Scandal and Miss Markham by Janice Preston

Her father has been unwell for some time following a stroke a few years back, and her mother – who holds Thea partly responsible for her husband’s illness – spends almost all her time caring for him and has little time to spare for her children. Miss Dorothea Markham (Thea) is the daughter of a successful glass manufacturer who lives with her parents and brother, Daniel, in Worcestershire. Rather like his brother, Vernon meets his match in a most unexpected place and falls in love with a young woman not from his social class but unlike the previous book, there is less drama and angst and the story – a road-trip romance – feels more cohesive and its events less episodic. He lives in London.Scandal and Miss Markham is the second book in Janice Preston’s Beauchamp Betrothals series, and picks up the story of Lord Vernon Beauchamp, the younger brother of Leo, the Duke of Cheriton whose romance was featured in the previous book, Cinderella and the Duke. He is the author of four highly acclaimed novels, including The Dig (Other Press, 2016), and a travel book, Touching the Moon. About the Author: John Preston is the arts editor and television critic of the Sunday Telegraph. 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. 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. 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.

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. His homosexual affairs and harassment of past partners, along with his propensity for lying and embezzlement, only escalated as he evaded punishment. But Jeremy Thorpe was a man with a secret. In 1970, Thorpe was the most popular and charismatic politician in the country, poised to hold the balance of power in a coalition government.

Police and politicians alike colluded to protect one of their own. The basis for the Emmy award-winning limited 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.

Scandal and Miss Markham by Janice Preston