A Very English Scandal

Author: John Preston
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590518152
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 361

Book Description
The basis for the Emmy award-winning limited series starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw A behind-the-scenes look at the desperate, scandalous private life of a British MP and champion manipulator, and the history-making trial that exposed his dirty secrets While Jeremy Thorpe served as a Member of Parliament and Leader of the Liberal Party in the 1960s and 70s, his bad behavior went under the radar for years. Police and politicians alike colluded to protect one of their own. In 1970, Thorpe was the most popular and charismatic politician in the country, poised to hold the balance of power in a coalition government. But Jeremy Thorpe was a man with a secret. His homosexual affairs and harassment of past partners, along with his propensity for lying and embezzlement, only escalated as he evaded punishment. Until a dark night on the moor with an ex-lover, a dog and a hired gun led to consequences that even his charm and power couldn’t help him escape. Dubbed the “Trial of the Century,” Thorpe’s climactic case at the Old Bailey in London was the first time that a leading British politician had stood trial on a murder charge, the first time that a murder plot had been hatched in the House of Commons. And it was the first time that a prominent public figure had been exposed as a philandering gay man, in an era when homosexuality had only just become legal. With the pace and drama of a thriller, A Very English Scandal is an extraordinary story of hypocrisy, deceit and betrayal at the heart of the British Establishment.

A Very English Scandal

Author: John Preston
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590518144
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 361

An Accidental Icon

Author: Norman Scott
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1529370302
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Book Description
'Compelling' The Daily Mail 'So many gripping moments... a real cracker' The Evening Standard The jaw-dropping and inspiring story of accidental queer icon Norman Scott (the hero of TV drama A Very English Scandal) and the part he played in one of the greatest political scandals of the 20th century. In October 1975 an assassin tried to murder Norman Scott on Exmoor but the trigger failed and he only succeeded in shooting Scott's beloved dog, Rinka. Scott subsequently found himself at the centre of a major political scandal and became an unlikely queer icon. But this was never his intention... He was born in 1940 into a poor, dysfunctional and abusive family. Aged sixteen he began an equestrian career, animals having been the one source of comfort in his childhood. By the age of twenty he had run into debts and had suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1960 Scott began a sexual affair with Jeremy Thorpe. By the time of the attempted assassination of Scott, Thorpe was married, leader of the Liberal Party and a figure at the heart of the establishment. He was embarrassed by their former relationship and wanted to cover it up. But he failed. The assassination attempt culminated in a sensational trial in 1979, where Thorpe was tried for conspiracy to murder. The press labelled Scott a madman and the establishment protected Thorpe, who was acquitted. Only recently has Scott's version of events been vindicated. An Accidental Icon tells a story that is inspiring and jaw droppingly unbelievable: it is the tale of the courage and survival of one man who took on the establishment

An English Affair: Sex, Class and Power in the Age of Profumo

Author: Richard Davenport-Hines
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 000743586X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

Book Description
WINNER OF THE POLITICAL BOOK AWARDS POLITICAL HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014. Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Profumo scandal, An English Affair is a sharp-focused snapshot of a nation on the brink of social revolution.

The Duchess Who Dared

Author: Charles Castle
Publisher: Swift Press
ISBN: 1800750803
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
The extraordinary story behind A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany ?Margaret was debutante of the year, the beautiful fairy-tale heiress immortalised in Cole Porter's 'You're The Top' - who ended up penniless and ostracised from her own family. Legal actions coloured her life - her divorce from the Duke of Argyll was one of the longest, costliest and most notorious in British legal history. Her diaries, and photographs of her with an anonymous naked man, were used in evidence. This sparkling biography draws on exclusive interviews with the late Duchess to lift the lid off her extraordinary story, and her scandalous lifestyle. The Duchess Who Dared is a fascinating chronicle of a complex, charming and surprisingly modern woman.

Scandal of The Season

Author: Christie Kelley
Publisher: Zebra Books
ISBN: 1420120263
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 348

Book Description
A spy for the crown meets his match when he crosses paths with a beautiful pickpocket in this “racy and romantic” Regency series (Anna Campbell, author of Captive of Sin). For ten years, Anthony Westfield, Viscount Somerton, hasn't been able to forget the scandalous night of passion he shared with a beautiful, mysterious woman. When their paths cross again, he's shocked to discover Victoria Seaton is an accomplished pickpocket. But Somerton leads a double life of his own. Working undercover for the Queen, he makes Victoria a proposition: pretend to be his mistress or risk ruin. Victoria can't believe the man who almost destroyed her life a decade ago is now threatening to unravel her secrets. But posing as his mistress at a holiday country party is a game she can play well. For just one look into Somerton's eyes still weakens her with lust. And with Christmas fast approaching, every kiss they share under the mistletoe only makes them fall more deeply in love . . .

