The cast of characters in the "embarrassing affair" is very similar to that of the real-life scandal, involving the Pechiney aluminum company, that rocked Mitterrand's presidency in 1988.

An old real-life scandal, he tells me, written by our world-famous Howard, who of course I've heard of.

Yet with all the secret Swiss bank accounts, killings and skulduggery, the one real-life scandal that briefly flared toward the end of the campaign is not recreated in the novel.

At the time Delon was involved in a real-life scandal, the Markovic affair, in which his former bodyguard Stevan Markovic had been found murdered.

The episode was based on a real-life scandal involving late night talk show host David Letterman.

Often, in his fiction, he took real-life scandals and subjected them to whimsical, sardonic treatment.

The game also alludes to real-life scandals involving NFL players, as former Washington Redhawks quarterback Mike Mexico is now serving time in prison.

This satirical shaft seems to refer to the real-life scandal surrounding Eamon Casey, former Bishop of Galway, whose domestic circumstances were similar to Bishop Brennan's.

The book is a thinly disguised account of the real-life scandal involving torch singer Libby Holman and her husband, tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds.