31 Sunday Dec 2017
Posted in Anniversaries, Profumo Affair, Updates, Websites, Wicked Baby, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Happy New Year To All My Readers
Tags
2017, 2018, Blogging, Blogs, Christine Keeler, Tara Hanks, Wicked Baby
As the curtain falls on 2017, this blog also approaches its tenth anniversary. I’d like to thank everyone who has read (and hopefully enjoyed) my posts. This month I’ve been thinking a lot about Christine Keeler, who inspired my first novel and so much more. Wishing everyone a beautiful 2018 – and whatever this new year may bring, keep a dream in your hearts.
08 Friday Dec 2017
Posted in Books, History, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Christine, From Beginning To End
Upon hearing the sad news of Christine Keeler’s passing, here is the epilogue to my novel, Wicked Baby, in which I reimagined the years following the Profumo Affair, in her voice. The photo above, shared by her son on social media, shows Christine enjoying freedom after leaving prison in 1964. Continue reading
25 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in History, Politics, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Jeremy Hutchinson 1915-2017
Tags
Christine Keeler, Emil Savundra, James Burge, Jeremy Hutchinson, Lucky Gordon, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, Profumo Affair
Jeremy Hutchinson, the pioneering defence lawyer who was a champion of liberty throughout his long career, has died at the grand old age of 102. Continue reading
17 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in Books, Profumo Affair, Updates, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on ‘Wicked Baby’ Back in Print
Tags
Christine Keeler, John Profumo, Mandy Rice-Davies, Profumo Affair, Stephen Ward, Tara Hanks, Wicked Baby
I’m happy to announce that Wicked Baby, my novella based on the events of the Profumo Affair, is now back in print. This edition includes an afterword and six further articles about the scandal’s lasting impact, which first appeared in the Kindle version. You can order it now for £5.24 from Amazon UK, or $7.45 in the US.
19 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
Photo by Bryan Wharton, 1986. (National Portrait Gallery, London)
My life has been one long descent into respectability.
I woke up this morning to the news that Marilyn Foreman – better known as Mandy Rice-Davies, whose very name still conjures bittersweet memories of the Profumo Affair, more than half a century later – died last night after a short battle with cancer. I am shocked and sad – she was so full of energy and wit that I thought nothing would stop her. I never knew her personally but she was a huge part of my creative life. And as a woman, her refusal to be cowed by sexual hypocrisy was incredibly inspiring.
Peter Stanford has written an excellent obituary for The Guardian, and you can read some of my own Mandy-related posts here.
08 Wednesday Oct 2014
Posted in Books, History, Profumo Affair, Updates, Wicked Baby, Writing
≈ Comments Off on ‘Wicked Baby’ on Kindle
Tags
Christine Keeler, Ebooks, Kindle, Mandy Rice-Davies, Profumo Affair, Stephen Ward, Tara Hanks, Wicked Baby
I’m proud to announce that Wicked Baby, my 2004 novella about the events of the Profumo Affair, is now available to download via Kindle. This new edition includes an afterword, and five articles about the scandal’s lasting impact on society and popular culture, two of which are previously unpublished. The ebook is available on Amazon worldwide, and will set you back around £2.24, or $3.02 in the US. You can read the first three chapters before purchasing. So to all you e-readers, have at it – and if you like it, please add a quick review and rating on Amazon! More details later…
Preview or buy now in the UK
… and many more!
17 Friday Jan 2014
Posted in Anniversaries, History, Profumo Affair, Television, Wicked Baby
Tags
Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Christine Keeler, Documentaries, ITV, John Profumo, Mandy Rice-Davies, Profumo Affair, Sex Lies and A Very British Scapegoat, Stephen Ward
Sex, Lies and A Very British Scapegoat was first broadcast on ITV1 on December 22nd, 2013. Presented by the composer and theatrical impresario, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the documentary marks the end of a year’s reflection on the Profumo Affair, half a century after the first scandal erupted. Focussing on one man’s downfall, the programme also coincides with the opening of Stephen Ward: The Musical. Continue reading
06 Sunday Oct 2013
Posted in Art and Photography, History, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
Tags
1960s, Barry Humphries, Beyond the Fringe, Bradford, Christine Keeler, Dame Edna Everage, Edina Ronay, Jean Shrimpton, Joe Orton, Lewis Morley, National Media Museum, Private Eye, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
Lewis Morley (photo by Graham Crouch)
Lewis Morley, perhaps best-known for his iconic portrait of Christine Keeler, died on September 3rd, aged 83. Continue reading
26 Thursday Sep 2013
Posted in History, Profumo Affair, Radio, Theatre, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on Rumours
Tags
BBC, Christine Keeler, Christopher Booker, Colin Shindler, Harold Macmillan, John Profumo, Private Eye, Profumo Affair, Radio 4, Richard Ingrams, Rumours, Satire, Stephen Ward, Timothy Bligh, Wicked Baby, Willie Rushton
Lord Denning’s report on the Profumo Affair was published fifty years this week. Though dismissed as a government whitewash, its steamy topic made this official enquiry an unlikely bestseller. At the same time, a very different version was unfolding in the pages of a new satirical magazine, Private Eye. This is the subject of Colin Shindler’s radio play, Rumours. Continue reading
09 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Art and Photography, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
Tags
Barry Fantoni, Christine Keeler, Lewis Morley, Mandy Rice-Davies, Michael Ward, National Portrait Gallery, Pauline Boty, Profumo Affair, Scandal 63, Solihull, Stephen Ward, Tom Blau
Scandal ’63, currently a wall display in Room 32 of London’s National Portrait Gallery, takes its name (and logo) from journalist Clive Irving’s account of the Profumo Affair, published fifty years ago. Continue reading
