Behind Closed Doors by Seth Thvoz

Behind Closed Doors by Seth Thvoz

A look inside the hidden world of London's private members' clubs, from the late-eighteenth century to the present. If we think of these clubs as predominantly white, male and aristocratic, we could not be more wrong. Their true story is infinitely more interesting.

An entertaining glimpse into an anachronistic world * Guardian *
[A] secretive world of arcane rules, unbelievable anecdotes and disreputable behaviour * The Times *
A lively and comprehensive study of London clubs.. an entertainingly readable and well-researched glimpse into a world * Observer *
Thévoz...offers much more than tales of delicious eccentricity, pink gins or popping monocles. He's a serious researcher, and offers a lively, exhaustively comprehensive, soup-to-cigars history of this cosy but often corrupt institution * Sunday Times *
This well-researched romp through the history of the capital's private members' clubs overturns many myths along the way...Compendious and entertaining, Behind Closed Doors is the result of thorough research, lightly worn. Thévoz writes with energy, conviction and amusement at the ever-changing variety of human congregation and its foibles * Financial Times *
Exuberant, rollicking...Behind Closed Doors is full of amusing anecdotes and waspish character sketches...Thévoz, who is the librarian of the National Liberal Club, clearly knows at first hand what has been going on behind the "closed doors" of his title * Times Literary Supplement *
Hugely entertaining and full of stuff I didn't know I wanted to know, but I now do know, and I'm delighted by it -- Jonathan Lynn, co-author of YES, MINISTER and YES, PRIME MINISTER
Thévoz...is clearly a brilliant researcher. He is very good on the history of clubs and the buildings that house them. As for what went on behind those closed doors, there are riveting snippets between great chunks of earnest fact -- Anne de Courcy * Daily Telegraph *
A fair-minded overview of three hundred years of club history, neatly researched and quite fact-heavy, but overwhelmingly preoccupied with carnal and financial appetites -- Jonathan Parry * London Review of Books *
An excellent book. -- Alexander Larman
I enjoyed it greatly! It is a remarkable collection of history, anecdote and reference and I'm baffled at how you had any time to eat or sleep whilst researching all the material! -- Michael Meadowcroft, former Liberal Democrats MP
A great read - rich in evidence and robust in analysis. And full of stories told with dry wit -- Dr Matt Cole, University of Birmingham
Seth Alexander Thévoz is a wonderful, impressively well-informed tour guide, leading you past the heavily guarded Porter's Lodge into the vaulted halls of clubland...meticulous...genuinely hilarious * Buzz magazine *
Equal parts entertaining and intriguing -- Hatchards bookshop, Piccadilly
Admirably broad reach...does a great job of demythologising -- Lesley A. Hall
A splendid new tome * The Chap *
Utterly fascinating -- Dr Kate Lister, Betwixt the Sheets podcast * HistoryHit *
It's a very interesting book indeed -- Michael Portillo * Times Radio *
Highly knowledgeable * The Week *
Superb -- Peter Oborne * Byline Times *
Most enjoyable...gave me just exactly the background to the London clubs which I needed -- Malcolm Shifrin, author of * Victorian Turkish Baths (2015) *
This brilliant book...It is EXTREMELY timely, well told and glorious fun. 10/10 -- Dr Fern Riddell
Very good -- Dr Tim Stanley
Superb...finished it in two evenings...Impressively wide-ranging and deeply analytical -- David Palfreyman, author of * London’s Pall Mall Clubs (2019). *
Very much enjoying this splendid volume -- Ben Schott
Keen to debunk myths...Startling...Thévoz gleefully punctures the notion that clubs were a male bastion -- Air Mail

Dr Seth Alexander Thévoz is a freelance historian and journalist. He holds degrees from the Universities of Cambridge, London and Warwick, and is a former research associate of the History of Parliament Trust and Nuffield College, Oxford. He has variously been shortlisted for the Whitfield Prize for his first book, Club Government, and a British Journalism Award for his investigative work with openDemocracy. Since 2013, he has been Librarian of the National Liberal Club in London. He has been known to contribute to Private Eye in some capacity or another, allegedly.
http://www.sethalexanderthevoz.com/

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781472146489
ISBN 10	1472146484
Title	Behind Closed Doors
Author	Seth Thvoz
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Year published	2024-09-26
Number of pages	416
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.