ThisthirdandfinalvolumeoftheunexpurgateddiariesofSirHenry’Chips’ChannonbeginsastheSecondWorldWaristurningintheAllies’favour.ItendswithChipsdescendingintopoorhealthbutstillabletoturnapointedphraseaboutthepoliticaleventsthatswirlaroundhimandthegreatandthegoodwithwhomhemingles.ThroughoutthesefinalfourteenyearsChipsassiduouslydescribeseventsinandaroundWestminster,gossipingaboutindividualMPs’ambitionsandindiscretions,butalsorisingpowerfullytotheoccasiontocapturethemoodoftheHouseonVEDayortheceremonyofGeorgeVI’sfuneral.Hisenergies,though,areincreasinglyabsorbedbyaprivatelifethatattimesreachesByzantinelevelsofcomplexity.WeencountertheLondonofthetheatreandthecinema,peopledbysuchfiguresasJohnGielgud,LaurenceOlivier,VivienLeighandDouglasFairbanksJr,aswellasaseeminglyendlessgrandpartiesatwhichChipsmightwellrubshoulderswithCecilBeaton,theMountbattens,oranynumberofdethronedEuropeanmonarchs.Hehasbeendescribedas’ThegreatestBritishdiaristofthe20thcentury’.Thisfinalvolumefullyjustifiesthataccolade.
