A Very English Scandal
Now a Major BBC Series Starring Hugh Grant
- Published: 5 May 2016
- ISBN: 9780241973752
- Imprint: Penguin eBooks
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 304
A gripping account of the Jeremy Thorpe case. The details make one laugh out loud or gasp with amazement
Charles Moore, Spectator
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
Fluent, readable ... a vivid tableau of the players in Thorpe's long, tragic downfall
Evening Standard
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
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
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
The most forensic, elegantly written, compelling account of one of the 20th century's great political scandals... a real page-turner'
Observer
The shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for murder
Publisher's description
The unbelievable truth... Preston is a natural storyteller ... he provides the context for actions that seem unbelievable today
The Times
The whole affair is retold here compellingly and fluently, bringing to life the cast of characters with some verve
The i
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
Very funny and endlessly extraordinary... makes for amazing reading
Catherine Shoard, Guardian
Wonderfully readable ... John Preston is the ideal author, having researched for years many minor characters and talked to dozens of well-known political and literary friends and enemies of Thorpe
Standpoint
I spent a thrilling 48 hours reading it. The narrative is so vivid, the characterisation so brilliant... I thought I knew all about these events, but the full horror of them has only now become apparent
Antonia Fraser
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
Nothing comes close to the eyepopping outrageousness of the gay murder shenanigans that engulfed and almost destroyed a Liberal leader. Reads like a comic thriller
Rachel Johnson
This brilliant account made me feel I was hearing the tale for the first time ... Preston is an enthralling narrator
Mail on Sunday