A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies, and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the EstablishmentThe 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. |
Contents
A Dinner at the House of Commons 2 The Postcard 3 The Eye of Urse | 3 |
Bunnies | 4 |
Mr Bessell Goes to Dublin | 5 |
The Creature | 6 |
This Filthy Subject | 7 |
Bessell Pulls Another Rabbit Out of His | 8 |
The Blessings of Family Life | 9 |
Two Pledges | 10 |
The Man from Canada | 193 |
Death on the Moor | 201 |
PART THREE | 205 |
Vive les trois mousquetaires | 207 |
A Bloody Mess | 214 |
Damned Lies | 229 |
Judas | 234 |
Ice Cold in Minehead | 243 |
Unexpected Developments | 11 |
A Happy and Joyous Occasion | 12 |
Shooting a Sick | 13 |
II | 18 |
56 | 71 |
PART | 105 |
The Ultimate Solution | 107 |
Doomed | 112 |
Back to Black | 118 |
The Price of a Peerage | 124 |
From Bad to Worse | 133 |
Big Swamp | 140 |
A Death Unforeseen | 147 |
A Simple Plan | 158 |
Things Fall Apart | 172 |
Bessellised | 183 |
Other editions - View all
A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of ... John Preston Limited preview - 2018 |
A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies, and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the ... John Preston Limited preview - 2016 |
A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of ... John Preston No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
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