Index

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Acapulco 234, 295

African National Congress 325,326

Aga Khan 181

Agnelli, Gianni 168

Aitken, Lady 68

alcohol 111, 147

Alvarez, Al 230

Amis, Kingsley 16

Andrew, Prince 165

Annabel’s night club 7, 159–166, 175–6, 332

Ascot week 52

Aspinall, Amanda Jane 125

Aspinall, Bassa Wulfhere 210–11

Aspinall, Belinda ‘Min’ (nee Musker) 184, 187, 208–9

Aspinall, Damian 125, 183, 329–30

Aspinall, Jane (nee Gordon-Hastings) 115–16, 135, 183–4, 208–9, 286

Aspinall, John

background 10–11

appearance 12–13

education 12–14

military service 14

at Oxford University 14–16, 16–18

imitation of Wilde 17

introduction to gambling 19–30

relationship with Maxwell-Scott 21–30

introduction to James Goldsmith 33

character 28–30, 33, 56, 183–4, 204–208

Oxford Finals 52

degree failure 53

post-Oxford aimlessness 53–7

lunch with father 57–8

search for true father 58–61

decision to make fortune 61–3

gaming parties 64–6

coronation party 71–3, 78

and Goldsmith 96–8

lifestyle 95–7, 100–3, 119, 173–4

poker parties 96

relationship with Elwes 103

introduction to chemin de fer 104–6

chemmy parties 110–13, 117–19, 134–5, 137, 152

marriage 114–16

and Eddie Gilbert 116–17

exotic animals 125–27, 130, 185–201, 204–7, 208, 210

income 124–5

children 125, 210

acquires and renovates Howletts 127–30

and Elwes elopement and marriage 131–3

arrest 133–5

trial 135–6

opens the Clermont Club 6, 139–42, 146–9

Clermont parties 153

and Annabel’s 159

Devonshire on 168–70

attitude to gambling 172–3

and Robin Douglas-Home 174–5

friends dependence on 176

relationship with Goldsmith 176

relationship with Lucan 176, 278–80

rift with Birley 176–7

and Goldsmith’s affair with Annabel Birley 181–2, 219–20

divorce 183–2, 208–9

second marriage 184

Annabel Birley’s visit to Howletts 185–8

Robin Birley mauled by tiger 186–7

visits Robin Birley in hospital 198–201

identification with animals 203–8

charisma 204

morality 205–8

and the sanctity of human life 208

second divorce 209

third marriage 209–11

stock market investments 215–17

sells Clermont Club 217

bankruptcy threat 218

Clermont Set’s dependence on 220

gambling heros 223, 291

and the Rivett murder 224

patronage of Lucan 231–2

and Lucan’s talk of murder 236–7

murder damage limitation 258–60

police interview 259–61

and Mr X 284–7

pursuit of debt 285

and Lucan’s escape 288

retreats to Howletts 292

and James Fox 293

and the Sunday Times article 294

oration at Elwes funeral 307–8

Aspinall’s Club, Curzon Street 223, 290–1, 324

financial situation, 1987 324

support for Zulu Inkatha Party 325–6

death 327, 329–30

Aspinall, Mameena 208

Aspinall, Mary: see Osborne, Mary (nee Aspinall)

Aspinall, Lady Sarah (nee Curzon) 209–11

Aspinall, Stivala 10–11, 57–9

Aspinall’s Club, Curzon Street 223, 290–1, 324

Avenue Foch, Paris 79, 84–5

Ayesha, Himalayan bear 126, 127, 189–90, 191, 193

baccarat 108–9

backgammon 178

Baglioni, Angelo 285

Baines, Jocelyn 28

Balliol College, Oxford University 21

Barber, Lynn 205, 278–9

Beatty, Sarah Chester 77

Beauvau-Craon, Prince 75

Beauvau-Craon, Christina (nee Patino) 75, 81

Beaux, Mme 100

Belgrave Square, tiger walking in 127

Benson, Charles 227, 298

Bergler, Edmund 203

Berkley Square, no. 44: see Clermont Club

Bessborough, Lord 36

Betjeman, John 153

Beyfus, Gilbert 136

Biggest Game in Town, The (Alvarez) 230–1

Bingham, George 266–7

Birley, Lady Annabel (nee Vane-Tempest-Stewart) 7, 122–3, 161, 165, 177, 181–2, 185–8, 198–9, 201, 219, 231, 234, 294–7, 321, 328, 332–3

