Knopf has acquired an authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher by British journalist Charles Moore. The book, which in the U.S. will be called Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Falklands, was published in the U.K., today, by Allen Lane. (The U.K. title of the book is Margaret Thatcher, The Authorized Biography -- Volume 1.) Knopf plans on publishing the book on May 21.
Thatcher died on April 8, and her public funeral happened last week, in London. The book will be the first volume in a two volume work. Moore, Knopf added, was selected by Thatcher to write her life story, under the condition that "it would not be published in her lifetime."
Speaking to Moore's access to Thatcher, Knopf said that, in addition to her private papers, he also interviewed her family and friends "extensively." Elaborating on the work, the publisher said it "isheds much new light on the whole spectrum of British political life from Thatcher’s entry into Parliament in 1959 to what was arguably the zenith of her power—victory in the Falklands in 1982." Knopf also noted that while Moore shows a clear "admiration" for his subject, the book is nonetheless "convincingly clear-eyed, conveying both how remarkable she was and how infuriating she could be."
