Mary Archer

Few have tested the limits of the old maxim 'for better or for worse; for richer, for poorer' more thoroughly than Mary Archer. Married to a philanderer, fabulist and convicted criminal, her marriage has consistently been the stuff of front page news. But how much do we really know about the woman who has - to general astonishment - stood by her man? Is she the 'fragrant' wife who so impressed Justice Caulfield in Jeffrey's controversial 1987 libel trial, or is she as ruthlessly ambitious as her publicity-hungry husband? Mary Archer is, in her own right, a woman of remarkable achievement. From becoming one of the youngest - and 'dolliest' - dons in Britain, to holding senior positions on the Council of Lloyds, the Fitzwilliam and Science Museums, Addenbrooke's NHS Trust and government advisory bodies, hers is a career that has consistently thrust her in the public gaze. And yet her most famous role is as the loyal wife; the rock in a marriage that has weathered more storms than most. So does Mary deserve our pity and sympathy; or is she one step ahead of us all in the publicity game that has become her and Jeffrey's life? Tracing Mary's path through the tabloid scandal and courtroom dramas that have dogged her marriage, Margaret Crick examines the role Mary has played in supporting her notoriously crooked spouse, and asks what makes this woman of intriguing contrasts tick. The result is an authoritative, entertaining and relentlessly compelling portrait of one of the most enigmatic women in the public eye.