Behind Closed Doors
- Author Seth Alexander Thévoz
- Narrator Seth Alexander Thévoz, Seth Alexander Thévoz
- Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
- Run Time 9 hours and 51 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre History.
Click to open directly in the xigxag app.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
This is a chronicle, as informative as it is entertaining, of the ups and downs of London clubland, and how it had an impact on parts of the world far from London. It is packed with amusing anecdotes and illustrative examples of the growth of this quirky, unique institution, which grew to spread around the world. London, though, with its four hundred clubs, was always at its heart.
Thévoz reveals how everything we might have thought we knew about these clubs is wrong. They may have started out as white, male, aristocratic watering holes - but that's only part of the story. All sections of society built their own clubs and lived their lives there: highbrow and lowbrow; women and men; working-class, middle-class and upper-class; international and British. The club has been central to a distinctively British form of leisure over more than three centuries.
Behind Closed Doors is a distillation of a decade of research and writing on London clubs, based on exclusive behind-the-scenes access to archives and proceedings, as well as a love of gossip and scandal.
Critics Review
An entertaining glimpse into an anachronistic world
[A] secretive world of arcane rules, unbelievable anecdotes and disreputable behaviour
A lively and comprehensive study of London clubs … an entertainingly readable and well-researched glimpse into a world
Thévoz…offers much more than tales of delicious eccentricity, pink gins or popping monocles. He’s a serious researcher, and offers a lively, exhaustively comprehensive, soup-to-cigars history of this cosy but often corrupt institution
This well-researched romp through the history of the capital’s private members’ clubs overturns many myths along the way…Compendious and entertaining, Behind Closed Doors is the result of thorough research, lightly worn. Thévoz writes with energy, conviction and amusement at the ever-changing variety of human congregation and its foibles
Exuberant, rollicking…Behind Closed Doors is full of amusing anecdotes and waspish character sketches…Thévoz, who is the librarian of the National Liberal Club, clearly knows at first hand what has been going on behind the “closed doors” of his title
Hugely entertaining and full of stuff I didn’t know I wanted to know, but I now do know, and I’m delighted by it
Thévoz…is clearly a brilliant researcher. He is very good on the history of clubs and the buildings that house them. As for what went on behind those closed doors, there are riveting snippets between great chunks of earnest fact
A fair-minded overview of three hundred years of club history, neatly researched and quite fact-heavy, but overwhelmingly preoccupied with carnal and financial appetites
An excellent book.
I enjoyed it greatly! It is a remarkable collection of history, anecdote and reference and I’m baffled at how you had any time to eat or sleep whilst researching all the material!
A great read – rich in evidence and robust in analysis. And full of stories told with dry wit
Seth Alexander Thévoz is a wonderful, impressively well-informed tour guide, leading you past the heavily guarded Porter’s Lodge into the vaulted halls of clubland…meticulous…genuinely hilarious
Equal parts entertaining and intriguing
Admirably broad reach…does a great job of demythologising
A splendid new tome
Utterly fascinating
It’s a very interesting book indeed
Highly knowledgeable
Superb
Most enjoyable…gave me just exactly the background to the London clubs which I needed
This brilliant book…It is EXTREMELY timely, well told and glorious fun. 10/10
Very good
Superb…finished it in two evenings…Impressively wide-ranging and deeply analytical
Very much enjoying this splendid volume
Keen to debunk myths…Startling…Thévoz gleefully punctures the notion that clubs were a male bastion
About xigxag
Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required. Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech. Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.
Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems. Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.