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

[mxdp.livejournal.com]

I'm just going "teehee". Hope the butlers were okay with it, though...

[charie-caphine.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing! An 'exceptionally handsome' butler, indeed. A jooster crossover with Brideshead would be a curious read, I imagine.

[allons-yalonso.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was really interesting. Thanks for posting, I'm now impatiently waiting for the book to come out!

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

That was a fascinating article. And it was interesting to learn that political influence could protect homosexuals to some degree, provided they were discreet. Unfortunately, it appears Lord B overplayed his hand.

Thanks for sharing this.

[reginaldrobot.livejournal.com]

Excellent post, that "nonsense, he said 'shut the door'." quote is very amusing, and I imagine it has plenty of potential for fic ideas.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I cannot wait to read this book.