Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography by Charles Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

trained to take notes, they tend to have more accurate memories than politicians, who are forever rushing. The best witnesses to Mrs Thatcher’s working life were often her private secretaries, to most of whom I have spoken. In the period covered by this volume, I am particularly grateful to Sir Brian Cartledge, Sir John Coles, Sir Michael Scholar and Sir Clive Whitmore for the time they gaveme and the thought they put into it. I must also mention the former Cabinet Secretary, Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, whose precise mind and memory remain completely undimmed and whose supply of perceptive insights and anecdotes seems never to dry up. His successor, Lord Butler of Brockwell, has been equally helpful, chiefly with the second volume. Alan Petty has helped guide me towards the less visible parts of government.
    In my Thatcher travels, I have been sustained by much hospitality. I am particularly grateful to Richard and Veronique Bowdler-Raynar, who invited me to stay at Schloss Freudenberg - almost the only place Mrs Thatcher would consent to visit for a holiday; Philip and Isabella Naylor-Leyland, at Milton, scene of the great Falklands rally; Charles and Carla Powell in the Campania; Romilly McAlpine in Venice; and Julian and Diana Seymour at Restharrow.
    Richard and Kate Ehrman tolerantly kept a bed for me whenever I visited Oxford to consult archives or interview the retired civil servants who so often end up being Heads of Houses there. Richard and Kate also read and commented on my manuscript with great care, as did Noel Malcolm, Fellow of All Souls, Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princteon (all the material dealing with the economy), Andrew Riley, Archivist of the Thatcher Papers, my father, Richard Moore, and my father-in-law, Ralph Baxter. Kate Ehrman’s additional kindness was to hold my hand whenever I attempted to speak, read or listen to the French language.
    Over many years, my most frequent talks about my subject have been with the Ehrmans, with Oliver and Isabel Letwin, and with Owen and Rose Paterson. In all these cases, the context has been friendships going back for more than 30 years. This is the best sort of talk, and I can never thank them enough. Oliver’s late mother, Shirley, is a dedicatee of this book.
    My special thanks should go to Tommy, my hunter who jumps everything, and to Diana Grissell, MFH, who directs his care. They have been essential to my sanity.
    Finally, I must thank my family, especially my sister, Charlotte, and my brother, Rowan. As far as I know, no Moore of my line, apart from me, has ever supported Margaret Thatcher. In many ways, this has been a good place for her biographer to start: in studying my subject I have enjoyed what feels like a forbidden pleasure. Besides, without my parents, Richard Moore and Ann Moore, I might never have learnt the fascination of history. This book is dedicated to them.
    Our twins, Kate and William, were seven when this project began, and now they are adults. Except for the incident when Will lost the entire manuscript when playing, without permission, on my computer, they have been models of good behaviour and good fun. Because they were born in the last year of Mrs Thatcher’s premiership, they give me a perspective which someone like me, who first voted in 1979, would otherwise lack. My wife Caroline has been consistently loving and tolerant as I have spent so much time, for so long, with ‘the other woman’. I am more grateful to her than I can say.



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