A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot Literary Elements

True Crime

London, 1970s, during the trial of Jeremy Thorpe, charged with conspiracy for murder

The narrator is the author and his point of view is also third-party in that he is relating the facts that happened rather than telling them from the viewpoint of a specific person.

Scandalous, salacious

The Crown Prosecution Service is the protagonist; Thorpe himself is the antagonist

There is conflict within Thorpe with regard to his sexuality. He is a closet homosexual but not simply is he trying to hide this from the general public, he is also in denial himself.

The climax is the verdict at the end of the trial, when Thorpe is acquitted of the charges.

Thorpe's closet sexual relationship with Scott foreshadows the downward spiral of his political career.

Thorpe is said to be overbearing and supercilious, which is an understatement because he is incredibly superior in his demeanor and demonstrates his own view that he is better and smarter than everyone else.

The author alludes to many of the political figures of the time within the British government.

The imagery that the author uses to describe Jeremy Thorpe enables the reader to create a very vivid image of him: stovepipe trousers, a watch on a chain, a brocade vest, spats on his shoes. Thus, the reader is able to conjure up a visual image of an Elizabethan dandy rather than a political figure of the nineteen seventies.

Thorpe is very ambitious and wants to go a long way in politics, so his decision to join the liberal party is a paradox because they were the "third party" party and unlikely ever to be the ruling party.

There is a parallel between the public perception of Thorpe as deceitful and overbearing and the way in which people in his private life saw him in the same way.

The electorate is a way of describing the individual voters.

No specific examples in this book