Exceeding My Brief

Barbara Hosking, a Cornish scholarship girl with no contacts, rose to executive posts in the Labour Party and No. 10 as a press officer to Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, overcoming her struggle with her sexuality.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 12 March 2019
Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Barbara Hosking, a Cornish scholarship girl with no contacts, has had a remarkable life. From the tragic massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games to signing the Treaty of Rome when Britain entered the Common Market, she has been present at pivotal moments in history. This is the story of a girl who, despite having no connections, ended up in the corridors of power.

It is also a deeply personal tale of her struggle with her sexuality as a bewildered teenager and as a young woman in the 1950s, a time when being gay could lead to social ostracism. Born during the General Strike in 1926, Barbara worked her way through London's typing pools in the 1950s, eventually securing executive posts in the Labour Party. She then moved to No. 10 as a press officer to Harold Wilson and Edward Heath.

Throughout her life, Barbara has led a life of breadth and bravery. She has worked on a copper mine in the African bush, pioneered British breakfast television, and negotiated the complexities of government. Her unheard-of account of the innermost workings of politics and the media during the turbulent twentieth century Britain offers a unique perspective on a remarkable life.

Weight: 314g
Dimension: 200 x 134 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781785904622