Listen free for 30 days
-
Secrets and Lies
- The Trials of Christine Keeler
- Narrated by: Sophie Cookson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Historical
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £32.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Peer and the Gangster
- A Very British Cover Up
- By: Dan Smith
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1964, the Sunday Mirror ran a front-page story headlined: Peer and a Gangster: Yard Enquiry. While withholding the names of the principal subjects, the newspaper reported that the Metropolitan Police had ordered an investigation into an alleged homosexual relationship between ‘a household name’ from the House of Lords and a leading London underworld figure. Bob Boothby was the Conservative lord in question and Ronnie Kray the gangster.
-
-
Plus ca change...
- By Amazon Customer on 17-07-20
-
A Fine Day for a Hanging
- By: Carol Ann Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1955, former nightclub manageress Ruth Ellis shot dead her lover, David Blakely. Following a trial that lasted less than two days, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. She became the last woman to be hanged in Britain, and her execution is the most notorious of hangman Albert Pierrepoint's 'duties'. Despite Ruth's infamy, the story of her life has never been fully told. Often wilfully misinterpreted, the reality behind the headlines was buried by an avalanche of hearsay.
-
-
Balance redressed in Ruth's story
- By Vicuña on 05-04-14
-
Hitler’s British Traitors
- By: Tim Tate
- Narrated by: Tim Tate
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on hundreds of declassified official files - many of them previously unpublished - Tim Tate uncovers the largely unknown history of more than 70 British traitors who were convicted, mostly in secret trials, of working to help Nazi Germany win the war, and several hundred British Fascists who were interned without trial on evidence that they were working on behalf of the enemy. Four were condemned to death; two were executed.
-
-
The other side of the WWII legend.
- By Mary Carnegie on 31-08-19
-
17 Carnations
- The Windsors, The Nazis and The Cover-Up
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.
-
-
History narrated at its most professional.
- By Ginger on 10-04-16
-
How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward
- By: Caroline Kennedy, Phillip Knightley
- Narrated by: David Sweeney-Bear
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book is a major expose of a government coverup that has lasted half a century. It is a powerful story of sexual compulsion, political scandal, police corruption, judicial abuse, and ultimate betrayal. The book reveals never-before-heard testimony that has been uncovered by the authors in the years since the sex scandal broke.
-
-
Excellent
- By Trebor on 14-11-19
-
The Last Woman to Be Hanged
- The Ruth Ellis Story
- By: Robert Hancock
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1955 Ruth Ellis was sentenced to death for the shooting of her lover. In this book, Robert Hancock sets the record straight. Using official documents including the transcript of her trial at the Old Bailey, he unlocks the full, secret background to the story of the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Meticulous and fair in its analysis, The Last Woman to Be Hanged is an absorbing portrait of the tragic life of a young woman, a vivid snapshot of an era and a gripping account of a notorious case that shocked the nation.
-
-
Initially interesting until I read the book by Ruth Ellis’ sister
- By Linz on 10-08-21
-
The Peer and the Gangster
- A Very British Cover Up
- By: Dan Smith
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1964, the Sunday Mirror ran a front-page story headlined: Peer and a Gangster: Yard Enquiry. While withholding the names of the principal subjects, the newspaper reported that the Metropolitan Police had ordered an investigation into an alleged homosexual relationship between ‘a household name’ from the House of Lords and a leading London underworld figure. Bob Boothby was the Conservative lord in question and Ronnie Kray the gangster.
-
-
Plus ca change...
- By Amazon Customer on 17-07-20
-
A Fine Day for a Hanging
- By: Carol Ann Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1955, former nightclub manageress Ruth Ellis shot dead her lover, David Blakely. Following a trial that lasted less than two days, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. She became the last woman to be hanged in Britain, and her execution is the most notorious of hangman Albert Pierrepoint's 'duties'. Despite Ruth's infamy, the story of her life has never been fully told. Often wilfully misinterpreted, the reality behind the headlines was buried by an avalanche of hearsay.
-
-
Balance redressed in Ruth's story
- By Vicuña on 05-04-14
-
Hitler’s British Traitors
- By: Tim Tate
- Narrated by: Tim Tate
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on hundreds of declassified official files - many of them previously unpublished - Tim Tate uncovers the largely unknown history of more than 70 British traitors who were convicted, mostly in secret trials, of working to help Nazi Germany win the war, and several hundred British Fascists who were interned without trial on evidence that they were working on behalf of the enemy. Four were condemned to death; two were executed.
-
-
The other side of the WWII legend.
- By Mary Carnegie on 31-08-19
-
17 Carnations
- The Windsors, The Nazis and The Cover-Up
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.
-
-
History narrated at its most professional.
