Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Gamblers

By: John Pearson
Narrated by: Christopher Oxford
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

This is the inside story of the infamous Clermont Set: five friends who became the most stylish and exclusive gamblers in 1960s London. They included the Clermont Club's eccentric founder John Aspinall; Dominic Elwes, who was to betray the set's code of silence; the socialite owner of Annabel's, Mark Birley; flamboyant playboy James Goldsmith; and the infamous Lord "Lucky" Lucan. The charisma and wit of these dastardly but debonair millionaires made them invincible in their own eyes, but John Pearson shows how their code led to tragedy, and to one of the great unsolved mysteries of the 20th century: the disappearance of Lord Lucan.
©2005 John Pearson (P)2006 Oakhill Publishing Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Northern Wind cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin cover art
The Six Wives of Henry VIII cover art
A Prince Among Stones cover art
Her Brilliant Career cover art
Monarchy cover art
Britain Alone cover art
Rumpole of the Bailey [Recorded Books] cover art
How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward cover art
Rebecca West: A Modern Sibyl cover art
The Plot cover art
Seduced by a Sociopath cover art
Peggy Guggenheim cover art
Ian Fleming cover art
Charles and Camilla cover art

Critic reviews

"Like a galloping Mayfair noir thriller." ( The Sunday Times)

What listeners say about The Gamblers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

different look at Lucan's backstory

The title says it all really, not truly about the events that surround Lucan's disappearance, more about the lives of the Clermont Set, the club where he and his chums gambled.

intriguing story, that does go through those still around for their take on the murder of nanny Sandra Rivett. It also gives brilliant insight to the other active interests of the time, in particular of course, John Aspinall, The Clermont's owner.

Brings a real atmosphere of the time. The narrator is pretty sharp and on point. I enjoy listening to this one over and over. The time and the area of London are big interests of mine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An exhilarating yarn!

I only purchased this for the Lord Lucan element but was fascinated from start to finish.

Well researched, well written and excellent narration. The story of the Clermont set and the five main members had me gripped. Also a very good succinct account of the Lucan affair and some interesting analysis to boot.

Well worth a punt.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

for admirers of aristos, the rich, and gamblers

If you think that aristocrats, the rich, or gamblers are interesting per se, in the same way that some people think that celebrities are interesting per se, then you just might like this book. I do not find such people interesting simply for what they are, and so I did not find this book interesting.
It is written like a history, not in the style of a novel, so it has none of the interest of good description, characterization, or thoughtfulness, that a novel might have.
The reader cannot be faulted. He reads excellently. But, unfortunately, because the content failed to hold my interest, I only found time to listen to about half of this book.
Some people might like it, but I am not one of them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

interesting context

superb context around the Lucan story and the social climate that created the mystery.

worth listening to as it is a sensible approach to the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and expertly narrated

Quite an eye opener. An audible page turner. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended. Must read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An old fashioned story of luck, greed and murder.

This is a good old fashioned story about a group of men and the mostly unfortunate women who get tangled in their lives. it's a story of chance, luck and unimaginable entitlement. At the centre is a man, John Aspinall who is plainly deluded and imagines himself some kind of throwback God. His coterie of 'friends' come together to gamble and he happily fleeces them. One of them James Goldsmith is a lucky parasite who gathers wealth, women and children but who never quite becomes who he wants to be. Lord 'Lucky' Lucan is a most unlucky loser, wife beater and ultimately a murderer. Dominic Elwes has charm and wit but ends up ostracised by his tribe and commits suicide. Mark Birley seem to be the great survivor who detatches in time. Not lovable characters but a cracking listen. Great performance by the reader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!