Did I hear Beauchamp whisper to the butler, ‘Je t’adore?’

[sige-vic.livejournal.com]

A bit of offtop, but very, very interesting, especially for fic writers. The extracts from the new book about sex scandal behind Waugh's Brideshead Revisited:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6788504.ece
Вright young things, aristocratic morals, homosexual relations with male servants and many more.
Just a little quotation:
* Lord Beauchamp’s homosexuality had been an open secret for years at a certain exalted level of society. He had a weakness for sex with his male servants, which had not abated since he married Lady Lettice Grosvenor, sister of the Duke of Westminster.
Boom — as Beauchamp was known, ostensibly because of his foghorn voice — was said to have “exquisite taste in footmen”. His interviewing style was unique. He would pass his hands over their buttocks, making a similar hissing noise to the one made by stable lads when rubbing their horses down. If the young man was handsome and pleasant, the earl would remark: “He’ll do well. Very nice indeed!”
The fingers of the footmen of Madresfield were said to be glittering with diamonds. One could hear the clunk of the jewelery as they served dinner. Harold Nicolson, the diplomat and diarist, recalled an astonished fellow guest at Madresfield who asked: “Did I hear Beauchamp whisper to the butler, ‘Je t’adore?’ ”
“Nonsense,” Nicolson replied. “He said, ‘Shut the door’.” *

Comments

[emeraldreeve.livejournal.com]

I keep them discreet, because I do believe there was danger in it, and I believe Jeeves would be discreet. I don't see it as more fun. When I wrote LOTR, there was no law to deal with. I preferred it that way. So I also don't see the fandom as more attractive due to the law. To me, it is less attractive.

And people did get in trouble for it. Here's a link:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-540192/How-moment-madness-Britains-greatest-actor-drove-brink-suicide--forever-changed-attitudes-sex.html

Admittedly, this was 1950s but I personally think the danger was real. Wilde, Turing, there are examples of people who suffered due to the law. I do think the law didn't go after people in Bertie's situation unless given very good cause. Britten and Pears were pretty open and did not get into trouble, but even Pears said it was dangerous. I just don't see Jeeves taking risks like that. Read what happened to Turing and try to imagine Jeeves ever risking something like that. I simply can't.

I love them both too much. I won't take risks with them in my writing.

My 2 cents.

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

I read about Alan Turing in The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Turing was really one of England's heroes and his death was absolutely tragic.

I have a book of British slang that talks just a little bit about how homosexual relationships were illegal still in the 1950s and 60s, but that people just seemed to weirdly ignore that. In fact, one of the most popular radio shows starred two male characters who were obviously gay and were portrayed by gay actors. Go figure. I guess by that time (since the illegality was nullified to a degree in 1967 - hope that year is right) people might not have been all right with it, but they were willing to live and let live.
You make excellent points, as usual.