A Very English Scandal
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Now a Major BBC Series Starring Hugh Grant
The bestselling book that inspired the Bafta-winning BBC drama
Corruption. Blackmail. Conspiracy to murder. A Very English Scandal has all the hallmarks of a classic thriller with one difference. It's all true.
In the late 1960s Jeremy Thorp, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Party, was at the height of his political career. But homosexuality had only just been legalized, and a former relationship with a younger man named Norman Scott threatened to destroy Thorp's carefully curated facade. Helped by fellow politicians, Thorpe schemed, deceived and embezzled until he saw only one way to silence his ex-lover for good.
Meticulously researched and endlessly extraordinary, Thorp's trial captured the moment that British society discovered the truth about its political class - and learned just how far the Establishment will go to protect its own.
'Gripping. A story of cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home Secretaries' Daily Telegraph
'I loved it; eccentric, dark, humane and English in the very best sense' Alain de Botton
'Retold with masterful skill . . . It grips like a detective story' Daily Mail, Book of the Week
JOHN PRESTON'S NEXT BOOK, FALL: THE MYSTERY OF ROBERT MAXWELL, IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
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Imprint: Penguin
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Published: 05/05/2016
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ISBN: 9780241973752
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Length: 352 Pages
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RRP: £9.99
Reviews
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The shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for murder
Publisher's description
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This is a brilliant, sad, startling nonfiction novel about the Jeremy Thorpe murder-plot scandal. It is as funny and dark as anything by Evelyn Waugh or Jonathan Coe. And in these post Cyril Smith/Jimmy Saville days, it's so timely and relevant
Jon Ronson
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A terrific book and brilliantly researched. John Preston writes wonderful dead-pan prose and reveals the depths of depravity, the absurd power of snobbery and the old boy networks of the time
Claire Tomalin
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I loved it; eccentric, dark, humane and English in the very best sense. It's going to be a sure fire-hit
Alain de Botton
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The most forensic, elegantly written, compelling account of one of the 20th century's great political scandals... a real page-turner'
Observer
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Very funny and endlessly extraordinary... makes for amazing reading
Catherine Shoard, Guardian
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Impeccably researched... full of shocks, surprises and laugh-out-loud moments. Preston revives a forgotten era and delves into the personalities behind the headlines.
Times Crime Club
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Retold with masterful skill... It grips like a detective story, as compelling as BBC2's Life of Duty and every bit as dirty in what it exposes about the upper echelons of society in the Sixties and Seventies
Daily Mail Book of the Week
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This brilliant account made me feel I was hearing the tale for the first time ... Preston is an enthralling narrator
Mail on Sunday
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Gripping ... cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home secretaries and sozzled judges. The conclusion of an Establishment cover-up is hard to avoid
Daily Telegraph
