The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward: Sex, Scandal, and Deadly Secrets in the Profumo Affair

by Anthony Summers, Stephen Dorril

A tour de force account of seduction, power, and betrayal in the biggest political sex scandal of its age The Profumo Affair rocked the British establishment like no scandal before or since. The Tory war minister, John Profumo, had taken up with a teenager named Christine Keeler, who was also sleeping with a Soviet intelligence agent. The ensuing inquiry revealed a hidden underworld in which men of the ruling classes and politicians cavorted with prostitutes at orgies. The revelations shook the British government and sent shock waves all the way to the Kennedy White House. The man at the center of the storm was Dr. Stephen Ward. Ward was a successful doctor to the rich and powerful, a talented artist who drew portraits of many of his famous patients and fixed up prominent men with young women. He was also a pawn, ruthlessly exploited by the intelligence agencies. When the Profumo Affair threatened the government, Ward became a scapegoat, hounded to death-and perhaps murdered. For the first time, The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward reveals the names that could not be exposed and the truths that could not be told until now. "The research is outstanding, the whole story is told in full . . . unputdownable." -Charles Bates, former assistant director of the FBI "A convincing picture of how the Establishment closed ranks." -The Spectator "Juicy . . . admirable sleuthing." -London Review of Books "Debauchery, class antagonism and espionage, a potent formula for a bestseller." -Irish Times "An irreverent expose of outrageous scope, even by the hypocritical standards of the British Establishment." -Sunday Tribune (Ireland) "A thoroughly gripping true life thriller." -Eastern Daily Press Anthony Summers is the bestselling author of eight nonfiction books. His investigative books include Not in Your Lifetime, the critically acclaimed book about the assassination of John F. Kennedy; Official & Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover; and most recently The Eleventh Day, on the 9/11 attacks-a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History. Stephen Dorril is the author of MI6: Fifty Years of Special Operations and other authoritative books on intelligence.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Crime, British Literature, London

472 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 1987

About the author

Anthony Summers is the bestselling author of eight nonfiction books. His investigative books include Not in Your Lifetime, the critically acclaimed book about the assassination of John F. Kennedy; Official & Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover; and most recently The Eleventh Day, on the 9/11 attacks—a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had an interest in the Profumo Affair since 1963, when at the start of my career in Her Majesty's Treasury, Lord Denning began the investigation into the affair in the same building in which I was working just one week after I started. It was June 1963 and suddenly from seeing some of the relevant personalities on television, I was seeing them in the flesh.

Having followed the case avidly at the time, I always believed that Stephen Ward was the patsy in this affair and Anthony Summers and Stephen Dorrill, who have done a thorough job in interviewing most of the surviving personalities to get in-depth information, have confirmed my opinion. That is not to say that Ward's morals were squeaky clean but that does not mean that he should have been facing the charge of constantly living on immoral earnings, which, with the evidence presented, he obviously was not. And then to be found guilty (too late for him to know for he committed suicide before the verdict came out) was incredible. Unfortunately the judge's seemingly biased summing up must have led the jury to believe that he was.

Always a man about town and one who wanted to be in with the elite, particularly after he qualified as an osteopath in America, Ward always had pretty girls at his beck and call and was able to put them in touch with his aristocratic friends and clients. Also he was a talented portrait artist and he inveigled himself into producing portraits of many important people, including Prince Philip and the Prime Minister. This talent also allowed him to meet influential people, all of which enhanced his reputation with members of both sexes.

All this resulted in him being pushed around the London square of the political chessboard and he revelled in it. His meeting with Lord Astor eventually led to him renting a cottage on the Cliveden estate and to him attending dinners given by Lord Astor at the main house and it was at these that he was to make his most significant meetings - Christine Keeler, Jack Profumo and Eugene Ivanov, a Russian Naval attaché. And it was these friendships that led to his eventual downfall as the respective parties met and befriended one another.

