Iain Dale

Margaret Thatcher was a woman of tremendous paradoxes: a conviction politician who was also a pragmatist; someone who delighted in her tough reputation, yet could also be emotional, and even tearful, when confronted by personal or national tragedy. Her reputation as a cabinet leader was one of being quasi-dictatorial, yet she left her ministers to get on with their jobs – far more than any of her successors ever have. She was known as a classical laissez faire liberal, yet she started out as a social conservative and wasn’t averse to state intervention when she felt it was warranted.

Iain Dale’s sparkling new biography of Margaret Thatcher brings her to life in all her paradoxes and contradictions and argues that her election in 1979 really was a turning point in British history. Dubbed the ‘Iron Lady’ by the Soviets, she was one of the few recent prime ministers to burnish an international reputation, fighting the Falklands war, playing a leading role in defeating Communism, winning the Cold War, and through her battles with the European Economic Community.

A little over a decade after her death, Margaret Thatcher introduces her to new generations of readers who may not remember her premiership, but who are living with its consequences.

'A compelling account of a compulsory subject ... A masterpiece of compression and readability.' Daniel Finkelstein