One entry defines a "sootikin" as a small mouse-shaped deposit formed in the vaginal cleft of poor women who did not wear undergarments - common until the 19th century.

The urine flowed down into the hot footlights and boiled, creating enough steam that the front rows of the theatre had to be evacuated.

He got her drunk on Fundador brandy, took her to his suite at the plush Victoria Hotel where he bathed her with plenty of lavender soap.

Friends, concerned, forced their way into his suite and found Murray in a corner, seriously ill with a high temperature.

Kate Kellaway, then his deputy, rocked with laughter and hero-worshipped David Profumo for reviewing the book.