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The Hell-Fire Friars have been accused by many throughout the centuries of orgies and devil worship. Although they numbered many of the country's leading luminaries among their adherents, it seems they never bothered to refute crass allegations.
No one denies that there was a grouping of individuals around Sir Francis Dashwood, that they met at Medmenham Abbey on the Thames and at West Wycombe, that this group lasted from twenty to thirty years and that there were serious political consequences. It has also been alleged that members of the group dominated the government of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763, and that the internal quarrels of the Friars sparked off the rise of democracy in England.
In this book, Gerald Suster attempts to separate fact from fiction, myth and legend in his quest for the truth. He scrutinises the data, subjects it to analysis, and demonstrates the subsequent lasting legacy, thereby presenting the first definitive study of British history's most intriguing and notorious gentleman's club.
