Reggie Hardback

In the memoirs and biographies of his contemporaries, Reggie Maudling - "hired by Winston Churchill, fired by Margaret Thatcher" - is a marginal figure: a puzzling walk-on part in the Tory leadership crisis of 1963, a witty man with a clever turn of phrase, or a tragic figure who squandered his natural talents.

In histories of political scandals, he is depicted as a greedy failed politician who crossed the line in to corruption.

This biography redresses the balance, presenting a picture of a man who was feared and respected inside and outside his party and who was a major influence on post-war Britain.

To Thatcherites, Maudling represented the very worst of post-war Conservatism.

He had given away an empire, appeased the unions, built up the public sector, welcomed the permissive society and worked for co-existence with the Soviet Union.

His ideas now seem well to the left of New Labour. With full access to Maudling's private, ministerial and constituency papers, the support of the Maudling family and from interviews with colleagues and opponents, journalists, friends and business contacts of Maudling's, Lewis Baston tells the full story of Maudling's rise and fall.