- By Ginger on 10-04-16
-
How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward
- By: Caroline Kennedy, Phillip Knightley
- Narrated by: David Sweeney-Bear
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book is a major expose of a government coverup that has lasted half a century. It is a powerful story of sexual compulsion, political scandal, police corruption, judicial abuse, and ultimate betrayal. The book reveals never-before-heard testimony that has been uncovered by the authors in the years since the sex scandal broke.
-
-
Excellent
- By Trebor on 14-11-19
-
The Last Woman to Be Hanged
- The Ruth Ellis Story
- By: Robert Hancock
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1955 Ruth Ellis was sentenced to death for the shooting of her lover. In this book, Robert Hancock sets the record straight. Using official documents including the transcript of her trial at the Old Bailey, he unlocks the full, secret background to the story of the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Meticulous and fair in its analysis, The Last Woman to Be Hanged is an absorbing portrait of the tragic life of a young woman, a vivid snapshot of an era and a gripping account of a notorious case that shocked the nation.
-
-
Initially interesting until I read the book by Ruth Ellis’ sister
- By Linz on 10-08-21
-
One of Your Own
- The Life and Death of Myra Hindley
- By: Carol Ann Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Infamous, I have become disowned, but I am one of your own' - Myra Hindley, from her unpublished autobiography. On 15 November 2002, Myra Hindley, Britain's most notorious murderess, died in prison, one of the rare women whose crimes were deemed so indefensible that 'life' really did mean 'life'. But who was the woman behind the headlines? How could a seemingly normal girl grow up to commit such terrible acts? Her defenders claim she fell under Ian Brady's spell, but is this the truth?
-
-
Well researched. Terrible narration.
- By Jamie Wilkins on 23-05-14
-
Queen Bees
- Six Brilliant and Extraordinary Society Hostesses Between the Wars - A Spectacle of Celebrity, Talent, and Burning Ambition
- By: Siân Evans
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Queen Bees looks at the lives of six remarkable women who made careers out of being society hostesses, including Lady Astor, who went on to become the first female MP, and Mrs Greville, who cultivated relationships with Edward VII, as well as Lady Londonderry, Lady Cunard, Laura Corrigan and Lady Colefax. Told with wit, verve and heart, Queen Bees is the story of a form of societal revolution and the extraordinary women who helped it happen.
-
-
Educational and Informative!
- By Fiona on 06-12-16
-
Last Man Standing
- By: Roger Moore
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a career that spans over seven decades, Roger Moore has been at the very heart of the show business scene. In this fabulous collection of true stories from his stellar career, Roger lifts the lid on the movie business, from Hollywood to Pinewood. It features outrageous tales from his own life and career as well as those told to him by a host of stars and filmmakers, including Tony Curtis, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Frank Sinatra, and many more.
-
-
Wonderful insights and brilliantly narrated
- By Penarth Resident on 09-06-16
-
Henry VIII: King and Court
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 25 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This magnificent biography of Henry VIII is set against the cultural, social and political background of his court - the most spectacular court ever seen in England - and the splendour of his many sumptuous palaces. An entertaining narrative packed with colourful description and a wealth of anecdotal evidence, but also a comprehensive analytical study of the development of both monarch and court during a crucial period in English history.
-
-
“England’s Nero”
- By Mary Carnegie on 10-09-18
-
Sleeping with a Psychopath
- By: Carolyn Woods
- Narrated by: Jan Cramer
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A true-crime story that sounds like a thriller, Sleeping with a Psychopath is a blow-by-blow account of the power of manipulation and a testament to the human will to survive.
-
-
What a brave woman!
- By Sadie Mills on 12-05-21
-
Stalin
- New Biography of a Dictator
- By: Oleg V. Khlevniuk, Nora Seligman Favorov - translator
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This essential biography, by the author most deeply familiar with the vast archives of the Soviet era, offers an unprecedented, fine-grained portrait of Stalin, the man and dictator. Without mythologizing Stalin as either benevolent or an evil genius, Khlevniuk resolves numerous controversies about specific events in the dictator's life while assembling many hundreds of previously unknown letters, memos, reports, and diaries into a comprehensive, compelling narrative of a life that altered the course of world history.
-
-
Not bad, but...
- By Alan Myers on 11-06-19
-
A Brief History of the Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of the Nazis
- Brief Histories
- By: Martyn Whittock
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning in the broken aftermath of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, which made German recovery almost impossible, Whittock tells not just the account of the men who rose to the fore in the dangerous days of the Weimar republic, circling around the cult of personality generated by Adolf Hitler, but also a convincing and personality-driven overview of how ordinary Germans became seduced by the dreams of a new world order, the Third Reich.
-
-
warning!
