The Real Iron Lady: Working With Margaret Thatcher

There are so many myths about the extraordinary presence and political life of Margaret Thatcher, but what was it really like to work for her? In this remarkable collection, Gillian Shephard - who herself served as a minister under Margaret Thatcher - has brought together a group of contributors with experience of working with the Iron Lady at all sorts of levels: members of her Cabinets, such as Douglas Hurd and Tom King; other MPs and peers; and people who had worked for her at Conservative Central Office, or in her constituency, or behind the scenes at 10 Downing Street. The result is a revealing record of the way that Britain's only female Prime Minister approached her job - her thoroughness, her extraordinary capacity for hard work, her rare ability to combine attention to detail with a grasp of strategic issues. There are plenty of clashes - some with the contributor in the direct firing line, others observed from a safe distance - but there are also many acts of kindness and thoughtfulness toward the people with whom she worked. A unique insight into the working life of the real Iron Lady.