A Secret Between Gentlemen

"a carefully researched book... The main story is one of intrigue, filled with sex, crime, political scandal, outlandish lives, and an extraordinary cover-up." - William Burton, The Gay & Lesbian Review

"the hidden scandal, previously unknown to historians... Peter Jordaan... traveled the world, seeking documents, meeting descendants... there are some splendid anecdotes" - Lord Lexden, The House parliamentary magazine

"Peter Jordaan brings him to life, warts and all, and for that we must be grateful." - Journal of Liberal History

A true story stranger than fiction, A Secret Between Gentlemen reveals the British Government's coverup of a homosexual scandal involving prominent names. Buried for 120 years, and spanning England, Australia, and Algeria, this astonishing history of shattered and reinvented lives has never been told - until now.

A SECRET DEEPLY HIDDEN

In summer 1902, as Britain prepared for King Edward VII's coronation, officials scrambled to hush a major criminal case. It involved procuring youths for thirty aristocratic gentlemen, including members of parliament. The ringleader was M.P. Cyril Flower, Lord Battersea, considered the most handsome man in Parliament, married to heiress Constance de Rothschild.

PRIVILEGED JUSTICE

The scandal was smothered by officials, including King Edward VII, to avoid "a great national disgrace." Most involved received immunity, except two procurers quietly imprisoned in a stage-managed trial. A third, who absconded, became a Vatican chamberlain to Pope Pius XI.

DEEPLY RESEARCHED

Meticulously researched worldwide with living descendants' help, this 890-page book details investigations, arrests, trials, and behind-the-scenes machinations. It includes 50 pages of photographs, many never previously published. This is the first volume, and seventh edition, of the A Secret Between Gentlemen biographical trilogy.