- By Richard on 08-05-21
-
State of Emergency
- The Way We Were: Britain, 1970-1974
- By: Dominic Sandbrook
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 32 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 1970s, Britain seemed to be tottering on the brink of the abyss. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the Sixties had become a distant memory. Now the headlines were dominated by strikes and blackouts, unemployment and inflation. As the world looked on in horrified fascination, Britain seemed to be tearing itself apart. And yet, amid the gloom, glittered a creativity and cultural dynamism that would influence our lives long after the nightmarish Seventies had been forgotten.
-
-
Just Brilliant
- By Baz Borozitch on 29-04-13
-
Wallis in Love
- By: Andrew Morton
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wallis in Love brings a fascinating new perspective on the 20th century's most controversial royal scandal. Andrew Morton's impeccable research and unerring skill for riveting storytelling combine to present a strong case for a new and startling reveal: that the woman who rocked the world with her uncompromising passion for the Prince of Wales may have fooled everyone by keeping the object of her true passion hidden away....
-
-
Fairytale gone terribly wrong
- By Mommiecat on 25-09-18
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Frank & Funny
- By John C. Patterson on 23-09-21
-
The Accidental Spy
- By: Sean O'Driscoll
- Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Rupert, a complete outsider with no connection to Ireland, rose to the very top of the Real IRA, all while working for the FBI and British intelligence. But the story is really about just how a bored, frustrated New York trucking manager becomes one of Britain’s most valued spies, brings down the entire IRA structure and makes $10 million in the process.
-
-
What a fantastic book
- By jackie quinn on 06-07-19
-
You Did What?
- 83 Years of Misadventure, Mayhem - and Millions!
- By: Drayton Bird
- Narrated by: Drayton Bird
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever wondered what would happen to your life if you just said "screw the rules"? Drayton Bird is one of the world’s best-known copywriters and direct marketing experts, having taught many thousands in 55 countries and worked with some of the world’s biggest organisations. A former member of the worldwide board of Ogilvy and Mather, he was a close associate of the late David Ogilvy - perhaps the most influential advertising man of the 20th century.
-
-
Great listen
- By Rory Fryer on 20-04-22
Summary
The sensational true story behind the major TV drama series The Trial of Christine Keeler, performed by Sophie Cookson.
In her own words, the life of the beautiful young model and dancer who helped to bring down the Tory government of Harold Macmillan - the 'Profumo Affair' remains the greatest political sex scandal in recent British history.
Having found fame and success as a model, Christine's short affair with the minister for war, John Profumo, led to his downfall at the end of Harold Macmillan's Conservative government and was at the heart of the social and political earthquake that followed. She became the subject of scandal, intrigue and gossip and was tried for perjury and briefly jailed following the death of Stephen Ward, the socialite who had introduced her to Profumo.
Following Christine Keeler's death in December 2017, her book has been updated to include revelations that she did not wish to be published in her lifetime. The result is an audiobook containing material that has never been officially released, which really does lift the lid on just how far the Establishment will go to protect its own.
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about Secrets and Lies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Adanaya
- 01-02-20
Riddle me riddle me riddle me ree
In a story like this, you can chhose your side of the fence or sit on it. I'm choosing a side and it's Miss Keeler's.Her story rings true to me, and as someone who came very close to becoming the Christine Keeler of the eighties, it was the story of what had happened to her that saved me. I came to a crossroad, and took a sharp right, but I saw the seedy side of London society and it didn't seem to have changed too much. I was a secretary to a wealthy club owner, but kept outside the gates instead of walking through, turning down endless offers of flats, cars, trips to exotic locations, until it became far too tough to keep on saying variations on a theme of 'flattered but no'. No names, most of them are dead anyway.
Measuring what didn't happen to me against what did happen to Christine, I'd have no hesitation in saying that she was groomed, used and abused. Would it happen now? Re-cast with available characters and yes. Maybe not bringing down a government, but that young girls are dazzled by rank and money? Yes. Should they know better? How?
I found this account painfully convincing and I'd recommend it to anyone.
