Includes index

A dinner at the House of Commons -- The postcard -- The eye of Urse -- Bunnies -- Mr Bessell goes to Dublin -- The creature -- This filthy subject -- Bessell pulls another rabbit out of his hat -- The blessings of family life -- Two pledges -- Unexpected developments -- A happy and joyous occasion -- Shooting a sick dog -- The ultimate solution -- Doomed -- Back to Black -- The price of a peerage -- From bad to worse -- Big swamp -- A death unforeseen -- A simple plan -- Things fall apart -- Bessellised -- The man from Canada -- Death on the moor -- Vive les trois mousequetaires! -- A bloody mess -- Damned lies -- Judas -- Ice cold in Minehead -- Waiting in the wings -- Overture and beginners -- Ripped to shreds -- The greatest show on earth -- The judgements of Cantley -- Awkward bows -- Postscript

"A behind-the-scenes look at the desperate, scandalous private life of a British member of Parliament and champion manipulator, and the history-making trial that exposed his dirty secrets to the world. As a member of Parliament and leader of the Liberal Party in the 1960s and 70s, Jeremy Thorpe's bad behavior snuck under the radar for years. Police and politicians alike colluded to protect one of their own. At the start of the 1970s, 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--as well as 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. Thorpe's climactic trial at the Old Bailey in London was immediately dubbed the 'Trial of the Century.' It was the first time that a leading British politician had stood trial on a murder charge. It was 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. By the time the trial was over, Britain would never be the same again. With the pacing 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"--