Mighty Maggie Mugged By OUP
Margaret Thatcher, former Conservative Prime Minister and ex-Somervillian, has come under stinging attack in a new book to be published by Oxford University Press.
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century British Politics, which is due for publication in February, is billed as being "the most comprehensive and authoritative source of reference on British politics ever written." However, a number of famous names have voiced their disapproval at the scathing tone of its entry on Thatcher.
In the book, contributor Edward Pearce describes the former Iron Lady as "the suburban militiawoma" and claims that her longevity in office was due to the fact that she "surfed to victory (in the 1983 election) on the strength of the Falklands factor." Pearce, a former Labour party researcher and Times columnist, boldly affirms that "it is entirely possible that with her other cloudy trophies may eventually be hung the destruction of the Conservative party."
The Wall Street Journal denounced the book as "hilarious fiction", while philosopher Professor Roger Scruton branded the treatment of Thatcher "an explosion of intemperate abuse" in a recent Sunday Times article. The Sunday Times journalist Michael Jones declared the work to be a product of "Oxford's cloud-cuckoos", and accused the University of putting its name to a book "in which academic integrity is sacrificed to crude political prejudice."
A spokeswoman for Oxford University Press defended the book, saying that "If the entries were purely dry and factual it would be rather boring book." The book's editor, Professor John Ramsden, also rebuffed the criticisms, which he felt were "extraordinary". He said that the description of her career was in line with "the current consensus of historiography" and that those criticising the article were "years out of date."
Somerville College were not available for comment at the time of going to press.
10th Jan 2002