Marcia Williams: The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender by Linda McDougall review – notes on a scandal | Biography books
Imagine a story of sex, drugs and secrets inside Downing Street. A story about a political wife accused of meddling, and a resignation honours list mired in scandal. And no, it’s not the one you’re thinking of. This is the irresistible tale of Marcia Williams, political secretary and “office wife” to the Labour prime minister Harold Wilson, and if it were the plot of a thriller it would seem too wild to be true.In an era when a woman’s role in Downing Street was limited largely to typing and filing, Williams had to fight…