Scott Thorson, a poor boy from a succession of foster homes, met Liberace when he was just 16 years old. Liberace, aged 57, took Scott under his wing as 'the son he'd never had'. By the time Scott was 17, he was also Liberace's lover. Liberace lived life by his credo 'too much of a good thing is wonderful' and Scott shared in it: the fur coats, the Rolls-Royces, the jewellery, the celebrity friends, the 26 lap dogs. A more opulent lifestyle is hard to imagine but it came at a price: Liberace sent Scott to his plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image. By turns bizarre, shocking and touchingly intimate, Behind the Candelabra is a compulsive insight in to Liberace, the man behind the flamboyant performer whose successes provide a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, a man given to every excess.

In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about a legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality. Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace's early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia. His successes create a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo-"too much of a good thing is wonderful"-is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of twenty-six house dogs. Behind the Candelabra also reveals the details of the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson-whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS-and his deathbed reconciliation with Scott.