Scandal

by Christine Keeler

Christine Keeler's account of the Profumo Affair.

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a literary masterpiece, this isn't it. It is however relevant to what is happening in the USA today. The Ministry of War being taken down by a girl he had an affair with, stop me if you know this one. The Profumo scandal has interested me since I first heard about it and this book being written by one of the two lead people involved was one I knew I wanted to read. Christine Keeler would never win any prizes for her writing but if they gave awards for salacious books she'd win, hands down. She name's names and doesn't care who gets thrown under the bus.
I have to admit, I really didn't like anyone in this book. They all seem to use each other. Christine Keeler used men for money even if it wasn't prostitution it was darn close. Stephen Ward used Christine for his own selfish reasons. No one in this book is without some amount of blame. I felt bad that the only higher up who seemed to face any backlash was John Profumo.
If you are interested in British history this book is a quick read.

[Terri Hoskings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wouldn't have won prizes for its literary merit, but it was an interesting read all the same. Keeler mixed in interesting enough circles that it would've been difficult to write an unreadable autobiography. She does seem to open up a lot in this book.. though I'd expected her to use this opportunity as a very long rant. That wasn't the case and she was pretty revealing about herself, as well as others. I wouldn't rate is as the best-written book I've ever come across, but it was interesting all the same. How much out of ten would I give it? About a 6, due to the fact there were some interesting names floating about. I will say that it's only really worth reading if you have some historical interest and would like to know more. Then, it's definitely one for you.