Birley, Jemima 219-20

Birley, Mark 7, 72, 158, 160–3, 182, 188, 197, 200, 296, 300, 331–2

Birley, Sir Oswald 121

Birley, Robin 186, 199–201, 205, 296, 332

Birley, Rupert 332

Black, Lord (Conrad) 329

Blakenham, Lord 135

Blond, Anthony 55, 102, 313

Blücher, Field Marshal 223

bodies, disposal of 272–6

Brideshead Revisited (Waugh) 24, 25

British American Tobacco Corporation 320

Brixton Prison 133

Broccoli, Cubby 226

Brooke, Victoria (later Lady Getty) 234, 297

Brooke’s Club 147

Bulow, Claus von 118, 120

Burke, John 135

Burlington, Lord 143

Burmah Oil 53

Burnett, Al 73, 77–8

Buthelezi, Chief 325

Cadogan, Lord 119, 134

cagnotte, the 106, 120, 152

Calèche perfume 163

Canada 45

Canterbury Hospital 187, 199

Cape Town 325

Carlton Hotel, Monte Carlo 42

Carr, Sir William Emsley 54, 171–2

Casablanca 83

Cavenham 35, 37

Cavenham Foods 157, 179, 215

Caxton Hall 116, 123

Chamonix 181

chemin de fer 3, 104–6, 110, 131, 152, 167, 170, 229

Aspinall’s parties 110–113, 117–19, 119–20, 134–5, 137–8, 152

cheques 102, 112–13

Chester-Beatty, Sarah 105, 131

Churchill, Winston S. 36, 45, 313

Citroën, André 109

Clapton, Eric 165

Claridges Hotel, London 45, 76, 96

Clark, Alan 55

Clark, Sir Andrew 123–4

Clarke, Alan 27–8

class obsession 151

Clermont, William

Fortescue, 1st Earl of 5, 144

Clermont, William, 2nd Earl of 145

Clermont Club

building history 142–6

architecture 4

building acquired 139–42

name 5

turnover 6

clientele 146, 151–4, 166–73

opens 146–9

hall porter 148

creation and early years 5–8

games 152

parties 154

place in lives of the Set 154–8

stairway link to Annabel’s 165–6

under new management 217, 220, 232, 292

present day 2

Clermont Park 143

Clermont Set, the

lifestyle 8

association solidifies 120

place of the Club in lives 154–8

effect of Rivett’s murder on 9

dependence on Aspinall 220

destruction of 9

Sunday Times expose 292–9

Clore, Charles 141, 145

Cluff, Algy 261

Connaught Hotel, London 116

Connery, Sean 226

Connolly, Cyril 167

Corfu 211

Cornwell, David (John le Carré) 16

coronation party 72–3, 77–8

Courage, Piers 209

Crichton-Stuart, Lady Sally (nee Crocker Poole) 177–81

Cripps, Milo (later Lord Passmore) 27

Crockford, William 107

Crockford Club 107

Crown Zellerbach 320

Cuba 132

Cuixmala 322–3, 331

Dagonal, pharmaceutical company 72, 84, 98

Daily Mirror 86, 89

Dead Loss, capuchin monkey 125, 188

Dempster, Nigel 301

Derby, John Stanley, 18th Earl of 103, 118, 134, 166, 167–9

Devonshire, Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of 103, 118, 134, 166, 169–70, 226

