BITEBACK TO MARK THATCHER CENTENARY WITH REASSESSMENT OF POST-PREMIERSHIP
Biteback Publishing has acquired a study of Margaret Thatcher’s premier emeritus years, written by Peter Just and released to coincide with her centenary.
The story of Margaret Thatcher’s post-premiership years is a tale of high drama and low farce, with, at its heart, one extraordinary woman. No longer in office but never really out of power, Margaret Thatcher enjoyed perhaps the most consequential ex-premiership in British history. British politics today largely reflects and is a consequence not only of Thatcher’s time in No. 10 but also of her later life and how people reacted and still react to it. It is as much our story as it is hers.
In her centenary year, this book will provide a radical reassessment of how Thatcher’s premier emeritus years have been viewed to date. Covering the four main areas of her work after Downing Street – philosophy, party, policy and performance – and analysing her continued and continuing influence on the Conservative leaders and Prime Ministers of all parties who followed her, it demonstrates why, however small the politics may or may not have got since 1990, Margaret Thatcher is still big.
Peter Just is a research associate of the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull. He has been studying the lives of former Prime Ministers since 28 November 1990, his research being published in the Journal of Legislative Studies. This is his first book.
James Stephens, publisher at Biteback, acquired world rights direct from the author.
Peter Just said: ‘Margaret Thatcher was not only one of the most impactful Prime Ministers the UK has ever had; she was also one of the most impactful former Prime Ministers the UK has ever had, shaping the ex-premiership just as much as she shaped the premiership. Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street tells the story of Margaret Thatcher’s post-prime ministership: what she did, the reactions she generated and why, in the 2020s, she remains a political force.’
James Stephens said: ‘Whatever you think of her, Margaret Thatcher remains one of the most significant political figures of the past fifty years. Writers, journalists and filmmakers have pored over her life and legacy since she died in 2013. In Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street, however, Peter Just has discovered an exciting new angle on Thatcher and her career: what she did after she left power. This is a bold, brilliant addition to the literature on Margaret Thatcher and will throw light on her enigmatic later days.’
Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street will be published in July 2025, supported by a major marketing and publicity campaign.
Price: £25 hardback
ISBN: 9781785909207