David was born in Oxford, England, in 1959. He graduated from London's City University with a B.A. (Hons) in Journalism. In addition he has a P.G.C.E. from Lancaster University and an M.A. Arts (Dist) in Scriptwriting from the University of Central Lancashire. He continues his professional development by undertaking Post Graduate research and history courses at the University of Oxford. He has written several plays including Naturally Insane! The Life of Dan Leno, the celebrated Victorian Music Hall comedian, presented at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End and on national tour. He has also written theatre history books and novels, screenplays, and works as a theatre producer, director and film consultant. He was the Ivor Novello Consultant on the Oscar and BAFTA winning film Gosford Park, Directed by Robert Altman.

"An insightful, fictionalised slice of literary history..." Amazon"As Brideshead Revisted turns 80, how author Evelyn Waugh took inspiration from the tragic aristocrat of Lytham Hall [Harry Clifton] in creating his own waywardly eccentric Sebastian Flyte in his iconic novel of upper-class foibles." The Sunday Express"The extraordinary life of Harry Clifton" Lancashire Life"Explore the tumultuous world of Harry Clifton, a figure whose life story reads like a novel, filled with grandeur, crisis, and heartbreak..." Explaining History Podcast"At the heart of his career is a twin devotion: to reviving forgotten voices and bridging the worlds of stage and scholarship. Slattery-Christy has cultivated a reputation as a careful researcher, an intuitive dramatist, and a steward of cultural memory. His work finds purchase where actor and archivist meet — where the ghosts of Edwardian stages and wartime letters might be reimagined for contemporary audiences. Whether through lyric biography or theatrical invention, he continues to explore the resonances of past lives in our own time."

• Prologue: Emery's Hotel - Brighton, 19791. Destiny - 19232. Finding the Past - 20233. Conforming - 19264. Evelyn Waugh & Christ Church5. Bertie & The Hypocrites Club6. Lytham Hall - 20237. Hedonism8. Death & Duties9. An Errant Heir10. Evelyn Waugh - End of the Roaring 20s11. Putting On The Ritz - The White Goddess12. Lytham Madness - 1930s13. We're In The Money - The Ghost Of Hollywood14. Lilian Lowell Griswold15. Insanity16. KIldalton Castle - 202317. Storm CloudsEpilogue: Parting18. Aftermath19. Decline & Fall References: Page 298 Images: With grateful thanks to Lytham Hall, who kindly gave me permission to use various images of the Clifton family for this book. All images subject to copyright of Lytham Hall (LH); David Slattery-Christy (DSC); Royal Collection (RC). 1. Harry Clifton - pages 27 & 288 (LH)2. Evelyn Waugh - page 280 (Alamy)3. Clifton Family: John Talbot, Easter Daffodil, Violet, Michael, Harry - page 11 (LH)4. Lillie Langtry - page 100 (RC)5. John Talbot Clifton - page 296 (LH)6. Violet Clifton - page 295 (LH)7. Lilian Clifton - page 287 (LH)8. Avia & Daffodil Clifton - page 297 (LH)9. Grand Duke Michael Romanov - page 294 (RC)10. Daffodil & husband Gerald Baird (LH)11. David Slattery-Christy & Rajat Mathew Bose - page 8 (DSC)12. Ritz Hotel Restaurant - page 299 (DSC)13. Renaissance & Rosebud Eggs - page 300 & 301 (Faberge Museum)14. Austin Car & David Slattery-Christy - page 302 (DSC)

David was born in Oxford, England, in 1959. He graduated from London's City University with a B.A. (Hons) in Journalism. In addition he has a P.G.C.E. from Lancaster University and an M.A. Arts (Dist) in Scriptwriting from the University of Central Lancashire. He continues his professional development by undertaking Post Graduate research and history courses at the University of Oxford. He has written several plays including Naturally Insane! The Life of Dan Leno, the celebrated Victorian Music Hall comedian, presented at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End and on national tour. He has also written theatre history books and novels, screenplays, and works as a theatre producer, director and film consultant. He was the Ivor Novello Consultant on the Oscar and BAFTA winning film Gosford Park, Directed by Robert Altman.

"An insightful, fictionalised slice of literary history..." Amazon"As Brideshead Revisted turns 80, how author Evelyn Waugh took inspiration from the tragic aristocrat of Lytham Hall [Harry Clifton] in creating his own waywardly eccentric Sebastian Flyte in his iconic novel of upper-class foibles." The Sunday Express"The extraordinary life of Harry Clifton" Lancashire Life"Explore the tumultuous world of Harry Clifton, a figure whose life story reads like a novel, filled with grandeur, crisis, and heartbreak..." Explaining History Podcast"At the heart of his career is a twin devotion: to reviving forgotten voices and bridging the worlds of stage and scholarship. Slattery-Christy has cultivated a reputation as a careful researcher, an intuitive dramatist, and a steward of cultural memory. His work finds purchase where actor and archivist meet — where the ghosts of Edwardian stages and wartime letters might be reimagined for contemporary audiences. Whether through lyric biography or theatrical invention, he continues to explore the resonances of past lives in our own time."

