Margaret Thatcher: The Prime Ministers Series

by Iain Dale

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

192 pages, Hardcover

Published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief biography of Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady,” maps the trajectory of her political career … it serves to acquaint younger generations with the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain, the Falklands War, her unique relationship with Reagan, and much more … in summing up her tenure as Prime Minister, Dale writes: “Margaret Thatcher’s eleven and a half years dramatically improved Britain’s global standing and worldwide reputation. Britain’s voice counted for something again, in a way that it hadn’t in the post-war era.” …

[Cams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thatcher was the first prime minister that I remember. She was a formidable and divisive leader, and not at all popular in Scotland. Having grown up in Scotland, I did once feel a sense of guilt for admiring her in later life. Thankfully, I’m much too curmudgeonly to care about that and, instead, I’m choosing to learn more about her and the period of history in which she was in power.

I heard author Iain Dale on the TRIGGERnometry podcast, which inspired me to listen to his book. The book is aimed at younger generations, inspired by the author’s surprise at their lack of knowledge about this political and historical figure. It’s an interesting summary of Thatcher’s life and times, and it was an excellent primer that inspired me to delve deeper into her life by reading Charles Moore’s three-volume biography—I’m reading the first volume now. Dale’s book was easy to read, felt well researched and had a good flow. Dale commented on the challenge of writing a short book over a longer one, bringing to mind the quote, “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” Whether it was Mark Twain or not is a matter of debate. In terms of his intended audience, I think Dale has hit the mark.

[James Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and informative shorthand account of Britain’s greatest peacetime Prime Minister.

Looking forward to reading Charles Moore’s more comprehensive writings!

[Zoya Yasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an easy and accessible introduction to Margaret Thatcher, this book is a good starting point. It explores the person (and indeed the people) behind Thatcherism, and invites readers to reflect on how the introduction of neoliberal ideologies has shaped, and continues to shape, Britain today.

That said, I think the book could have made a more explicit connection between Thatcher’s policies and the tensions, challenges, and inequalities we face today. For younger readers especially, who may not be able to draw these links on their own, this feels important. Of course, some of these connections remain controversial and contested (like the influence of deregulation on the financial crash) but their absence left me joining the dots, with difficulty.

What the book does particularly well is highlight aspects of Thatcher’s political life that are often overlooked in more polarised portrayals. Her role in education policy, her upbringing, and even the mental challenge of resigning in 1990 are all given attention. Dale is clear that a truly dispassionate biography of Thatcher is difficult, but he succeeds in drawing out lesser-known elements of her personality, such as her empathy toward staff and the importance of personal relationships. Still, I found it hard to separate these qualities from the individualistic nature of her politics, which led to deep inequalities and harm within Britain, its former colonies, and internationally.

I also found that the book required a fair amount of prior knowledge in areas like international relations, economics, and British politics. At times, I struggled to fully grasp certain aspects, and I felt that key issues (such as Thatcher’s role in relation to the IRA) were underdeveloped. But perhaps Dale chose breadth over depth, which makes sense for a book aimed at introducing Thatcher to younger readers, so I forgive him.

In the end, I think it’s a good sign that the book left me with more questions than answers — about Thatcher herself, her relevance to the younger generation, and the legacy of her politics today. It also made me reflect on how we might begin dismantling rigid structures, as she once did, though in a very different political direction… lol. I see Thatcher's leadership qualities in a lot of powerful politicians today, Trump and Ferage, but also some really cool political campaigners like Gary Stevenson notably. It's interesting that Thatcher was one of the first politicians to really use the media and political advertising (mostly successfully) and I think for the younger generation, it's cool to see how this character politics we see today very much began with the unlikely Thatcher.

[Leon Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people under the age of 50 will be aware that Margaret Thatcher is Britain's most consequential post-war Prime Minister, more so than Clement Attlee (who was Prime Minister when there was a general consensus for change), but they may not know why.

Iain Dale's book is an excellent short biography that will put meat on the bones to their knowledge, albeit that it is written in a implicitly supportive manner (which the author readily accepts).

There is a little imbalance to the book, there is more written about her decision to stand down as Prime Minister than, for example, her impact on the NHS, but on the whole this is an excellent primer for those who want to know more about Mrs Thatcher and a brilliant standalone book for those who want more than a basic knowledge.

[Ben Hegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having not been born until well after Thatcher's time as PM, I wanted to read a short introduction. This was a great choice. I had heard about it through the Daily T podcast and so knew it'd be a great choice. I was correct. It was concise and to the point. If I had to critique I'd say it assumes a lot of knowledge on economics specifically - but it's my fault too for not reading about economics yet. I learnt a lot from this book and it has helped me to form a historically accurate view of Thatcher. First class. I especially enjoyed the twelve myths that are refuted in the last chapter. Highly recommended!

[Temi Abimbola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book, as a fan of Margaret Thatcher’s political career, I’m aware of most of the things mentioned in this book, yet offered a more personal glimpse into the life of the Iron Lady.

Iain Dale debunks speculations made by her skeptics, clarifying ideas carried over the decades about Thatcher’s reputation to a new generation that probably only knows her from comments echoed by detractors. The gave a balance idea of her political positions and actions during very notable periods of the Cold War.

[Alexa Kendell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 - Randomly picked this up, but she’s someone who I’ve wanted to know more about but who wasn’t really focused on too much during school. The book gave me exactly what I wanted which was an interesting and concise background on her. The author definitely is biased, but he does often admit this and I appreciate him being so candid. I honestly thought it was all really digestible, which I was concerned about considering I don’t know much about British politics. However, I would not recommend picking this up when you’re on a plane without WiFi unable to look anything up!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book whose author claims he wanted to introduce Margaret Thatcher to a new generation, this book is full of holes. I found myself constantly looking up people and events referred to in the book that are never explained. I get this is a short book but the omission of so many basic details is inexcusable. Acronyms are often not defined, there is no index and the author seems to assume his reading audience consists entirely of residents of the U.K. Sloppy effort overall.

[Issy Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this was interesting, but I feel for people who might be coming to this without prior knowledge and without a critical eye, because ultimately, he does LOVE Thatcher and it doesn't exactly give a fair view of her downsides (in fact, often tells you that many people THINK something was bad, but it was in fact actually good)

[Diana Cheal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, a snapshot of the great woman. Recommend for anyone who doesn’t know enough about her. The myth busting section at the end is very good!

[Mykhailo Smyshliaiev · Rating 5 out of 5]

In today’s political world we need more Iron Ladies