Devonshire, Georgiana, Duchess of 26, 149, 169

Diamond International 320

divorce laws 183–4

Douglas-Home, Robin 174–5

Douglas, Lord Alfred 313

Dr No (film) 226

Durcal, Marie Christina

Patino (nee de Bourbon y Bosch la Brus), Duchess of 74–5, 90, 98

Eaton Place 119

Edinburgh 88

Elizabeth II, Queen, coronation of 70

Elwes, Dominick

background 66–67

character 69, 120–2

coronation party 72–3, 77–8

social cachet 103

introduction to chemin de fer 103–4

chemmy parties 110

place in the Clermont Set 120–1

and the Howletts renovation 128

elopement and marriage 131–3

arrest for contempt of court 133

children 133

divorce 133

finds building for Clermont Club 139–40

book 154–5

role in the Clermont 154–6, 299

added to Suicide Stakes list 175

affair with Helen Jay 211–15

friendship with Ken Tynan 213–4

visits Lady Lucan 259

and the Sunday Times article 292–299

witch-hunt against 297–303

suicide 302

funeral 307–8

Elwes, Gervase 67

Elwes, Gloria (nee Rennell) 68

Elwes, Simon 68, 121

Elwes, Tessa (nee Kennedy) 132–3

Elwes, Tim 307

Elwes, Lady Winifred (nee Fielding) 67–8

Esau, Himalayan bear 126, 127, 189–90, 193

Eton School 31,47–50

Evening Standard 85–6, 254–5, 315

Falkender, Marcia Williams, Baroness 304, 311

Fallon, Ivan 43, 80–1, 182, 295–6, 316

Ferrers, Lord 263

Finch, Lady Isabella ‘Belle’ 5, 142–3

Fleming, Ian 226

food 65, 111, 147, 163

Foreman, Frederick 270–2

Fortnum & Mason 115

Fountains Abbey 167

Fowler, John 129, 140, 146, 162

Fox, Charles James 26, 149, 223

Fox, James 265, 293–98, 307, 309

Franc, Jacqueline 40

France, death duties 328

Frankfurt 34, 36

‘Fred the Spread’ 171

Frederick, Prince of Wales 142

Freud, Sigmund 202

Frost, David 304

gambling

discretion 3

law reform 6, 134–7

addiction 22–3, 108, 110, 169, 170, 202–3

accumulator bets 32

racecourse betting 55

upper-class tradition of 63

rewards 95

fashions 107–10

theorem for belief in God 108

legal status 117

psychology of 202–3

subordination to the rules 238

Gaming Act, 1960 6, 137, 152

Gants Hill House 148, 227, 249–53

Gerring, Chief Inspector David 224

Getty, John Paul 118, 153

Gilbert, Eddie 116–7, 134, 137, 141, 159

Gillard, Michael 310

Goa 225

Goldschmidt, Adolph 34

Goldschmidt, Carlo 35

Goldschmidt, Edward 35

Goldsmith, Alix 180

Goldsmith, Frank (M. le Majeur)

background 35–6

changes name 35–6

MP for Newmarket 36

and WWI 36–7

leaves Britain 38

hotel investment 38–9

affairs 40

marriage 40–1

lifestyle 42–3

and WWII 44–5

arranges for James to enter hotel business 51

and James’s marriage 92

Goldsmith, Frank Manes Ernest Henry Benedict Hayum 99

Goldsmith, Isabel (nee Patino y Bourbon)