The Dig

Author: John Preston
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590517806
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
THE BASIS FOR THE NETFLIX FILM STARRING CAREY MULLIGAN, RALPH FIENNES, AND LILY JAMES A literary adventure that tells the story of a priceless buried treasure discovered in England on the eve of World War II In the long, hot summer of 1939, Britain is preparing for war, but on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind. Mrs. Pretty, the widowed owner of the farm, has had her hunch confirmed that the mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As the dig proceeds, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary find. This fictional recreation of the famed Sutton Hoo dig follows three months of intense activity when locals fought outsiders, professionals thwarted amateurs, and love and rivalry flourished in equal measure. As the war looms ever closer, engraved gold peeks through the soil, and each character searches for answers in the buried treasure. Their threads of love, loss, and aspiration weave a common awareness of the past as something that can never truly be left behind.

A Very English Deceit

Author: Malcolm Balen
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007292783
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
The South Sea Bubble was a scandal of immense proportions. Malcolm Balen reveals the full story of corruption and scandal that attended the birth of the first shareholder economy, and with it uncovers a parable for our times.

Fall

Author: John Preston
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062997513
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 423

Book Description
Costa Prize Winner: The “best biography yet” of notorious media mogul Robert Maxwell, “by turns engrossing, amusing, and appalling” (Sunday Times). In February 1991, Robert Maxwell triumphantly sailed into New York Harbor on his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, to buy the ailing Daily News. Taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand, children asked for his autograph, and patrons of the hottest restaurant in Manhattan gave him a standing ovation while he dined. Ten months later, Maxwell disappeared off that same yacht in the middle of the night and was later found dead in the water. As John Preston, author of A Very English Scandal, reveals in this biography, Maxwell’s death was as mysterious as his remarkable life. A tightly paced, addictive saga of ambition, hubris, narcissism, greed, power, and intrigue, this book recounts Maxwell’s rise and fall and rise and fall again. Preston moves backward and forward in time to examine the forces that shaped Maxwell, from his Jewish childhood in occupied Eastern Europe to his failed political ambitions in the 1960s that ended in accusations of financial double-dealing to his resurrection as a media mogul—and the family legacy he left behind, including his daughter Ghislaine Maxwell. Preston chronicles Maxwell’s all-encompassing rivalry with Rupert Murdoch—a battle that ruined Maxwell financially, threatened his sanity, and led, indirectly, to his death. Did Maxwell have a heart attack and fall overboard? Was his death suicide? Or was he murdered—possibly by Mossad or the KGB? Few in the twentieth century journeyed as far from his roots as Robert Maxwell. Yet, as Fall reveals, no one, however rich and powerful, can entirely escape their past. “Preston tells [the story] with great verve and the benefit of extensive interviews.” —The Economist “The mystery of this larger-than-life figure is perplexing—true crime aficionados will be absorbed.” —Library Journal “One of the most enigmatic figures in the annals of white-collar crime . . . well-researched, compelling.” —Kirkus Reviews

A Very British Revolution

Author: Martin Bell
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 1848311001
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
The revelations over MPs' expenses that began in May 2009 ranged from petty thieving to outright fraud and sparked a crisis in confidence unprecedented in modern times. This was a 21st-century Peasants' Revolt - an uprising of the people against the political class. Ordinary men and women with political views across the spectrum were by turns amused, incredulous, shocked and then bitterly angry as the disclosures on MPs' expenses flooded out. From Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's bath plug to Conservative MP Sir John Butterfill's 'flipping' of his constituency home - a now-notorious manoeuvre that required him to refund GBP60,000 to the taxpayer - the exposure of MPs' expenses revealed Westminster's culture of quiet corruption like never before. Drawing on his experience as an MP and as a member of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, Martin Bell explains how the expenses crisis arose and, most compellingly, lays out his prescription for healing the deep wounds inflicted by the scandal. As Martin puts it: 'The revolution will not be complete until all the rogues in the House are gone and public confidence in the MPs remaining is restored.' This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revive British politics, and the rebuilding starts here.