Random House to publish NOT FOR TURNING by Robin Harris, the biography of Margaret Thatcher written by a member of her inner circle, on 26th April

Robin Harris, for many years Margaret Thatcher’s speechwriter, trusted adviser and the draftsman of two volumes of her autobiography, has written the defining book about the former Prime Minister, whose death was announced today.  NOT FOR TURNING will be published by Bantam Press on Thursday 26^th April at $37.99.

NOT FOR TURNING is a fitting tribute to a woman who made history.  Writing to Harris about the book when the idea was first conceived, Margaret Thatcher said ‘I can think of no one better placed than you to tackle the subject.. you also know, better than anyone else, what I wanted our reforms to achieve for the people of Britain.’

Robin Harris tells Margaret Thatcher’s extraordinary life story, from humble beginnings above her father’s grocer’s shop in Grantham, to her early days as one of the first women in Westminster and then as Prime Minister.  The book follows her through the ‘Winter of Discontent’, the tribulations of the miners’ strike  and the Falklands War.  And Harris writes a stunning account of her exit from power, tells of her life after Number Ten and provides a deep, personal insight into her character.

ROBIN HARRIS worked for the Conservative Party from 1978, and increasingly closely with Margaret Thatcher herself from 1985, writing her speeches and advising on policy.  By the close of her premiership, he was probably the most trusted member of her political team at Downing Street, and he left Number Ten with her.  As a member of her personal staff, he then drafted the two volumes of her autobiography and a further book on her behalf.  After Margaret Thatcher’s retirement from public life, Robin Harris continued to see her regularly as a friend until her death.