Uploaded June 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

The likelihood of Hugh Grant portraying a queer, murderous politician would have seemed improbable indeed until quite recently; but having forsworn all further thought of "romcoms", and indeed of film itself, our hero suddenly - and brilliantly - reemerges, having fathered five children in seven years and made a 360-degree turn. 

The BBC's version of "A Very English Scandal", based on this revealing book, depicts the demise of the charismatic leader of the British Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe, whose ex-lover, the flighty, unpredictable, Norman Scott, he had conspired to murder for blackmail. Culminating in a scene involving a gun, a dog and a dark and dingy moor, the tale of corruption thatfollowed, involving high society, stifled police and self-interested politicians, became a cause celebre, descending as it did just as homosexuality had been finally legalised.

The case that followed, at the highest court in the land, The Old Bailey, dominated the press and riveted a nation.

A fascinating peek at the seedy seventies. 

More political biographies at:

bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/historical-and-political-book-reviews