Unfortunately for Ward he made enemies as well as friends and some of those enemies were determined to mastermind his downfall and it was tip offs to the Criminal Investigation Department that Ward was 'living off the immoral earnings of girls' that led to investigations into his behaviour to take a more serious turn. MI5, MI6 and the CID all took turns to investigate and on 8 June 1963 he was arrested and was charged, 'That he, being a man, did on divers dates between January 1961 and 8 June 1963, knowingly live wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution at 17 Wimpole Mews, London, W., contrary to Section 30 of the Sexual Offences Act, 1956.' His fate was virtually sealed as by that time the government had undergone a great loss of confidence over the Profumo/Ivanov/Keeler affair to which Stephen Ward was very definitely a party.

As mentioned earlier, Lord Denning, the Master of the Rolls, was appointed to hold an inquiry but, although it was a lengthy one with plentiful documentation, it was very definitely flawed and incomplete in that it told only the side of the story that would reflect badly on Stephen Ward. Ward was later to write in his unpublished memoir, completed before he took his own life, 'I realised they were out to get me, at all costs.' He was not wrong.

His trial was a travesty with plenty of untruths being told by all and sundry when in the dock, perjury was rife. Prosecuting barrister Mervyn Griffiths-Jones was to say to the jury at one point, 'That does of course not mean to say that Miss Keeler is lying. As I understand from the note I have, the Lord Chief Justice [Parker] said that it might be that Miss Keeler's evidence was completely truthful ... The Court of Criminal Appeal have not found whether Miss Keeler was telling the truth ...' On such grounds was Ward convicted but he was not to know for the night before the verdict he took his own life - arguably a victim of the establishment.

Ludovic Kennedy summed it up succinctly with 'It was by any standards a feeble case. It consisted mainly of uncorroborated statements by proven liars: it was a hotchpotch of innuendos and smears covered by a thin pastry of substance. It was a tale of immoralities, rather than crimes.' But, sadly, Ward was to pay the ultimate price and the authors have done a splendid job in presenting the evidence in a far better, and arguably more truthful, way than was done in June 1963; the book reads like a first-class thriller but that is no consolation to Stephen Ward.

13 February 2026
I have always felt strongly about the Profumo Affair and the treatment of Stephen Ward by the establishment so I thought I would have another read to see if my opinion had changed with Anthony Summers having done so much more investigation into the affair than had ever previously been done. If there is ever to be a definitive account of this matter, this must be it for the authors have done a magnificent job in tracing all those who were involved, even if only peripherally. And the outcome seems to be the same with Ward, notwithstanding his moral stance, being harshly treated and let down by his so-called friends in the upper classes.

The number of people who were involved in high places is almost amazing, even the Kennedy brothers were lucky not be pulled into the investigation because they did play a part in the affair and they did everything possible to distance themselves from it by all means possible.

As for Lord Denning report, the Scottish journalist and well-respected journalist Ludovic Kennedy summed it up superbly. He said, 'The Report was a disgrace. Lord Denning produced all sorts of dirt, with no evidence. It was a shambles.' And he pointed out that Christine Keeler lied repeatedly to the courts, Denning and anyone else who asked her questions. It prompted him to sum up with, 'If the Ward jury had heard that Christine had lied on oath in the witness box ... it is inconsiderable that they would have brought in the verdict they did.'

The book was well worth a second read, it really does read like a thriller, and an unbelievable one at that; the eventual fall of a government was inevitable.

[C.S. Burrough · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Profumo affair – one of Cold War Britain’s most famous political scandals – is an indelible flash in my early childhood. Framed by so many vivid, epochal images of my formative years, this fiasco became a defining mark of my generation. For this reason, reading Honey Trap was an irresistible lure down memory lane.

A neighbour passed on to me the browned and curling paperback, which he had scored for fifty cents in a leisurely browse through our local op shop. Two distinct passages of time come into play here: the twenty-five years approx. between the events the book covers and its publication, and the thirty years between its publication and my getting around to reading it. As if two lifetimes divide the present from the story of Honey Trap.

This staggered chronological detachment sets an intriguing and reflective context from which to revisit the scandal, which saw Britain's War Minister John Profumo and Soviet Embassy naval attaché cum spy Yevgeny Ivanov sleeping with the same woman, 19-year-old Christine Keeler. The affair's exposure and alleged resulting friendship between Profumo and Ivanov forced Profumo’s 1963 resignation from Government.

