Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Volume 2): 1938-43

Henry 'Chips' Channon: The Diaries #2

by Henry Channon, Simon Heffer (Editor)

The second volume of the remarkable, Sunday Times bestselling diaries of Chips Channon.

'A masterpiece - a time machine that transports the reader back to British politics and high society at the end of the 1930s.' Robert Harris

'The uncensored, unvarnished thought of one of the 20th century's greatest diarists. - Best Biographies of the Year, Telegraph

'An unrivalled guide to the social and political life of Britain in the first half of the 20th century.' Books of the Year, The Times

'Fascinating.' New Statesman

'Never a dull day, never a dull sentence.' Daily Mail
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This second volume of the bestselling diaries of Henry 'Chips' Channon takes us from the heady aftermath of the Munich agreement, when the Prime Minister so admired by Chips was credited with having averted a general European conflagration, through the rapid unravelling of appeasement, and on to the tribulations of the early years of the Second World War. It closes with a moment of hope, as Channon, in recording the fall of Mussolini in July 1943, 'The war must be more than half over.'

For much of this period, Channon is genuinely an eye-witness to unfolding events. He reassures Neville Chamberlain as he fights for his political life in May 1940. He chats to Winston Churchill while the two men inspect the bombed-out chamber of the House of Commons a few months later. From his desk at the Foreign Office he charts the progress of the war. But with the departure of his boss 'Rab' Butler to the Ministry of Education, and Channon's subsequent exclusion from the corridors of power, his life changes - and with it the preoccupations and tone of the diaries. The conduct of the war remains a constant theme, but more personal preoccupations come increasingly to the fore. As he throws himself back into the pleasures of society, he records his encounters with the likes of Noël Coward, Prince Philip, General de Gaulle and Oscar Wilde's erstwhile lover Lord Alfred Douglas. He describes dinners with members of European royal dynasties, and recounts gossip and scandal about the great, the good and the less good. And he charts the implosion of his marriage and his burgeoning, passionate friendship with a young officer on Wavell's staff.

These are diaries that bring a whole epoch vividly to life.

Genres: Diary, History, Nonfiction, British Literature

1120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2021

About the author

He was educated in the United States and France and served in Europe with the American Red Cross during the First World War.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the first volume of Chips Channon's salacious and gossipy diaries, I was thrilled to be back in his snobbish, social climbing circles. This volume takes us from 1938 to midway through 1943. As always, Channon combines a sharp and witty eye with a tendency to support the losing side, makind those reading his words to realise the disappointments that lay in store for him. In addition, in personal matters, he is often unobservant and oblivious to the obvious, so, while his wife, Honor's, love of skiing and ski instructors - and unwillingness to have another child - were red signs that something was very wrong with his marriage, poor Chips does a lot of resentful hand-wringing in his diary, unwilling to accept that he would be usurped by a man of far less social standing than himself. The previous Lady Honor Guinness came from a wealthy family and he spends much time worrying about the financial implications of his marital woes in this volume, but seems more distressed by the humiliation of being left than of the end of the marriage itself.

Channon was an appeaser, a devotee of Chamberlain and Conservative MP for Southend. When this volume begins he is the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rab Butler. He disliked Churchill and positively hated his son, Randolph Churchill, so is, you realise, destined for career disappointments alongside his marital one as he realises that his wife no longer loves him and that the country is headed for war. Always ready to ridicule, he dislikes the 'Glamour Boys,' and plotting and intrigue abound as Chamberlain falls from favour and there is disquieting news of an acquaintance arrested by the Gestapo who later dies in questionable circumstances. Still, Channon remains loyal to Chamberlain and resents all who backed Churchill. As England moved into the phoney war, he muses whether, "Hitler is trying to bore us into peace?"

By 1940, Channon has a positive event in his life, as he meets Peter Coats (later referred to by others as 'Petticoats,' or even 'Mrs Chips,') and spends large amounts of money on him, showering him with gifts. Coats will become his life partner, but, at this time the love affair is young and the two are separated by war. The rich move into hotels, Chips wonderes by he has not been promoted and Chamberlain is ousted. Chips is in the centre of events at this time and it is fascinating to read of this period from his perspective. The early war news was ominous, France falls, there are real feels of invasion and Chips arranges to have his only son, his beloved Paul, to the US and safety.

