Eloise Moss, "The Secret Life of the Hotel: Sex, Crime and Protest in British Guesthouses Since 1918" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

About this episode

Eloise Moss discusses her book on the complex history of hotels in Britain, revealing their role in perpetuating inequality and prejudice since 1918.

Hotels represent nations, hosting visiting monarchs, politicians, and diplomats. Hotels underpin global networks of travel and communication, on which national and international prosperity have increasingly depended since the end of the First World War. Yet hotels are also places where people can be anonymous; where murderers and thieves mix with adulterers and con artists; and where prejudice finds expression in who is refused access, and in the forms of 'service' provided by staff in the lowest-paid roles. The Secret Life of the Hotel: Sex, Crime and Protest in British Guesthouses Since 1918 (Bloomsbury, 2026) by Professor Eloise Moss is the first book to uncover how hotels entrenched inequality, prejudice, and exploitation in Britain's tourist sector, and in wider society and culture, during the 20th century.Professor Moss delves into hotel murders, swindles, and scandals, including the history of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926, the 'Margate Hotel Murder', and the divorce of Wallis Simpson in 1936 so she could marry King Edward VIII. Professor Moss's exploration of the hotel also shines a light on the fight against the colour bar, the formation of the British civil…

People in this episode

Guest: Eloise Moss

Topics covered

• hotels
• inequality
• prejudice
• exploitation
• British history
• civil rights

Keywords

• hotels
• sex
• crime
• protest
• British guesthouses
• 20th century
• civil rights
• Agatha Christie
• Martin Luther King Jr.

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Secret Life of the Hotel: Sex, Crime and Protest in British Guesthouses Since 1918

Places: Britain

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