Diaries, 1971-1983

James Lees-Milne (1908–1997) was a noted expert on the English country house and perhaps the greatest British diarist of the 20th century. Funny, indiscreet, candid, touching, and sharply observed, his journals reveal a fascinating personality and hold up a mirror to historical events large and small. This abridged volume covers Lees-Milne’s life during his sixties and early seventies, when he was living in Gloucestershire with his formidable wife Alvilde. The vicissitudes of a writer's lot are vividly portrayed, and the merry-go-round of life on the Badminton estate of the eccentric Duke of Beaufort is charmingly illustrated, as are various meetings with many friends new and old. Visible throughout this unique collection are Lees-Milne’s most remarkably poignant own feelings of joy, regret, frustration, amusement, and love.