And if a Belgium arms dealer or American property developer asks you to go to Wai kiki beach, or a Park Lane Hotel, say no.. It's a dark and destructive road to walk, run or drive down. Thank you Christine.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Graham G Grant
- 24-02-20
Lies and spies in Swinging London
The recent BBC drama series on the Profumo Affair starred Sophie Cookson as Christine Keeler, and in this audiobook Cookson narrates Keeler's memoir. It provides much more background detail on Keeler's belief that Stephen Ward, her one-time alleged pimp, was in fact a Soviet spy, though probably closer to a double agent, who ran a network of young women with the aim of luring targets into honey-traps to compromise them, and to extract secrets from them. Society osteopath Ward was probably scapegoated by the Establishment - convicted on dubious charges of living off "immoral earnings" as a kind of high society pimp, and killing himself before the conclusion of his trial. But Keeler paints an even darker picture. She felt Ward used her for espionage (she delivered secrets to the Russian Embassy, though claims she didn't know what was in the envelope). She says Ward attempted to murder her. And she believed his case was a miscarriage of justice - not that Ward was convicted, but that he was convicted of pimping and not spying. There's an understandable bitterness that runs through the book, as Keeler ends up living in a rough London housing estate called "World's End" with her son Seymour. She loses her dinner-lady job after the headteacher discovers who she is. Keeler spent a lifetime in the shadow of a scandal often credited with bringing down a Conservative government (though ironically Keeler was a lifelong Tory voter!), and became an expert on the background, reading up on the key figures. This book appears to rest largely on Keeler "filling in the blanks" - she heard and saw a lot living with Ward, but at the time might have been in the dark about the significance of the people he spent time with. How much of the book is based on subsequent study is difficult to know, but most of it seemed plausible.
She educated herself in the years that followed, even getting hold of old FBI files on her (now online). It's the remarkably destructive effect that the Profumo Affair had on the lives of just about everyone involved - and the secrecy that still surrounds it - which continue to fascinate. The narration can be a bit grating - Cookson uses the "little girl lost" accent from the TV series - and by the end I was starting to lose sympathy a little for Keeler, and to wonder if she was quite as naive as she'd always maintained. But it does provide a great picture of what was going on behind closed doors and in exclusive clubs in London in the 1960s, and as Keeler's memoir it is unmissable for anyone with an interest in the greatest sex scandal in British political history.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter Wild
- 30-11-20
The injustice is mesmerising!
It's not often I give a book 5 stars, let alone 5 in all area but this definitely disserves it. What happened to Christine Keeler was an immense miscarriage of justice not only from the establishment but from the public also. She ended up paying for mistakes she made and a young girl (because that IS what she was) and things that (through no fault of her own) were done to her for her entire life. As always the woman is a whore, slut, loose, bitch, lier, ect and the men...well they're 'Jack the lad'. I also believe that over time with the way that Christine was viewed she started to subconscious view her self in this way too which is heart breaking and she did noting wrong. she helped her friends who she loved and cared for and some she did not and was branded as a spy, danger and sex symbol. One thing that was alive then and is now is this brand that if a woman likes sex then they're the problem, IT'S FINE TO LIKE SEX, whether you have a c*do or a c**t!
READ THIS BOOK, everyone should.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Adele
- 13-09-19
Very disappointed
Was looking forward to this but felt it lacked all credibility. I find it hard to believe that Keeler either kept a detailed diary or had a photographic memory. Soviet agents would surely be caught if their tradecraft was as bad as portrayed. Too much ghostwriter?
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Allen
- 08-02-20
The truth at last?
We finally have the facts from the main protagonist in the 'Profumo Affair '.
Although we can't guarantee the accuracy it certainly sheds logical light on the events of the time. Sadly, due to the total mistrust I, and most others, have in the 'establishment', this definitely seems to be the most likely course of events and I'm pleased she had the urge and chance to air it before she passed away.
Narration was excellent!!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jazz Piano
- 14-03-21
A Very Interesting Listen
It's good. I really liked it and it balances the 'otherside of the story' beautifully. Sophie Cookson is excellent and also stars in the mini series recently released by the BBC.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 01-03-21
Secrets and lies......
Fantastic performance and so much more than the BBC 6 part series.
At times difficult to believe the naivety of Christine but that’s with today’s viewpoint and the sixties was a very different time.
I like to believe this is a true and accurate account but also that much has been kept secret. Men have always manipulated both women and other men so this comes as no surprise. The extent of this is truly shocking as we tend to believe people (men) in power are honest but to gain those positions they can never be.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angelcritique
- 19-02-20
More evil at every turn
Yet more evil at every turn. Christine lived it. She participated in it. She suffered for it. I would rather believe her account of the events in question than those in recent publications which try to whitewash the character of Stephen Ward. What a mess. Well written and well narrated. I listened in segments. I found it all too much for one hearing.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KevPierce
- 12-12-21
THE TRUTH I THINK
I CANT BELIEVE MAIN STREAM MEDIA NOT PICKED UP ON THESE NEW REVELATIONS THAT STEPHEN WARD WAS A RUSSIAN SPY BUT NOT SURE IF THEY DEEM HER NOT CREDIBLE BUT I BELIEVE HER MORE THAN WHAT THE ESTABLISHMENT SAYS HAPPENDED.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 11-08-22
Eye opener
packed with information and intrigue. I always thought the elites looked after each but this proves it. Christine should've been looked after all that happened.
the narrator was perfect and brought it all to life.