A New Peer

Yesterday Michael Dobbs was introduced into the House of Lords. He has been a key player in the Conservative party for many years - but it is for his writing that he is best known.

In November 1990 the BBC ran the first episode of "House of Cards", written by Michael Dobbs, which began with a monologue by its chief character, in which he says "Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest, the most glittering reign must come to an end someday." - as he looks at a photograph of Margaret Thatcher.



Days later - long after the scheduling of the programme, Mrs Thatcher had fallen!

The series is available on DVD - and worth watching. It is a superb political thriller - and I rate it as one of my favourite fictional portrayals of British politics.





In addition to his writing - he was a Chief of Staff and later Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He has served as a special adviser to Margaret Thatcher.

Michael Dobbs is not to be confused with his namesame - journalist and author of "One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear war" - though both were born in Britain - and studied in the USA.

His website can be accessed here.