background 73–6

first meets Goldsmith 78

pregnancy 82–3

elopement 84–90

marriage 90–2

death 92–4

Goldsmith, Isabel 92, 98, 178

Goldsmith, James

background 34–44

birth 41

childhood 42–4

education 47–8

introduction to gambling 49

early gambling 48

at Eton 48–50

departure from Eton 20, 50

accumulator win, 1950 32, 49

character 33–4

introduction to Aspinall 33–4

sexual precociousness 48

attitude to gambling 51

in Madrid 51

National Service 51–2

coronation party 72–3, 77–8

first meets Isabel 78

requests Isabel’s hand 79

and Isabel’s pregnancy 82–3

rage 83

elopement 84–96

marriage 90–2

Isabel’s death 92–4

and Aspinall 96–8

lifestyle 97–100, 215–19

sexual appetite 99–100, 114

physical transformation 100

place in the Clermont Set 120

Clermont as entry into society 157

relationship with Aspinall 176

and Lady Sally Crichton-Stuart 177–80

backgammon skill 178

affair with Annabel Birley 181–2, 219, 296

and Aspinall’s animals 197

and Helen Jay 212–13

financial interests 215–19

invites Lucan to Acapulco 234

Lucan asks for loan 239

Elwes painting 293

and the Sunday Times article 295, 297

campaign against Elwes 297–300

financial situation, 1975 303–4

and Harold Wilson 304–5

becomes chairman of Slater Walker 191, 306

error in Sunday Times article 307, 309

Private Eye article 308–10

libel action against Private Eye 310–17

knighthood 315

final years 318–23

divorce 321

marriage to Annabel Birley 321

support for Zulu Inkatha Party 325–6

death 326–9

final failure 330–1

children 331

Goldsmith, Marcelle (nee Mouiller) 40–1, 44, 51, 92, 97

Goldsmith, Teddy 28, 31–2, 41, 47, 71–2, 73, 322

Gordon, General Charles 223

Graves, Charles 109

Gronow, Captain 107

Gugis, gorilla 102, 193, 195

Guinness, Walter 36

Guy the Gorilla 191

Harrison, George 165

Hastings, Mrs 192

Havana Riviera Hotel, Cuba 133

‘Heritage Industry’, rise of 150

Hermès 123, 163

Hicks, David 118

Hill, Graham 262

Hoare’s Bank 229

Holkham Hall 261

Hotels Réunis 38, 46

‘house players’ 153

Howard, Greville 237

Howletts 128–30, 134, 140, 185–8, 190, 195–6, 198, 204–5, 261, 292, 324

Hunt, Leigh 312

India 10–11

Ingrams, Richard 308, 311, 312, 313–15

Inkatha Party 325

Interpol 255

J. Walter Thompson advertising agency 122–3

Jay, Helen 211–15

Jebb, Philip 128, 146, 147, 160, 162

Jesus College, Oxford 15

Jonathan and Carlyle Bookmakers 66, 101

Jungle Barry 225

Jungle Book (Kipling) 196

Kelso Registry Office 90

Kennedy, Ludovic 222

Kent, William 4, 142–5

Kimberley, Earl of 171

Kipling, Rudyard 196–7

Kissinger, Henry 329

‘kiting’ 57

Kivu, gorilla 191–2

Kray Twins, the 270–2, 289

Lansky, Meyer 132–3

Larkin, Philip 16–17, 159, 164

le Carré, John 16

Le Touquet 131

Lees-Milne, James 63

Leger Gallery, Bond Street 111

Leicester, Earl of 261

Leitch, David 172

Léry, Ginette 99, 178–80

Les Ambassadeurs 113

Lewes 32, 49

libel laws 312, 313

Little, Anthony 154, 223–4

Little, Jennifer (nee Aspinall) 154

Llewellyn, Dai 1–4

Londonderry, Charles

Stewart Henry, 7th

Marquess of 122

Londonderry House, Park Lane 122

Lowndes, Victor 217, 232

Luard, Nick 155

Lucan, 3rd Earl of 230

Lucan, 6th Earl of 156–7

Lucan, Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan

character 1–2

background 130–1, 156–7

marriage 156

children 156, 266

relationship with Aspinall 176, 278–80

study of Hitler 207–8, 235

lifestyle 225–35

attendance at the House of Lords 228

gambling addiction 229–31

drinking 237

marriage breakup 232

child custody battle 233

feelings for Veronica 235–6

talks of killing wife 236–7

planning and preparation for murder 238–44, 268–70

Ford Corsair 238, 243–4, 253, 275–277

US mailbag 239, 242, 254, 274–5

method of disposing of body 274–5

fundraising 239–40

alibi 243

flaws in plan 245

kills Sandra Rivett 245–6

failure to kill wife 246–7

flees scene 247

at Gants Hill House 249–53

letters to Bill Shand Kydd 252

flight 276–80, 287–8

disappearance 221–2

police investigation 254–62

named as murderer of Sandra Rivett 221–2, 264–5

Aspinall’s Club statue inscription 224, 291

rumours of whereabouts 261–2

possible trial 263

family granted full probate 267

sightings 224–5

murder of 282–91

possible grave site 284

fascination of case 224–5

failure of great gamble 290

Sunday Times photograph with Annabel Birley 294–7

Lucan, Veronica Bingham (nee Duncan), Lady 156, 227, 231, 232, 235–6, 246–7, 253–4, 258–9, 263–4, 266, 294, 297

