Margaret Thatcher: v. 1

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John Campbell

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Pages: 528 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0099516764

Pub: Vintage

Pub date: 2007-11-01

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 359099

Editorial Review:

Love her or hate her, there is no escaping the impact that Margaret Thatcher has made upon post-war British Politics. The 1980s are indelibly marked as the Thatcher years, and her rise from Grantham grocer's daughter to Finchley MP in 1959, Leader of the Conservative Party by 1975, and Prime Minister by 1979 was as tenacious as it was controversial. Since being ousted from power, biographers have been busy reassessing her legacy. By far the most distinguished account to date is John Campbell's Margaret Thatcher. Volume One: The Grocer's Daughter. Campbell's credentials for the job are impeccable, having already written the acclaimed biography of Thatcher's great rival, Edward Heath, winner of the 1994 NCR Book Award. As he explains from the outset, this is not an authorised biography, but Thatcher's office made no attempt to prevent the reconstruction of Thatcher's life from her birth in Grantham to her entry into Downing Street. This is a blessing, as Campbell's immensely readable and even-handed book challenges the idealised myth of Thatcher's early life and indoctrination into the "Victorian values" of her Methodist father Alderman Roberts. According to Campbell, Thatcher reinvented herself as a wealthy Home Counties lady, through her difficult years at Oxford, marriage to Denis, and sexist responses from her party throughout her early years in Opposition. However, as her status as a "conviction politician" grew, and with the General Election of 1979 looming, she radically changed her image: "In place of the Home Counties Tory lady in a stripy hat, married to a rich husband, whose children had attended the most expensive private schools, she forced the media to redefine her as a battling meritocrat who had raised herself by hard work from a humble provincial background." Campbell's story is always compelling, his research meticulous, and his sweep of the political skulduggery of the 60s and 70s masterful. Margaret Thatcher is an absorbing story of the creation of a modern political myth. --Jerry Brotton

Reader Reviews:

Fascinating insight (0/0 people found this helpful)

I read this along with her autobiographies, and of course this is far less biased! It reveals fascinating background information about her postmaster father who was also a local councillor. Campbell suggests realistic reasons behind Thatcher's motives and drive, without delving into unecessary pychobabble.

Anyone with any interest in British politics or history will enjoy this book: it is written in an easy going style, but it is extrememly thorough and thoughtful.

Good quality biography (2/4 people found this helpful)

A well written and informative account of Margaret Thatcher's rise to power. I found it to be an interesting and enjoyable read but not a top quality biogrpahy for a couple of reasons.

First, the organisation of the material is not very imaginative. It is basically about 50 pages between each election and the focus is on documenting events. I have no problem with this, but the book is definitely not in the calibre of Robert Caro's work on Lyndon Johnson which captures so well both the personality of the figure and the backdrop of the times. Focusing on fewer crucial periods in Thatcher's career to bring out the personality or giving more rich context would have made a more insightful biography. A missed opportunity.

Second, and this is somewhat a niggly point, Campbell overdoes the correction of the Thatcher's memoirs. I don't think anyone really expects a politician's memoirs to be completely accurate. It seems unnecessary to correct points of detail as Campbell does every 3 pages.

A good book on Thatcher, well written but not a 5-star book.

Engaging biography and history (6/10 people found this helpful)

This well-researched book covers the life of Margaret Thatcher from her birth and her childhood in Grantham to her election as Prime Minister in 1979. Her youth and education are dealt with in the chapters Dutiful Daughter, Serious Schoolgirl and Oxford Tory, whilst the chapter Young Conservative recounts the story of her first job, her marriage to Denis Thatcher and her first spirited election campaigns in safe Labour seats.

The birth of her children, her life as a mother and housewife and her legal studies are discussed in chapter six: Superwoman. This chapter concludes with her stunning victory in the Finchley constituency in the 1959 election. The next two chapters describe her life as a backbencher and a junior minister. Between 1964 and 1970 with the Conservatives in opposition, Thatcher held many different portfolios: junior spokeswoman on pensions, housing and economic policy and member of the shadow cabinet for power, transport and finally education.

After the Tory victory in 1970 she was education secretary for more than three years. The Conservatives were defeated in 1974 and the next year she was elected leader of the opposition, the role dealt with in the chapter of the same name. The exciting election campaign of 1979 is covered in the chapter Into Downing Street, which also deals with the beginning of her long and glorious reign as Prime Minister.

The text is filled with quotes from newspapers and people who played a role in her life. The author has gone to great lengths to be as thorough and meticulous as possible; the research cannot be faulted. Furthermore, Campbell manages to capture the mood of the times very well in his analysis of British history and politics and succeeds in making the detail interesting. For example, the election results for Margaret's Finchley constituency are provided throughout the book, for every election.

As a great admirer of Thatcher, I do not agree with his every conclusion or every single point of opinion, but his work is exhaustive and impressive. It is also quite readable although the avalanche of facts, figures and analysis do sometimes reach overload.

Of the book's 33 black and white photographs, my favourites include a picture of Margaret aged 4 with her sister, the proud mother with twins in 1953 and the future Prime Minister holding a calf in the 1979 election campaign. The book includes 41 pages of notes and references, a vast bibliography and an index.

Along with volume 2, this excellent book will surely stand the test of time as the most authoritative biography of this remarkable woman. I also recommend Thatcher's book Statecraft, a highly readable and insightful look at world politics at the beginning of the 21st century.

Interesting and well-written (5/6 people found this helpful)

This is a well-written and well-researched book that is both even-handed and insightful. What you should get from reading this is both a clear view of Lady Thatcher as a person and as a politician, and some interesting insights into how her life has influenced her political views.

The book also demolishes some of the mythology surrounding Lady Thatcher, and shows that she was more of a political opportunist than a great thinker. Equally it does highlight her determination and political skills.

I await the 2nd volume with interest!

A non-partisan biogrpahy of a VERY partisan person... (4/5 people found this helpful)

John Campbell has produced an extremely insightful biography, and although it is the first volume, contains some of the best analysis about Thatcher ever written.

Taking as its' basic premise the fact that she claimed to be so indebted to her father, he assiduously looks into her life and ideology prior to 1979 to see if this statement stands up to repeated scrutiny.

Although in this sense it is somewhat of a revisionist account, Campbell is scrupulously fair to Thatcher. He analyses her strengths fairly, and succeeds in producing what must be one of the last partisan biographies to have been written about her. Whilst her claimed links with the past are found wanting - the main thrust is that she manipulated her past to gain political advancement, he does succeed in explaining how she became to dominent political figure of the late 20th century. As a politics student who did not live through the time, it was interestign to see how the perceptions of her altered as time passed, and how she built up her image following her election as Leader of the Opposition in 1975.

One can only hope that Campbell's book on her period in Government is as balanced and as scrupulous as this volume.

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