early December.

Her first appearance before a live audience on Monday will be just a stone’s throw away from the White House.

She will be interviewed on stage by Lissa Muscatine, her former chief speechwriter who co-owns the Politics and Prose bookstore.

Clinton has given media interviews and appeared for book signings since the memoir was released last Tuesday, portraying this book as her first opportunity to speak candidly.

“I’m letting my guard down,” Clinton writes in the book.

The price of admission to the events has drawn attention, with certain premium ticket packages to her events going for thousands.

For example, Clinton fans in Toronto can obtain a “VIP platinum ticket” for her Sept. 28 talk for $2,375.95. That ticket includes two front-row seats, a photo with Clinton backstage and a signed book.

HILLARY CLINTON CHARGING BIG BUCKS FOR BOOK TOUR EVENTS

For the same price, VIP tickets also are available during Clinton’s upcoming appearances in Montreal and Vancouver.

The steep prices have not gone unnoticed in the publishing industry.

“It is standard for high profile authors to do book tours that sell tickets to events, but Clinton's tour takes it to a new level of greed,” an industry source told Fox News.

But Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Clinton’s book, has defended the practice. A spokesman said it is “customary for a venue to charge for tickets at events featuring high profile writers.”

“Tickets typically include a book,” Cary Goldstein, the executive director of publicity at Simon & Schuster, told Fox News, saying lecture venues “have become a central component of book tours for public figures.”

General admission tickets to Clinton's events are offered as well, for a lower price than the VIP versions. In Toronto, all the $70.49 tickets for Clinton’s lecture already have sold out.

Ticket prices for Clinton’s events vary, depending on the location. In Broward County, Fla., they range from $50 to $375 a ticket for an Oct. 3 appearance.

For Clinton’s Nov. 1 event in New York, VIP tickets are going for $750.

The tour will also take Clinton through Florida, California, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington state and Oregon.

In her book, Clinton attributes her loss in part to: the Russians, the media, voter ID laws, sexism and former FBI Director James Comey. She also goes after her former Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders, accusing him of “paving the way” for the relentless “Crooked Hillary” attacks she endured during the general election.

CLINTON BLASTS BERNIE SANDERS FOR INSPIRING ‘CROOKED HILLARY’ ATTACKS

She accuses Sanders of resorting to “innuendo and impugning my character” during the contentious primary because the Democratic socialist “couldn’t make” a policy argument against her.

“Nonetheless, his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump’s ‘Crooked Hillary’ campaign,” Clinton writes.

Tickets are sold out for Monday evening's event.