As with other such investigative books, I saw the movie it inspired ('Scandal' 1989) long before reading this. Sir John Hurt stars as sleazy but lovable Establishment scapegoat, bon-vivant Dr Stephen Ward, who introduced the lethal Profumo affair trio and was later hounded to suicide. Sir Ian McKellen plays disgraced War Minister John Profumo. Joanne Whalley is showgirl-turned unwitting spy mistress Christine Keeler, with Bridget Fonda shining as Keeler's sharp cohort Mandy Rice-Davies. Authentic '60s & '70s glamour puss Britt Ekland is fellow seductress Mariella Novotny. Veteran screen legend Leslie Phillips graces the project as Conservative hack Lord Astor. Its haunting soundtrack includes the delectable Dusty Springfield/Pet Shop Boys hit 'Nothing Has Been Proved'.

The movie's scenes, paired with the original media events they depicted, replayed through my visual memory as I turned each moldy page in wonderment, sneezing at the confetti of dust sprinkling my pillow yet compelled to pursue this nostalgic trip, kept awake into the small hours of three gruelling, impetuous nights.

As per its genre, Honey Trap is more a gripping factual account than a literary experience, so I had adjusted my expectations accordingly (these pieces I find intersect for comfort and convenience with heavier/fictional reads).

While devouring it as I might a cold pizza on a Sunday morning, I could only ponder in astonishment at what a fuss was made of this tawdry diplomatic bedroom farce, while feeling so sad for Stephen Ward. Of course, certain classified intelligence files would now be accessible that had not yet become so when Honey Trap was penned, outdating various lingering question marks. Yet we hear very little in this wake, as if this book's authors had indeed concluded all there really was to conclude. In that sense, Honey Trap may never become truly outdated. *

Whilst I found Honey Trap's incessant meandering back through certain characters' darkened pasts irksome, along with the sheer volume of these incidental characters, this loss of momentum is often the price for the requisite thoroughness. Even so, the authors (or publishers, or both) seem set on burdening us with the bedroom quirks and petty agendas of a whole establishment rather than three of four main characters. This is my common issue across much reading, non-fiction and fiction alike. If more authors would just stay focused, instead of rambling off track with scarcely related trivia that consumed them in their quest for background padding! We, the reader, are unconcerned with such superfluity. We don't want to be led in pointless circles just to hear about some secondary character's spouse's sibling's boss's partner's irrelevant part-time sexual fetish, just for that extra shot of shock value.

These gratuitous muckraking delays border on cheapening the effect of the mighty yarn that is Honey Trap. Such, however, is the gossipy nature of this beast. It's perhaps inevitable that the telling of a scandal will be over-embroidered with such, like an ornate cake with too much icing (is there such a thing, some might argue). There's an art to gauging enough titillation then stopping, before tabloid quality looms.

That said, anyone who remembers these times may well tut along with me at Honey Trap's vaguely tacky sentiment, while hypocritically slurping it up anyway. I plead guilty as charged. I'll read it again too.

An essential retrospective read for those who remember these events, a great modern history lesson to those who don't!

