Nigel Dempster and the Death of Discretion

Nigel Dempster and the Death of Discretion

by TimWillis (Author), Tim Willis (Author), TIMOTHY WILLIS (Author)

Synopsis

For many people Dempster's Diary was the Mail. His page, with its scurrilous revelations about the great, the good, and the not-so good, was the only one to read. Bursting on to the national stage in the Seventies, in his kipper ties and too-tight suits, Dempster was the people's cad - exposing the infidelities of Harold Pinter and Lady Antonia Fraser or James Goldsmith and Annabel Birley, paying tipsters like the bouffant Lord Lichfield with crates of champagne. He was a consummate journalist, too, breaking such then-huge stories as the collapse of Princess Margaret's marriage and the resignation of Harold Wilson. But for all his convivial charm and canny ability to infiltrate the smart set, Dempster led a strangely isolated life. Marred by broken relationships and a dependence on drink, its ending was both pitiful and inspiring. In this riveting study of a man and his milieu, Tim Willis treats Dempster's bibulous journey through old Fleet Street and Society as a tragi-comic romp. And through it, he provides a portrait of a changing world.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Publisher: Short Books Ltd
Published: 04 Oct 2010

ISBN 10: 1906021848
ISBN 13: 9781906021849

Media Reviews
'I'm really jealous of this; Dempsters world is such a juicy subject and Tim Willis has caught it completely.' --Peter York 'A gorgeous account of the sentimental sadist, seasoned with scandal and nostalgia' --Julie Burchill Witty, scandalous and horribly riveting --The Sunday Times This lively, well-written biography is studded with the sort of anecdotes Dempster would have relished... (But) is is more than a portrait of a man; it is a portrait of a pre-Twitter age. Dempster prefigured our celebrity culture and in the end was submerged by it... --The Evening Standard 'This alluring biography chronicles the extraordinary changes British society has undergone in the past few decades and accurately defines the columnist s own part in that seismic shift. It s a dazzling read, a helter-skelter ride through High Society and Fleet Street...' --The Sunday Express 'Not just a fine portrait of a diarist, Tim Willis has anatomised a society in flux' - Rachel Johnson --The Lady 'A must for anyone interested in showbusiness and how it is reported' --News of the World 'Effervescent, elegantly written and faultlessly researched... Tim Willis has caught the atmosphere of the Dempster decades with uncanny precision. Willis's book treats the many facets of Dempster, his braggadocio and his bonking, his swagger, his guile and his generosity with frankness and in fascinating detail.' --The Spectator 'A must for anyone interested in showbusiness and how it is reported' --News of the World
Author Bio
A freelance writer and editor, Tim Willis has worked for most of Britain's national newspapers and some of its glossier magazines. He is also the author of Madcap (Short Books, 2002), a well-received biography of Pink Floyd's 'crazy diamond' Syd Barrett. Tim lives in Pershore, Worcestershire.