As the war continues, Chips combines bomb shelters and dinners with aplomb. Thrust into the company of those he has previously not really thought about he is astonished to see a maid reading the financial section of the Times while bombs fall and the Blitz begins. Later, he deplores a visit to a matinee as full of, 'provincials and unknowns.' Sleep becomes a luxury, the war looks gloomy and Chips suffers while waiting to hear Paul has arrived safely in America. Meanwhile, Honor's desire for divorce leaves him distressed and wretched - meaning he would be financially and socially compromised and fearful of exposure and ridicule.

Seriously upset, Chips takes the opportunity to travel to Cairo in 1941 and meet up with Peter. He goes to Jordan and Jerulsalem and is depressed and lonely at returning to London. He is out of favour as his close friend, Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, was exiled and his alliance with appeasement. His career, marriage and future all seem to have stalled and he fears for his future. By 1942, Honor is asking for a divorce and wishes to change her name to that of her new lover, a married man of a far lower social standing. He was also a great admirer of Edward VIII who abdicated and never warmed to George VI, finding him dull and boring. Despite being a royalist, he is decidedly luke warm towards the royal family and out of favour with everyone despite his close friends the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

This then is another volume full of intrigue and gossip, with the added additions of personal despair and war. Chips Channon will have his own losses, including the death of his mother, the Duke of Kent and the fear that Prince Paul will die after contracting malaria. However, it is debatable how deeply he feels things - announcing himself 'broken hearted' over Prince Paul's illness, he then goes off for cocktails and worries more about who will inherit anything left by his mother than by her death. He still servies delicious dinners despite rationing (although he worries about his own weight loss, unsurprising during that period, even for the wealthy), deplors the rising crime of the blackout and by the end of this volume has had a house fire, the return of Major Coats and is debating bringing back his son - who is probably the only person he seems to love unconditionally. At the end of this book, he hears Mussolini has been otherthrown and he is stunned and hopeful the war is nearly over. I look forward to reading the last volume of his diaries. Whatever his shortcomings, Chips Channon's overly sensitive, sharp and sarcastic pen, paints an interesting, and intensely personal, picture of that period of wartime Britain.

[Ken Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Conservative MP and socialite, Henry “Chips” Channon, was a brilliant writer with an acid wit who also had an amazing capacity to misunderstand the people and events of the days that he lived through and chronicled.

His wife, Honor, an heiress to the Guinness fortune, had been having affairs since at least 1937 with various muscular European skiing instructors, and this volume begins with Chips devoting many words to his fears that the marriage was breaking up. He could not understand why and tied himself in knots trying to make sense of Honor’s attitude.

In 1940 when the German airforce bombed a farm belonging to Honor, Chips was disgusted by the attitude of Frank Woodman, Honor’s land bailiff towards her: “He is insolent, swaggers about, and treats her with scant respect. She allows herself to be so familiar with that sort of people.”

To anyone reading Chips’ diary entry it is so blindingly obvious that Honor had become Frank Woodman’s lover. That is why he treated her as he did because he knew what she looked like in bed. She for her part responded well to the man who knew how to treat her as a woman. Given her proclivity for being bedded by men who were masculine to their cores, nobody can be surprised that she became obedient to a horse breeder who knew how to treat a thoroughbred filly.

When eventually Honor told Chips that she wanted a divorce, he went into an engaging meltdown and then on almost the next page he listed the money that he would make after a divorce, starting with the £5,000 a year that will be paid to him by her for agreeing to it. (That is about £250,000 in today’s money, by the way.)

By that time Chips had met Peter Coates, the upper-class rent boy who was known by those in the know as Petticoats, and by the more waspish amongst them as Mrs Chips. The two stayed together until Chips’ death in 1958, but as Simon Heffer points out in his editor’s introduction, Chips spent about £1,000 on Coats between their first meeting in mid-1939 and the end of that year. Heffer makes the point that this sum would be around £55,000 today, so Chips was clearly much taken with Petticoats.