*A more recent publication, Near and Distant Neighbours: A New History of Soviet Intelligence by Cambridge historian Professor Jonathan Haslam published in 2016 by Oxford University Press, reveals how the Profumo affair was a higher threat to UK security than previously thought. It finds that the Russian, Ivanov, was able to photograph top secret documents left out by Profumo after being shown into Profumo’s study by his wife, actress Valerie Hobson. Those documents concerned US tactical nuclear weapons and vital allied contingency plans for the Cold War defence of Berlin. Yet little else has emerged, especially concerning the MI5 and MI6's possible roles in Stephen Ward's 'suicide'. Nor has it ever been clarified whether Ivanov aimed to use Keeler to entrap or obtain information from Profumo. Haslam's new research shows Ivanov did not need to use Keeler thus, ultimately being able to steal information directly from Profumo. This resulted from Profumo's lack of office organisation and security protocol. Profumo left top secret documents visible on or in his home desk while out of his study, failing to secure the room or instruct family members to guard against entry. Consequently, when Ivanov visited Profumo’s home socially, Mrs. Profumo invited him to wait alone in her husband’s study. Ivanov merely needed to pull out his spy camera and take snaps, including of highly classified specifications for the X-15, a top secret experimental high-altitude US spy plane. But that's another book, decidedly more academic and less concerned with the sordid lust triangle that Honey Trap focuses on.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not just tell the rather sordid and sad tale of Dr Stephen Ward, and examine the details of the Profumo Affair, but goes one step further and asks whether Ward was, in fact, not only made a scapegoat but even murdered. For, as Ward lay in a hospital bed, having taken a drug overdose, he was found guilty of living off immoral endings. It was the trial of the Sixties and the political scandal that brought down a government. Christine Keeler, a young girl; one of many Dr Ward certainly provided for friends and patients at his exclusive osteopathy practice, was sleeping with both Minister of War John Profumo and Russian spy Captain Yevgeny Ivanov. Obviously, the threat to national security was a real one, at a time of great political upheaval and the beginnings of the Cold War. At the centre of this scandal was Dr Stephen Ward - minor public schoolboy, osteopath, artist, a man less interested in the act of love than in being a voyeur and a provider of `Popsies' to the wealthy and influential men he aimed to impress, a social climber and, finally, a scapegoat.

This book looks in detail at Stephen Ward's early career and unhappy love affairs. If not successful in his private life, Ward was certainly a success as an osteopath - taking risks and pushing himself forward, in order to establish himself in a private practice with clients such as Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra. He was a man who wanted to impress and be accepted by society, in a London where class and connections still mattered. There were wild parties and exclusive dinner parties, with Prince Philip among others. Ward was a man eager to please; to help patients by taking them to parties and arranging introductions to beautiful young girls. He was mixing with the elite, staying in a house in the grounds of Cliveden, family home of the Astors, and yet incongruously picking up girls on the street. Despite his dubious behaviours, it is a fact that none of the women approached by Ward have anything unkind to say about him - he never attempted to corrupt girls, but approached women he already knew to be involved in the more seedy side of life and he was always courteous and kind. It simply seemed to amuse him to bring the two sides together and, undoubtedly, being a provider of beautiful women made him a desirable guest at the parties and places he was keen to gain access to. In fact, if anything, it is John Profumo - a man who took Christine Keeler to his own family home and marital bed and who even brought her the same perfume as his wife to cover up his adulterous behaviour - who comes out of the book in a worse light. Certainly not the behaviour of a gentleman, regardless of his class and status.

In this interesting read, you are taken through events; who knew what and to what extent Stephen Ward was involved with MI5. It was a fact that both MI5 and the Special Branch had been running surveillance on both Ward and Ivanov. Did Ward have communist sympathies? Did he disclose what he knew to MI5 and, if so, did it help or hurt him personally? Was J F Kennedy linked to what happened, at the sensitive time of the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Of course, you will read this book and make up your own mind - and it may well differ from the conclusions of the authors. Either way, this is an extremely well written account of those times and, although it does take a point of view and not remain unbiased, the authors always try to back up their statements with evidence. Whatever you decide at the end of this book, it is certain that you will enjoy reading this very interesting account of a scandal which still fascinates today.

[Jay Phillippi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward - (2014) - To most Americans the words "The Profumo Affair" probably mean nothing. You would have to be a follower of English political history or a student of Cold War espionage to know it.

In the early 1960's it was a political scandal that rocked the Conservative government of Prime Minister Harold McMillan. His Secretary of State for War (and a member of the Privy Council, an advisory board for the Queen)Joseph Profumo, was having an affair with a young woman, Christine Keeler, who was also having an affair with a Soviet Spy. The man who brought Keeler and Profumo together was a high society osteopath named Stephen Ward. Like Profumo, Ward also had connections to the highest levels of British society including the Royal Family. The revleations that came from the investigation of the Profumo Affair would rock the British establishment. Coming quickly on the heels of the revelations about Kim Philby and his co-conspirators of the Cambridge Four the Profumo Affair continued to damage the relationship between the intelligence agencies of the U.S. and the U.K.