• Prologue: Emery's Hotel - Brighton, 19791. Destiny - 19232. Finding the Past - 20233. Conforming - 19264. Evelyn Waugh & Christ Church5. Bertie & The Hypocrites Club6. Lytham Hall - 20237. Hedonism8. Death & Duties9. An Errant Heir10. Evelyn Waugh - End of the Roaring 20s11. Putting On The Ritz - The White Goddess12. Lytham Madness - 1930s13. We're In The Money - The Ghost Of Hollywood14. Lilian Lowell Griswold15. Insanity16. KIldalton Castle - 202317. Storm CloudsEpilogue: Parting18. Aftermath19. Decline & Fall References: Page 298 Images: With grateful thanks to Lytham Hall, who kindly gave me permission to use various images of the Clifton family for this book. All images subject to copyright of Lytham Hall (LH); David Slattery-Christy (DSC); Royal Collection (RC). 1. Harry Clifton - pages 27 & 288 (LH)2. Evelyn Waugh - page 280 (Alamy)3. Clifton Family: John Talbot, Easter Daffodil, Violet, Michael, Harry - page 11 (LH)4. Lillie Langtry - page 100 (RC)5. John Talbot Clifton - page 296 (LH)6. Violet Clifton - page 295 (LH)7. Lilian Clifton - page 287 (LH)8. Avia & Daffodil Clifton - page 297 (LH)9. Grand Duke Michael Romanov - page 294 (RC)10. Daffodil & husband Gerald Baird (LH)11. David Slattery-Christy & Rajat Mathew Bose - page 8 (DSC)12. Ritz Hotel Restaurant - page 299 (DSC)13. Renaissance & Rosebud Eggs - page 300 & 301 (Faberge Museum)14. Austin Car & David Slattery-Christy - page 302 (DSC)

David was born in Oxford, England, in 1959. He graduated from London's City University with a B.A. (Hons) in Journalism. In addition he has a P.G.C.E. from Lancaster University and an M.A. Arts (Dist) in Scriptwriting from the University of Central Lancashire. He continues his professional development by undertaking Post Graduate research and history courses at the University of Oxford. He has written several plays including Naturally Insane! The Life of Dan Leno, the celebrated Victorian Music Hall comedian, presented at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End and on national tour. He has also written theatre history books and novels, screenplays, and works as a theatre producer, director and film consultant. He was the Ivor Novello Consultant on the Oscar and BAFTA winning film Gosford Park, Directed by Robert Altman.

"An insightful, fictionalised slice of literary history..." Amazon"As Brideshead Revisted turns 80, how author Evelyn Waugh took inspiration from the tragic aristocrat of Lytham Hall [Harry Clifton] in creating his own waywardly eccentric Sebastian Flyte in his iconic novel of upper-class foibles." The Sunday Express"The extraordinary life of Harry Clifton" Lancashire Life"Explore the tumultuous world of Harry Clifton, a figure whose life story reads like a novel, filled with grandeur, crisis, and heartbreak..." Explaining History Podcast"At the heart of his career is a twin devotion: to reviving forgotten voices and bridging the worlds of stage and scholarship. Slattery-Christy has cultivated a reputation as a careful researcher, an intuitive dramatist, and a steward of cultural memory. His work finds purchase where actor and archivist meet — where the ghosts of Edwardian stages and wartime letters might be reimagined for contemporary audiences. Whether through lyric biography or theatrical invention, he continues to explore the resonances of past lives in our own time."

• Prologue: Emery's Hotel - Brighton, 19791. Destiny - 19232. Finding the Past - 20233. Conforming - 19264. Evelyn Waugh & Christ Church5. Bertie & The Hypocrites Club6. Lytham Hall - 20237. Hedonism8. Death & Duties9. An Errant Heir10. Evelyn Waugh - End of the Roaring 20s11. Putting On The Ritz - The White Goddess12. Lytham Madness - 1930s13. We're In The Money - The Ghost Of Hollywood14. Lilian Lowell Griswold15. Insanity16. KIldalton Castle - 202317. Storm CloudsEpilogue: Parting18. Aftermath19. Decline & Fall References: Page 298 Images: With grateful thanks to Lytham Hall, who kindly gave me permission to use various images of the Clifton family for this book. All images subject to copyright of Lytham Hall (LH); David Slattery-Christy (DSC); Royal Collection (RC). 1. Harry Clifton - pages 27 & 288 (LH)2. Evelyn Waugh - page 280 (Alamy)3. Clifton Family: John Talbot, Easter Daffodil, Violet, Michael, Harry - page 11 (LH)4. Lillie Langtry - page 100 (RC)5. John Talbot Clifton - page 296 (LH)6. Violet Clifton - page 295 (LH)7. Lilian Clifton - page 287 (LH)8. Avia & Daffodil Clifton - page 297 (LH)9. Grand Duke Michael Romanov - page 294 (RC)10. Daffodil & husband Gerald Baird (LH)11. David Slattery-Christy & Rajat Mathew Bose - page 8 (DSC)12. Ritz Hotel Restaurant - page 299 (DSC)13. Renaissance & Rosebud Eggs - page 300 & 301 (Faberge Museum)14. Austin Car & David Slattery-Christy - page 302 (DSC)