Gore Vidal: House For Sale Or Rent

The cliffside Italian mansion once owned by author Gore Vidal is up for sale.

The 10,500 square foot residence, which sits on over six acres of land and is 1,000 feet above the Tyrrhenian Sea in Ravello, is on the market for $21.1million.

In addition to the stunning views and massive estate, the house also comes with plenty of history, as Vidal entertained everyone from Mick Jagger and Susan Sarandon to Hillary Clinton and Princess Margaret at the lavish parties he threw there...

Vidal first visited the property in 1948 during a trip to Italy with his close friend and fellow writer Tennessee Williams.

Vidal lived in the home with his partner Howard Austen, who passed away in 2003 after battling cancer.

The writer's acerbic wit coupled with the home's stunning location attracted countless celebrities over the years and Vidal's parties became the stuff of legend.

Tim Teeman, author of In Bed With Gore Vidal: Hustlers, Hollywood, and the Private World of an American Master, wrote of some of the names who came to Italy in a story for The Daily Beast...

Teeman also spoke with several friends of Vidal who said he and Austen enjoyed hosting non-famous guests at the home as well, specifically young men from the town...

Daily Mail.

Tim Teeman's article, Inside Gore Vidal’s Cliffside Palace of Sex, Scandal, and Celebrity, contains rather a lot about Gore's young male visitors from the town and is thus an absolute hoot.

PS Jay Parini's Every Time A Friend Succeeds Something Inside Me Dies: A Life Of Gore Vidal is Radio 4's Book Of The Week this week. It's quite entertaining.

Anthony Clare's In The Psychiatrist's Chair with Uncle Gore will be re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday.

Rent: Nice Work If You Can Get It

Most people think of male prostitution as dangerous, degrading and exploitative work. But there are some who are attempting to reinvent it as a profession free of stigma by using all the tools of modern business, writes Mobeen Azhar...

BBC News Magazine.

A few favourite lines...

Now he has a price list which includes hourly rates and a discount for block booking. He issues loyalty cards so customers who pay for nine "appointments" get their tenth free.

"I get Americans and a lot of Arabs. I've met clients visiting London and now they fly me out to their home countries for my services. I just got back from Munich. I was seeing an arms dealer. The most I've ever made is £30,000 in a month."

"Some days, men come into the [QX] office with suitcases in tow, straight from the airport. Some of them can't even speak English but they want to get their advert sorted out before anything else, even before they've found a place to stay."

For a time he worked in Knightsbridge selling designer menswear in a glossy department store. But his attempt at a normal career was short-lived.

"Drugs are completely unprofessional," he says. "They don't fit in with my brand and what I'm aiming for."

"When I won Male Sex Worker of the Year, I texted my dad," says Brandon. "He said: 'I'm proud of you son.'"

• You can listen to the report on 5 Live Investigates on BBC iPlayer here.

With thanks/apologies to @ohchrisburton. x

Crime Tales: Union Square 1982

A short - newly unearthed - film by Dictelio Cepeda interviewing street hustlers in New York in 1982.