This is an e-pub re-issue of the book "Honeytrap - The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward" by Anthony Summers and Stephen Dorril (1987). A "honeytrap" is a classic tool in the world of espionage when you are trying to compromise someone into doing what you want them to do. In simplest terms it's using an illicit sexual affair as blackmail. One of the central questions surrounding the Profumo Affair was whether or not Keeler was used by the Soviets and a honeytrap for the Minister for War. What Summers and Dorril do here is carefully unwind the complicated personalities and relationships to try and reveal what was actually going on.

Stephen Ward was a man fascinated by sex but almost entirely as a theoretical issue. He regularly employed prostitutes, virtually never for sex. Ward liked to talk with them, discuss their lives and why they did they work they did. He enjoyed bringing his male friends together with the beautiful women that he met in his wide ranging social life. In the end the authors maintain that he was made the scapegoat demanded by the status quo of early 1960's England.

Summers has made a career of biographies of well known figures including President John. F. Kennedy. Summers examines that assassination in his book "Not In Your Lifetime". In both books he sees a careful conspiracy at work. That may or may not be true but the writing is well done and the story will draw you in.

There are two things you need to keep in mind about this book. As noted above the books involves an inclination toward conspiracy. That's not to say there wasn't but it leaves the authors filling in a lot of blanks. As is common some of that filler is solid and some of it is very thin. Approach with caution. The second item is that the book spends a lot of time talking about sex. It's never particularly graphic but the reality is that the "Profumo Affair" centers on a Profumo affair. Ward was deeply involved with the sexual hijinks of a great many people.

"The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward" takes us back to the height of the Cold War to examine a pivotal event that has faded from many memories. The authors carefully craft a story that would be the envy of any spy novelist. Sex, Power and Betrayal. A man will die, a career will end and a government will fall. Summers and Dorril introduce us to the man at the center of it all that history forgot.

For more reviews of media of all kinds (books, movies, television and more) check out my blog The View From the Phlipside

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't think there could ever be a 'definitive' account of the Profumo Affair, this is one of my favourites. It is an updated reissue of the 1987 book, Honeytrap, and unlike some other recent publications, it doesn't ignore the security implications of the scandal - and it's also a great read.

[Lianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was approved of an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/03/...

The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward chronologically follows the life Dr. Stephen Ward, his mingling amongst the upper and political classes and the events that not only affected their activities but also led to Ward’s downfall. It’s a pretty crazy course of events, one that you’d find in a movie or a thriller novel, but it actually happened. The reader learns not only how all of these developments led to the scandal–from the Kennedy administration to the showdown with the Soviet Union in the early sixties to the orgy parties that were happening behind the scenes (call me naive but I had no idea these sorts of things were going on during this time period)–but also learns how these developments raised questions about security and trust in the people who work in public office.

The book also raises questions whether Stephen Ward served as a scapegoat to cover up the more scandalous happenings amongst these circles as well as the involvement of the Soviets and what the spy community was doing during this time. I would have appreciated it if the authors had also delved a little bit on the impact of the scandal in the epilogue, how the scandal affected British politics moving forward (if at all). I read after the fact that there was a movie made back in the late 1980s about it and there are a few stage dramatisations on it (one as recent as 2013) but I wonder how prominent it factors into the public consciousness these days.

Nonetheless The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward was an interesting read and a great starting point if you don't know much about the scandal.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a child when the Profumo scandal broke, and yet such was the attention it garnered and the names associated with Profumo etched on the public consciousness that I feel that I have always been aware of it without, however, really understanding what happened. Now, thanks to this succinct and thoroughly researched book, I do. I’m not knowledgeable enough to comment on whether the authors have all their facts and interpretations correct, but it all seemed very convincing and plausible to me. And most certainly deeply fascinating. The examination of how Dr Stephen Ward, respected and much-liked artist and osteopath to the great and good was made a scapegoat for a scandal involving the British Establishment, makes for some riveting reading. Abandoned at the end by his friends, he committed suicide (or was murdered?) But by then the damage was done and the Establishment, as they so often do, closed ranks to salvage what they could.
I found this a truly absorbing account of a complex situation, with its many byways and vast crowd of characters, and one which the authors handle both sensitively and yet with a crusading spirit. An excellent book.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

