Dear Bill: The Collected Letters of Denis Thatcher

Richard Ingrams and John Wells

ISBN 10: 0233973036 / ISBN 13: 9780233973036

Published by Private Eye, 1980

About this Item

First Edition, Later Printing (1984). Not price-clipped. Published by Private Eye, 1980. Octavo. Paperback. Book is very good with the previous owner inscription on page 5, and light shelf and edgewear. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.

Seller Inventory # 361676

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dear Bill: The Collected Letters of Denis Thatcher
• Publisher: Private Eye
• Publication Date: 1980
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0233973036
• ISBN 13: 9780233973036
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: George Adamson
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

The "Dear Bill" letters were a regular feature in the British satirical magazine Private Eye, purporting to be the private correspondence of Denis Thatcher, husband of the then-Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.The concept of writing satire from the point of view of a Prime Ministerial spouse was not new to the magazine, who had published Mrs Wilson's Diary (also a collaboration between Wells and Ingrams) along the same line during the Wilson government. It allowed the writers wide rein to comment on the personal peculiarities of senior politicians without seeming overly absurd, and was presented in a context that was – whilst clearly fictional – quite plausible. The assumed characteristics of the subject – a conservative reactionary, a "buffer's buffer" surveying the world through the bottom of a glass and not liking it one inch – gave ample opportunity for a rich and identifiable style; the image of Denis portrayed in the letters – a gin-soaked half-witted layabout, whose sole activity was to try to escape the wrath of "the Boss" – was a popular one, and Denis Thatcher remained in the public imagination as a less gaffe-prone version of the Duke of Edinburgh long after both the Thatcher government and the series itself had ended. The portrayal was not entirely negative; Denis Thatcher was portrayed as having a sharp and witty tongue, and a keen eye for events around him.