From our news screens to our bookshops – UK indie Atlantic Books has bought president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde’s memoir.
Drummond Moir, Atlantic’s MD, acquired world English-language rights from Piper Verlag. Rights have also been sold in France and Italy. The book will be published in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audiobook on 28 January 2027.
In Lady First, Lagarde tells the story of her own life, from growing up Le Havre, “a mother who gave everything for her children and left nothing to chance, the setbacks that made her stronger, and the great crises of the global economy”.
Lagarde says: “This is one of the reasons why I wrote this book: I don’t want any of these young women to believe that you can only succeed if you are born into the right family, in the right place, with the right name. I want them to know the unvarnished truth of a rebellious little girl from a modest, middle-class background who took many risks, both calculated and spontaneous, and nevertheless ended up in the most coveted positions in politics, finance and international life.”
Moir says: “Lady First is the autobiography of a woman who has not only witnessed history, but shaped it in a decisive way. For Christine Lagarde has always been a true pioneer: the first woman to chair a major international law firm, the first female G7 finance minister, the first female IMF managing director and the first female president of the European Central Bank. She’s been featured 12 times in Forbes’ list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and is regularly cited as one of the most influential women in the world. We could not be prouder to be publishing her singular story.”
