Piu Marie Eatwell
Non-fiction - historical
A fascinating read. Even more so because I live nearby. The 5th duke of Portland was a reclusive eccentric, famed for building tunnels under his Welbeck Abbey estate. But after he died there emerged a bizarre accusation that he had led a double life. His alter ego was said to be T. C. Druce, a wealthy London department store owner. This book delves deep into the controversy that surrounded the various legal wrangling, centred on exhuming poor Mr Druce. It was claimed his coffin was empty, thereby supporting the Duke’s double life theory. Quite where that theory came from is never established in the book, a pity as it would be really nice to know. But somethings are, inevitably, lost to history. A huge amount of research has clearly been done and, while some sections are padded out slightly, the execution is generally peppered with sumptuous period detail. It is easy to forget you’re not reading a fiction book.
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