Not Behind Lace Curtains: The Hidden World of Evan, Viscount Tredegar

by William Cross

Evan Frederic Morgan, the second (and last) Viscount Tredegar will forever be an enigma. Whatever a researcher or writer discovers about him there will almost certainly be a further revelation around the next corner. Born into a prosperous Welsh coalmining and landowning family, Evan had the resources and the will to be whatever he wanted. He could indulge every fantasy and whim to whatever length he chose. With his wealth, versatile culture and adventurous spirit, he seemed well equipped to make a notable mark on the world. But his calling fell short of its early promise. Evan appears in numerous anecdotes by his often more famous fellow travellers. As a homosexual living at a time when that activity was illegal and where charges could lead to imprisonment, ruin and shame, Evan, by necessity, led a double life. Most of his secrets died with him, many personal documents are lost, suppressed, concealed or destroyed. We cannot only rely on his contemporaries, relatives, friends and enemies for all aspects of his flamboyant life. In this new book, William Cross, co-author of A Beautiful Nuisance : The Life and Death of Gwyneth Ericka Morgan and Aspects of Evan, The Last Viscount Tredegar, draws on the claims left behind by the late Robin Bryans, who at age of sixteen became one of Evan’s lovers. The narrative reveals some bizarre details about Evan that have thus far not dared be revealed. The reader must make up their own mind about the veracity of Bryans’ extraordinary account of Evan’s hidden world.

376 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Almina Carnarvon · Rating 5 out of 5]

WITH an inherited wealth worth millions at his fingertips, Welsh peer Evan Morgan could indulge in any fantasy he wanted. From dabbling in Black Magick to working for the Pope, Evan Morgan, the last Viscount of Tredegar, led a remarkable life.A new book, released to mark the 110th birthday of the eccentric Welsh aristocrat, details Evan Morgan's life from his public image as a married millionaire to his secret life of homosexuality. Not Behind Lace Curtains traces Evan's life from 1901 to his death from cancer in 1949, his dysfunctional family, his time at Eton College where he left mysteriously "under a cloud", his brief spell in politics and his friendships and extravagant parties at Tredegar House in Newport. The book looks at how he enjoyed chasing what was described as "rough trade" - meaning dalliances with rent boys while living apart from first wife Lois Sturt which was followed by a failed second marriage to a Russian princess.At a time when homosexuality was illegal and when charges could lead to imprisonment, ruin and shame, author William Cross said Evan had to lead a double life. Cross said he wanted to try to find out how Evan got away with it and questions whether he was protected by his royal relations.He draws on the claims made by the late Robin Bryans who at the age of 16 became one of Evan's lovers and Cross says the reader has to make up their own mind about the truth of Bryan's account. The book also examines the peer's unusual relationship with occultist Aleister Crowley, dubbed by the press at the time as "the wickedest man in the world" who built up a reputation as a disciple of the Devil. He visited Evan at Tredegar House in 1943 and may have shown him his Magick Room where it is suggested Evan conducted Black Masses.But the peer was also a converted Roman Catholic who wanted to be a priest to avoid becoming the next Lord Tredegar and managed to become a Papal Knight in Rome before returning to Britain after his sister's body was found in the River Thames. He went on to be court marshalled for failing to keep his mouth shut while working for MI14 - which was responsible for the homing-pigeon service in World War Two. The Viscount's love of exotic pets was well-known - with a boxing kangaroo in his garden, a honey bear and a baboon. He also had a menagerie at Tredegar Park and flamingos on the lake, said Cross.Then of course was Blue Boy - the macaw who was trained to climb up the inside of Evan's trousers and pop its head out of his flies. The book's title comes from Evan himself who wanted a biography of his life.But Cross said a box of Evan's documents and papers must have been destroyed after his death preventing such a publication of his affairs and meaning many of his secrets died with him. Cross also suggests that Evan's friendship was a "kind of curse" for many people with a high number of odd and alarming deaths among his friends. [ This sis a review by Alison Saunders .]

[William Cross]

A British Peer of the Realm’s hidden world of illegal frolicking, in pursuit of his favorite prey of ”rough trade” as well as exposing the same man’s habit of celebrating Black Mass in Welsh churchyards, and near the Sussex Downs along with disciples of The Great Beast, the occultist Aleister Crowley.