A very English scandal - John Preston

Now a major TV drama 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.