Lucan Lives (Gerring) 224

luck 97

Mabel, Annabel’s cloakroom attendant 163

MacLeod, Euan 140

MacNeice, Louis 17

Madrid 51

Magdalen College, Oxford 36

Marnham, Patrick 309–10

Martyn, Philip 181

Marx, Ernst von 36

Masters, Brian 19, 127, 166, 191, 237

Maxie (landlady) 27

Maxwell-Scott, Ian relationship with Aspinall 21–30

Oxford Finals 52

bookies business 55

Ritz poker parties 64–6

chemmy parties 112

marriage 123–4

Clermont Club Secretary 147

accumulator win 147–8

friendship with Lucan 227–8

belief Lucan was murdered 282

and Mr X 283

Maxwell-Scott, Susie (nee Clark) 123–4, 227–8, 231, 249–53, 259, 276, 280–4

Mayfair 110

Meinertzhagen, Daniel 301

Metropolitan Police 260

Meurthe, Laure Boulay de la 321, 328

Mill, John Stuart 130

Miller, Compton 20

Millfield School 47

Mitchell, Frank 270–1, 289

Mitchum, Robert 113

Mitterand, François 318

Mond, Lord 135

Monte Carlo 43, 116

Montjeu 322, 327–8

Mothercare 179

Murdoch, Iris 16

Nancy 81

Nassau 45–6

National Trust 150

Neave, Digby 51

New York 46, 133, 213

Newhaven 238, 255–6, 268–9, 273–5, 277–8

Newmarket 36

News of the World 54

Nixon, Richard 207

Norfolk, Duke of 24

Norman Road, Newhaven 277–8

Oaksey, John Lawrence, Lord 21, 64

Orwell, George 151

Osborne, Colonel 12, 18

Osborne, James 187

Osborne, Lady Mary (nee Aspinall) 11–12, 18, 53, 59, 101, 111, 134–6, 193, 237, 259

O’Toole, Peter 161

Oxford University 16–19, 27, 36, 50–2

Packer, Kerry 153, 171

Paddington Police Station 135

Page, Russell 129

Palmer, Mr 125–6

Paris 38–9, 46, 79, 255

Pascal, Blaise 108

Pascal’s Wager 108

Passmore, Milo Cripps, Lord 27

Patino, Don Antenor 71, 73–80, 81, 82–4, 85, 87, 88, 90, 92

Patino, Simon 73

Pelham Cottage 123

Plowden, Julian 77, 78

Plumber’s Arms, The 247, 253

Pope, Alexander 313

Port Lympne 324

Princess, the 112–3

Priory Clinic, Roehampton 232

Private Eye 308–17

Profession of Violence, The (Pearson) 272

Prynne, William 312

Rand, Michael 297

Ransom, Detective Chief Superintendent Roy 224

Reeves, Rosner 160

Refer to Drawer (Elwes and Luard) 155

Referendum Party 331

Rennell, Lord 308

Ritz Hotel, London 65–6, 96

Rivett, Sandra murder of 244–6

consequences of murder 1–2, 9, 221–2

inquest 221, 264–5

funeral 265

roulette 108

Rowland, Tiny 314

Royal Marines 14

Royal Victoria Hotel, Nassau 45

Rugby School 12–14

Samuel, Lord 89, 91

Savoy Hotel, London 39

Scotland 87–91

Scribe Hotel, Paris 39, 42, 46, 92

Selfridge, Gordon 109

Shamba, gorilla 192, 193

Shand Kydd, Bill 156

Sheriff, Monica 103

Singapore 303

Slater, James 215–16, 303–4, 305–6

Slater Walker Securities 216, 303–4, 305–6, 310

Soames, Nicholas 294

South Africa 262, 325–6

Spark, Muriel 224

St Jean Cap Ferrat 301

St John Stevas, Norman 18

Stamp, Terence 164

Sterling, Colonel Bill 134

Stevens, Moyses 258–9

Stirling, Bill 103

Stirling, David 207

Stoop, Michael 238, 294

Stork Room 73, 77–80

Studley Royal 167

Suffolk, Earl of 134, 294

Suicide Stakes, the 174–5, 229

Sunday Times Colour Magazine 293–9, 307, 308

Sutton’s of Victoria, pawnbrokers 286

Switzerland 284, 288

Tara, tiger 126–7, 130, 190–1, 193, 195, 196, 208

Ted Bates Agency 160

Thatcher, Margaret 16

Theodoracopulos, Taki 57, 110, 197, 231–2, 240, 294

Thurston, Dr Gavin 263

Tonks, Henry 68

Tynan, Kathleen 214

Tynan, Ken 18, 213–4, 307–8

Uckfield 12

upper-class revival 149–51

Valençay (ferry) 255

van Cutsem, Bernard 103, 134

Vicar, the 103–7

Vyner, Henry 166–7

Vyner, Margaret 167, 231

Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York 46

Walpole, Horace 143

Walton Street, 167, Oxford 27–8, 30, 32, 33, 51

Wansell, Geoffrey 47

Warwick Castle 261

Watney, Mark 175

Waugh, Evelyn 24, 25

wealth, untapped reservoir of 107

Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of 63, 109

Whitcomb, Noel 86–9

White, Sam 85, 315

White’s Club 148

Wild Animals Protection Act, 1976 189

Wilson, Harold 304–5, 311, 312, 315–6

Wilson, Mary 311

Winchilsea, Earl of 4

World War I 36–7

World War II 44–6

Wykes, Nigel 47, 50

Wyndham, Melissa 300–1, 302

X, Mr 282–9

Zilkha, Selim 179

Zographos, Nicholas 109

Zorra, tiger 186–7, 195