Maud Allan, the famous exotic dancer was destroyed by the infamous libel
trial brought by charismatic British Member of Parliament. and pilot,
Noel Pemberton-Billing.
In this wonderfully written book, Russell James charts her rise and fall
from the days when she saved the 1908 London Olympics from failure to
the outrageous miscarriage of justice of her trial which knocked the
dark days of the First World War off the front pages of the national
newspapers.
In his gripping narrative, Russell seamlessly moves from the days when
Maud was courted by society to the end when her friends, apart from
former PM's wife, Margot Asquith, shunned her in case they, too, were
labeled as sexual deviants. The trial was based on the existence of the
notorious (and fictional?). German black book and its list of 47,000
sexually depraved people who could be used by the Germans to defeat the
British in War. Names included Herbert and Margot Asquith and the judge
himself. Maud Allan did not stand a chance.
A fantastic read brought out in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics which
will be looking ahead to the next London Olympics, in four years' time.
