MARGARET THATCHER THE IRON LADY

As the centenary of her birth approaches, a few skeletons are emerging from her closet. New curiosities about the life of the Iron Lady are surfacing with the release of the book 'The Incidental Feminist,' written by journalist Tina Gaudoin.

Tina Gaudoin has delved into the life of the late Conservative leader through a variety of sources, across politics and the media. The book focuses on a new side of Thatcher compared to the image she wished to project of herself and her relationship with her husband. In Gaudoin's book, the Iron Lady is viewed from a different angle, questioning whether she was also a 'femme fatale.'

The book discusses a first alleged extramarital affair that Thatcher had at the beginning of her political career, immediately after her election as a Tory MP in 1959. While the identity of this first purported lover is unknown, the second is: Sir Humphrey Atkins, a Conservative MP for the English constituency of Spelthorne. The relationship with him is said to have occurred when she was already a leading political figure in the UK.

Atkins served as Chief Whip under Prime Minister Edward Heath and later as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 1979 and 1981, when Thatcher was Prime Minister. This presents a new image for Thatcher as England celebrates the centenary of her birth.