Thatcher: 'Quite Feminine, but Totally in Control'

Now in the shops, a new book about Margaret Thatcher, written by historians. The impressive roster of contributers include Ben Jackson, Robert Saunders, Jim Tomlinson, Matthew Grimley, Camilla Schofield, Laura Beers, Jon Lawrence, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, David Howell, Richard Finlay, Richard Vinen, Andrew Gamble, Stephen Howe, Peter Sloman.

 It's called Making Thatcher's Britain. Here is its colourful cover-pic:

I've got a chapter in the book. It's called ''Just another country?': the Irish question in the Thatcher years'. Have a gander at this excerpt to whet your appetite:

On 15 November, 1985, the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed by Margaret Thatcher and [Irish Premier] Garret Fitzgerald at Hillsborough Castle, County Down. Thatcher cut an impressive figure. Fitzgerald was carefully spoken, but nowhere near as ‘authoritative and clear spoken’ as his counterpart, an Irish minister admitted: ‘Thatcher is undoubtedly the sharpest thing out, she looked very well (how can she be 60!), quite feminine, but totally in control and totally on the ball.’ This belied the Irish negotiating triumph, however …

None of the chapters are too long, and there's lots of good things to read. So rush off and buy it!