The Disappearing Duke: The Improbable Tale of an Eccentric English Family

by Tom Freeman-Keel, Andrew Crofts

Shortly after the fourth Duke of Portland died in 1854, the fifth duke began construction of a fantastic underground palace beneath the family's estate. Was it a physical representation of a secret underground life he was living as a London businessman with two families? In this work of historical detection, the authors reconstruct a century of controversy surrounding the Cavendish-Benticks, culminating in one of the most bizarre and publicized cases the British courts have ever seen. A man steeped in layers of deliberately manufactured mystery, the fifth Duke of Portland—unmarried and childless—started life as Lord John Bentick, became the Marquess of Tichfield upon the suspicious death of his elder brother, and passed on his title to a cousin when he perished in 1879. But some claimed that he had forged a second identity as Thomas Druce, owner of the Baker Street Bazaar and subject of countless rumors about his secretive lifestyle throughout British high society. Druce allegedly died in 1864, but his burial produced suspicion when it was claimed his coffin was filled with lead rather than a corpse. When Druce's daughter-in-law surmised that he might have survived for 15 more years, she set out to shake the foundations of British society by proving that her son, Sidney Druce, was the rightful heir to the dukedom. In a legal battle straight out of Alice in Wonderland—with accusations of madness, perjury, and even grave robbing—the previously unassailable aristocratic establishment threatened to topple. The Disappearing Duke is a most extraordinary and improbable tale that will delight history buffs, mystery lovers, Anglophiles, and anyone who delights in the absurd. An index with sources is included.

Genres: History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 2003

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story, I’m not sure we got the whole truth, but I guess it was a hoax.

[Yooperprof · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written account of a scandalous inheritance trial in the early 1900s. In the right hands, it could be marvelous, but this reads like a bad novel. No attempt to substantiate sources, either, so you have no idea how much it the authors are inventing themselves, and how much they have borrowed (or stolen) from earlier writers.

[Christina Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in the first half, but I thought the courtroom scene rather dry. The one thing we really lack is that there isn't a photo or illustration in the whole book, which is remarkable considering how mad for pictures and photos the Victorians were. Not a single newspaper? No photos of the families in question?

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an amazing mystery of an aristocrat who didn't want that type of life. Amazing just crazy