From our perspective, more than 50 years later,and in today's wildly shameless "acting out" society, the scandals of the "Profumo Affair" might seem tame. But instead real issues were involved: in among the dishonesty, deception, pandering, and "sex for hire" lurked national security and potential espionage and leakage of state secrets. In a fascinating and riveting non-fiction narrative that reads like a finely-tuned novel, the authors explore the intricacies of class and lineage, of society and government, of culture, social climbing, concupiscence, and state security, all of which backdrop the scandals of the early 1960's United Kingdom--and answer the long-suppressed query: Who,and Why, was Dr. Stephen Ward?

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read a digital edition from Open Road Integrated Media. This book is an exhaustive look at the role Ward played in The Profumo Affair. I was appalled at the sex orgies of the upper class during that era, ones involving Ward. There was speculation at the time that Ward was a scapegoat and the authors seem to indicate that was the case. There is the now known involvement of M15. There were other women, some who claimed involvement with then president elect Kennedy. The authors do a great job of exploring the people and the events surrounding this tense time during the height of the Cold War. See my complete review at http://bit.ly/OOuR0O.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from Open Road Integrated Media for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

[a.t.m. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sordid book detailing sex and figures in high places in England .

fairly easy reading book about a highly publicized trial that involved a doctor and well known men from political, business,and movie circles, in the early 60's. Almost, every man involved had money and much to lose as a result of sexual contacts with young girls provided by Stephen Ward. This sad story even has a Russian spy going out the back door from a prostitute's flat, as a leader in Britain's government is coming in the front door. Yet, only the doctor was taken to trial in this scandal that almost toppled Britain's government at the time.

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dirty, deceitful English high society (and maybe a few Americans as well) frolic happily during the early 60's. Maybe a bit of espionage on the side along with the fall of a pillar of this excess, but mainly just good old fashioned SEX, in all it's fame , shame and glory. Mildly interesting - 3 stars.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extensively researched and updated a quarter of a century after the first edition, this is an authoritative account of one of Whitehall's sleaziest moments in history and how Stephen WArd effectively became the fall guy for an Establishment desperate to avoid embarrassment and to look after its own, rather than concern itself too much with actual justice.

[Jillian McCreadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

This book is an interesting read would recommend it gives you an in sight to politics back in the days

[JW · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of the Profumo scandal. The opening part is especially strong in sketching Stephen Ward’s character and background, along with the louche aristocratic milieu he so eagerly sought entrance to. The book drags somewhat when it comes to describing the details of the scandal’s exposure.
A strong case is made that Ward was played by British intelligence in trying to entrap the Soviet naval attaché Ivanov in a sexual snare. But then, the Soviets may have been using Ward in an attempt to pry information from War Secretary Profumo.
Ward straddled the high and low ends of British society, but wound up in over his head. His supposed friends abandoned him and made him a scapegoat. The authors speculate whether his death really was a suicide, but don’t come to a conclusion.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quell surprise another government cover up this time the Uk.similarities between the murder of Stephen ward who probably not innocent of hiring girls out for nefarious purposes,was used as the book cover says as a scapegoat by the grey suited establishment,who even today get away with murder.knowing too much about not only the government but about their sexual peccadillos.its speaks volumes that the official papers cannot be seen until 2046.marilyn monroe was another pawn in a political cover up.these people preach morality then so exactly the opposite and it's still going of in the 21st century.some came out of it rather nicely others let's say karma greeted them.

[Stephen J. Golds · Rating 4 out of 5]

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes,” as Mark Twain maybe said... The story of the elite classes doing bad things and then the media and the establishment covering said things over... Decades later the Epstein Scandal has echoed this.

Another thoroughly researched and very interesting expose by Anthony Summers writing about the seedy underbelly of society/political life.

[Stuart Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read and always good to see efforts to correct history and the reputation of an unfortunate victim.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written in 1988 still a fascinating book about the Profumo affair and seemingly the trap that been set by MI5

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Profumo, Christine Keeler, Eugene Ivanov, Stephen Ward...and the Kennedy's? A complete miscarriage of justice and an establishment whitewash.