Why we are publishing HOW I KILLED MARGARET THATCHER

Friday, 12^th April 2013

Announcement from Tindal Street Press:

As news of Margaret Thatcher’s death spread yesterday, some lamented the loss of the greatest prime minister of the modern era, others celebrated and looked forward to dancing on her grave. There were street parties in Brixton and Glasgow, while the flag flew half-mast in Grantham.

Love her or loathe her, she still matters – a lot – to all of us.

When Tindal St Press published Anthony Cartwright’s elegiac, sensitive, and important novel about life in a fragmented industrial working class West Midlands community in the 1980’s last year, some questioned the choice of its provocative title: How I Killed Margaret Thatcher.

Tindal Street rightly defended the book and explained the gentle irony of its title. The novel begins on the day Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, and is narrated by Sean, a nine year old boy who is trying to make sense of the way his family members react with horror to the election result, and the devastating changes that her government then makes to their lives. His response is to dream up a fantasy to wreak murderous revenge on her. His powerlessness is the point, of course. He can no more kill Margaret Thatcher than he can beat the bigger boys at school at football or win the heart of the most popular girl in his class.
If you grew up in the 1980’s, this novel will remind you how her profoundly divisive influence could be dramatized in childish imaginations. If you were an adult, you’ll remember how fiercely fought the debates were about what kind of a society we should be, whichever side of the fence you were on.

It’s hard to remember, now that we can’t be bothered to despise our leaders enough to do anything about them, what it was like to live through a time when a bitter war of opposing principles was being fought and played out in people’s lives. We all know that Thatcher won that war and changed British society forever: Anthony’s Cartwright’s novel is a deeply moving and essential reminder of what was lost along the way, and we are proud to be publishing it.

The ebook is out now.
The new paperback edition will be out 22nd April.

Find out more about How I Killed Margaret Thatcher