The Secrets of Eaton Square by Alexander Larman

308 pages

History

Pub date: 02 June 2026

Four stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

My thoughts:

Like many, I was an avid fan of the original Upstairs, Downstairs television series. From this experience I had a clear picture in my mind of Eaton Square and what it might be like to live there. In these pages, I got to see how close I was as I learned about the many famous and infamous people who called Eaton Square home.

This book is organized by address as it covers many residents of the Square. It also includes history on the location. I was especially interested in reading about Diana Mosley as I have recently read several Mitford biographies. That said, they were many others persons of interest in these pages.

Those who enjoy British history/social history with a down to earth vibe will want to give this title a look.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Description:

from the publisher

Windsor biographer Alexander Larman takes you behind the doors of Eaton Square, London’s most sought-after address.

In the classic PBS series Upstairs, Downstairs, the aristocratic Bellamy family lived at the fictitious 165 Eaton Place, a grand home in one of London’s most beautiful garden squares just minutes from Buckingham Palace. But, what really goes on behind the beautiful, polished doors of one of London’s most sought-after addresses?

In The Secrets of Eaton Square: Sex, Scandal and Infamy on the Road to Buckingham Palace, Alexander Larman opens those doors wide to the scandalous social and political history of Eaton Square that begins in the eighteenth century and runs right up until today. With a cast of characters that includes everyone from Neville Chamberlain, Joachim von Ribbentrop (the lover of Wallis Simpson), Diana Mitford, Vivien Leigh, Margaret Thatcher, and even James Bond, Larman’s book brings Eaton Square alive.

The list of luminaries and the powerful who lived on the square goes on and on today, from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Saatchi to today’s parade of Russian oligarchs whose money has given the area a new moniker: “Red Square.” No matter what it is called, Eaton Square remains an iconic byword for moneyed luxury and glamorous discretion that, at times, is the playground of off-duty royals. Let Alexander Larman unlock the doors of Eaton Square for you. He has all the keys…

Editorial Reviews:

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

London’s Eaton Square has been the home of prime ministers, Hollywood celebrities, Nazi sympathizers, and one enduring murder mystery, as revealed in this delightfully gossipy if occasionally plodding account from historian Larman (Power and Glory).

lIBRARY JOURNAL

Larman (The Secrets of Eaton Square) delivers a thrilling book, blending juicy London gossip, keen social insight, and sweeping history into a page-turner about Belgravia’s wildest address, from swampy Five Fields to its scandalous ghosts. The witty, propulsive British prose fuses tabloid snap with scholarly heft, instantly grabbing history buffs, scandal fans, and London lovers. Originality of text and illustration crackles through house-by-house takedowns of rogues such as dueling Alvanley, profiteers of enslavement Bernal and Codrington, and oddball philanthropist Peabody, busting Victorian propriety myths via trial docs, diaries, and scurrilous pamphlets. The excellent illustrations pop with maps of the failed balloon launch, Grosvenor portraits, dueling pistols, and artifacts that bring the scandals to life and make them feel chaotic. The brilliance of the design and format shines with crisp chapters, embedded notes, and punchy epigraphs, ideal for print or digital. VERDICT Larman’s book will hook royal watchers as he unearths Eaton Square’s glittering grim side with sly urgency.–Lawrence Mello