Gail Sheehy Remembers Taking An 'Electrical Bath' To Learn About Margaret Thatcher

(function(){var src_url="http://embed.live.huffingtonpost.com/HPLEmbedPlayer/'segmentId=55a81407fe3444ef3e00023c&sid=577&showPlaylist=true&autoPlay=true&hpl_host="+window.location.hostname+"&hpl_ref="+document.referrer+"&onVideoDataLoaded=HPTrack.Vid.DL&onTimeUpdate=HPTrack.Vid.TC";if (typeof(commercial_video) == "object") {src_url += "&siteSection="+commercial_video.site_and_category;if (commercial_video.package) {src_url += "&sponsorship="+commercial_video.package;}}var iframe = document.querySelector(".js-hplive-frame");iframe.src = src_url;iframe.className="";})(); When journalist Gail Sheehy interviewed Margaret Thatcher forVanity Fairin 1989, there was plenty to discuss: Thatcher's childhood, her relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, even her "sexual charisma." Also up for investigation was the peculiar method the prime minister used to keep up a youthful appearance. "I was trying to understand how she could be 60 years old -- it was her tenth year in office -- and she looked 20 years younger," Sheehy toldHuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani during a Thursday conversation about her new memoir,Daring. During preliminary interviews with a number of sources connected to Thatcher, Sheehy discovered the Iron Lady used a "special Indian guru woman" who treatedher with "electrical baths." Sheehy's commitment to the profile drove her to track down this "very secretive" guru and secure an appointment for herself under a disguise. "She tells me to strip down, and I have to walk up the ladder to this huge electrical bath, and there she is at the other end, manipulating the amps," Sheehy said. "And I'm thinking, I've done a lot of things for getting a story, but maybe electrocution is going a little far. She saw me wavering, and she said, 'My dear, I've had kings and princes ... in that tub. Step in.' And I did." Watch Sheehy describe what happened next in the video above, and click hereto see her full HuffPost Live conversation. Sign up herefor Live Today, HuffPost Lives morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before. 'Also on HuffPost: -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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