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Monday, 16 January 2012

From Chick Lit to Cabinet?

Imagine the conversation if  novelist Barbara Cartland  had  met MP Louise Mensch. The Conservative member for Corby and East Northamptonshire, Mrs Mensch is better known as  Louise Bagshawe, internationally-acclaimed  chick-lit author.

While the late legendary romance writer dictated her prose from the comfort of a chaise longue, her modern counterpart  has  more pressing matters  on her mind. Earlier this year she was seen asking awkward questions at the press inquiry into phone hacking, not to mention her  recent spat with journalist Sarah Vine.

Sarah, meanwhile, is married to Education Secretary Michael Gove, himself a former journalist, who strongly defends his wife's right to the  freedom of speech. I wonder what they talk about over their Waitrose supper?

It seems to me that the line between writers and politicians has blurred in a way that would have been impossible twenty years ago. Can you picture Enoch Powell writing a play about immigration? Or Margaret Thatcher reading the news?

Incidentally, Louise was recently described in GQ magazine as 'The spiritual granddaughter of Margaret Thatcher. In the days of the 'Iron Lady,' writers and politicians were at different ends of the spectrum, each understanding their own place.

And then, of course, there was Jeffrey Archer. But that's a whole different  story...  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not sure I understood if its a good thing or not, but I did like the mention of the chaise longue!

Guernsey Girl said...

In that case - I think I know who you are...thanks for stopping by!