Norma: A Biography

by Tim Walker

When Norma Major stood outside No. 10 with her husband after his triumph in the Tory Party leadership contest, she looked as though she was in shock. Clearly nothing had prepared her for this moment, and she seemed to epitomise what psychologists call the "impostor syndrome", the sense that one does not deserve to be in the position in which one finds oneself. Norma Major is now firmly ensconced in Downing St and yet, as she is only too aware, she doesn't come from the right family, the right school or the right class. But she and her husband have risen to the pinnacle of the British establishment without ever really having become a part of it. Exhaustively researched by Kitty Kelley, Norma Major will probe behind Norma's public facade to discover how she has coped with her rise to power. What strains has it placed on her marriage, what role can she play and what freedom can she have?

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1994

About the author

Tim Walker is a British Press Award-winning journalist, broadcaster, playwright and author. He has published two books: Norma, a biography of Norma Major, which was described by Fay Weldon as 'such a good, readable' book, and Star Turns, a collection of essays about actors he has met, which Sangita Myska described on her BBC show as 'brilliant.' His first play, Bloody Difficult Women, focusing on Gina Miller's successful court case against Theresa May's government, will be staged at the Riverside Studios in West London in February and March 2022.