The character who fascinated me the most is David Jacobs, the solicitor to the stars. At one point he had offices in both London and Hollywood. He had both The Beatles and Brian Epstein as clients as well as Winston Churchill's daughter, Judy Garland, Diana Dors, Shirley Bassey and John Profumo. At one point he sued the Daily Mirror for libel on behalf of Liberace, for implying that Liberace was homosexual – and won! He apparently was known to appear in court in full makeup.
Tragically, Jacobs died a sad death – found hanging in his garage. The book questions whether his death was a drug induced suicide or something far more sinister.
I found the story of David Jacobs positively inspiring in some ways. One doesn't hear about entertainment lawyers being as interesting as their clients. The idea that Jacobs could be negotiating major deals for Brian Epstein one minute and getting a famous politician’s daughter out of the jail the next makes most contemporary law practices seem positively dull.
It’s a fascinating book and gives a lot of deep background into the entertainment business in London before and during the British Invasion. I have only one criticism. In an otherwise well written work, I came across the worst sentence I think I've ever read: "According to the inquiry, Halliwell used a hammer to strike Orton, whom he had met at RADA, on his head at least nine times."
