Nancy : The Life of Lady Astor Book

This is a very sympathetic biography rather than a completely objective one, but is also a well researched, complete one. It considers Nancy's political career, her opinions and prejudices and attempts to explain the background behind the latter. He had access to her political and family papers and Nancy's own abandoned memoir which covered her early years in Virginia.
It is difficult not to feel that Waldorf Astor was a much greater asset to the House of Commons than his wife. She only once managed to initiate any bills (almost certainly a watered down version of the legislation she would have liked), but she did speak on various subjects, often those relating to women and children or her naval constituency, and she was always going to be a very visible MP. She also had a charm and presence which made her accepted, even by some reactionaries, which must have made life for those female MPs following her that bit easier.
Her private life and personality are shown in the book. She was lively, impetuous, energetic (much of the time), kind and loyal (sometimes unexpectedly), opinionated and determined, but also bullying, prejudiced, misguided and ignorant at times. Once she adopted a cause, she usually remained committed to it all her life. She cared deeply about her children, although this led to possessiveness which sometimes caused problems as they grew up. She was fascinating.
Her electioneering methods were unconventional, she used flirtation, innuendo, back-chat, jokes and insults as much as political rhetoric. She turned cartwheels and showed her underwear. Conservative Head Office didn't know what to make of her, but many of her working class voters must have loved that rather undignified behaviour. She was not one of them, but she could make them forget that much of the time and was re-elected to her Plymouth constituency whenever she stood.