Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House

Scandal existed long before celebrity gossip columns, often hidden behind the closed doors of the Georgian aristocracy. But secrets were impossible to keep in a household of servants who listened at walls and spied through keyholes. The early mass media pounced on these juicy tales of adultery, eager to cash in on the public appetite for sensation and expose the shocking moral corruption of the establishment. Drawing on a rich collection of original and often outrageous sources, this book brings vividly to life stories of infidelity in high places passionate, scandalous, poignant and tragic. It reveals how the flood of print detailing sordid sexual intrigues created a national outcry and made people question whether the nobility was fit to rule.

Susan C. Law is a journalist and historian. Her work has been published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines, including The Times Higher Education Supplement, BBC History Magazine and London Evening Standard. Dr Law completed her PhD in History at Warwick University, and has spent many years researching the 18th and 19th century aristocracy, servants, family life and country houses.