The I Index

There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History

Top of the pile

91

/100

I Index Overall Rating

Readers

91/100

Critics

91/100

Scholars

N/A

Author:

Rory Carroll

Publisher:

G.P. Putnam's Sons

Date:

April 4, 2023

A bomb planted by the IRA exploded at 2:54 a.m. on October 12, 1984. It was the last day of the Conservative Party Conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. Rooms were obliterated, dozens wounded, five killed. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was in her suite when the explosion occurred. Had she been just a few feet in another direction, flying tiles and masonry would have sliced her to ribbons. As it was, she survived—and history changed.

What The Reviewers Say

Amy Davidson Sorkin,
The New Yorker
A reminder of just how much the Good Friday Agreement accomplished.
Maureen Corrigan,
NPR
Engrossing.
Fintan O'Toole,
The Guardian (UK)
A gripping, detailed and richly layered account of the bombing and its consequences.

Kirkus
Tense, riveting.