The second of the trilogy of abridged volumes from the diaries praised as 'one of the treasures of English literature'
James Lees-Milne died in 1997. Once Country Houses Secretary of the National Trust, he is now best known for his memoirs and diaries, described by Jeremy Lewis as second to none in their comicality, rueful self-knowledge and feline observations. Michael Bloch, his friend and literary executor, is now writing his life.
'Acute observation is coupled with entertaining literary style and ever-present humour ... Michael Bloch has edited these diaries formidably well' -- Bevis Hillier 'Woefully funny, elegantly observed, appallingly indiscreet, these diaries are the best record we have of a world still recognizable but fast vanishing beneath the waves of history' -- Peter Parker 'His pages abound in delightful shafts of self-revelation ... a singularly funny, modest, sweet, lovable gentleman whose controversial prose is yet infused with a poetic vision of the essence of Old England' -- Hugh Massingberd 'Raw emotions, fearlessly expressed, spice every page' -- Duff Hart-Davis 'Always honest, always curious, always lovable' -- Lynn Barber 'What matters the clash of titans, when a clear and fastidious intellect shares its preoccupation with the minutiae of a civilised gentleman's day?' -- Alan Clark 'The qualities which make his diaries addictive reading include a sense of the ridiculous, and a total frankness about whatever shows him at a disadvantage. He is wonderfully observant, and his sheer humanity shines out on every page' -- The Field 'Unquestionably one of the greatest English diarists, a rival to Pepys' -- David Watkin
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