Christine Keeler and the Profumo Affair The Profumo affair was a British political scandal that originated with a brief sexual relationship in 1961 between John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Ma cmillan's Conservative government, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old would-be model. In March 1963, Profumo's denial of any impropriety, in a personal statement to the House of Commons, was refuted a few weeks later with his admission of the truth. He resigned from the government and from Parliament. The repercussions of the affair severely damaged Ma cmillan's self-confidence, and he resigned as Prime Minister on health grounds in October 1963. The reputation of the Conservative Party was damaged by the scandal, which may have contributed to its defeat by Harold Wilson's Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the Profumoa??Keeler affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attache, thereby creating a possible security risk. Keeler knew both Profumo and Ivanov through her friendship with Stephen Ward, an osteopath and socialite who had taken her under his wing. The exposure of the affair generated rumours of other scandals, and drew attention to the activities of Ward, who was charged with a series of immorality offences. Perceiving himself as a scapegoat for the misdeeds of others, Ward took a fatal overdose during the final stages of his trial, which found him guilty of living off the immoral earnings of Keeler and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies. All the major players are represented in this fascinating collection of autographed books, notably Christine Keeler (signed to the title page of her book 'The Truth at Last' and also by Lewis Morley on a photo plate); Lewis Morley (who took the famous photograph) in two of his books; Mandy Rice Davies (signed photo loosely inserted in her book 'Today & Tomorrow'); also, a hand-written note on a card inserted into his book 'Mandy' (and another with a fully signed card; John Profumo and his wife Valerie Hobson (on cards loosely inserted into a book by their son, David Profumo 'Bringing the House Down'); Lord Denning (who led the Inquiry into the Profumo Affair) on a card loosely inserted in his book 'Leaves from my Library'; Ludovic Kennedy, who wrote a scathing eye-witness account of the trial of Stephen Ward (on a card loosely inserted in his book 'On My Way to the Club'); 'An Affair of State' signed by the author, Phillip Knightley and also the photographer, Lewis Morley; 'An English Affair' signed by Richard Davenport-Hines; and a copy of Geoffrey Robertson's 'Stephen Ward was Innocent, Ok - The case for overturning his conviction'. (15 volumes; mainly hardcovers and with dust jackets.)