Channon was no better at understanding the political events that also swirled around him. He had supported Chamberlain’s Munich Agreement with Hitler in 1938, and was devastated at the decision by Germany in March of 1939 to recognize the breakaway state of Slovakia, and then to grab the Czech speaking rump of Czechoslovakia. However, in Chips’ mind this seemed more like Hitler betraying Neville Chamberlain personally, and less like the mark of a reckless gambler who was always playing double or quits, which is what it was.

The Norway debate in 1940 which led to the downfall of Neville Chamberlain is a masterpiece of reportage, mixed with a complete failure to understand just what was actually going on. Chamberlain won the division by eighty votes and for Chips that was more than enough. However, it obviously wasn’t when such large numbers of Tories had either voted against their own government or abstained.

So to Chips disgust, the man he hero worshipped resigned and Steepledick, the mocking nickname that the anti-Churchill faction had for Winston Churchill took office as Prime Minister. Simon Heffer, who is no bad hand at dry wit, explained that the steeple part of the jibe was a play on the first syllable of Churchill’s name before going on to remind us that the nickname never really took off.

Channon kept his junior government post until mid-1941, and his war entries have a lot of good information. For instance on the 20th of June 1941, Channon mentioned to friends that the Germans were going to attack Russia on the 22nd, which they duly did. That information about the attack had reached down to such low levels in the government, and that Channon could mention it over dinner, suggests that knowledge of the attack was pretty widespread in London.

Once the attack did commence, instead of looking at ways to aid Russia, Channon slipped into his old habit of not understanding just what needed to be done; instead, he dedicated much wordage to what would happen if Germany succeeded in her war-aim. He was convinced that she would win, and that would be the end of the British Empire and the likes of Chips and his circle.

These caveats aside, Chips wrote incredibly well in a gossiping, housewifely style. He met Lord Alfred Douglas, the infamous Bosie who had done so much to destroy Oscar Wilde’s life and reports without comment that Bosie had denied ever being “Wilde’s catamite”. Then, his advice was sought by a constituent who was also the mother of an 18-year-old daughter who was being courted by an over-sixty baronet. Chips advised the mother to encourage the match, presumably so that in a few short years the girl could become a merry widow. Finally, he got into the habit of giving lifts to people during the bombing raids and one working man gave him a shilling tip when he alighted from Chips’ car. For once, Henry “Chips” Channon was rendered speechless by someone and that did not happen very often.

Normally, Chips had an answer for everything, usually very cutting, as at Chamberlain’s funeral in 1940 when he asked a fellow mourner who had not supported Chamberlain if the man had sent a wreath. When told that he hadn’t, Chips remarked that of course, “Decent Judas Blossoms are out of season,” before strolling away to leave his victim seething.

As a war diary this volume is sadly lacking in many ways, but as an account of life during the war for Channon and people of his circle it is a valuable source of information and gossip. Sadly, once Chips was out of office, the social scene takes over almost completely, along with tedious yearnings for Peter Coates who was away with the army.

Regretfully, Simon Heffer made the editorial decision to censor one entry which refers to a still living person. There are only two that this could be, the first being Clarissa Eden who is 101 and an unlikely candidate. The other is the present Queen, and in spite of Heffer’s protest that the entry “adds nothing to historical knowledge” that really is for us to decide in a volume that is sold as unexpurgated.

That objection aside, enough remains to make this work a worthy successor to the first volume and leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the third and final part which is due to be published in 2022.

An edited version of my review has appeared in The Brazen Head, a quarterly online literary and political journal. https://brazen-head.org

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all its 1,050 pages, HENRY 'CHIPS' CHANNON: The Diaries 1938-43 is an engaging, highly informative, and entertaining account of life as experienced by a Conservative Member of Parliament (M.P.) spanning the period October 1, 1938 to July 25, 1943.

'Chips' was one of those obscure historical figures who had cast his star to that of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He was an unabashed and consummate social climber who was apprehensive about the efforts among a coterie of Conservative M.P.s, chief among them Winston Churchill and his protégé Anthony Eden, to upset Chamberlain's appeasement policies toward Nazi Germany.

In retrospect, one can see that the Munich Agreement as arrived at by Britain, France, and Germany in September 1938 (through which Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland region was ceded to Germany without any Czech input on the matter) brought Britain an extra year in which to re-arm against the growing threat to peace in Europe posed by Hitler. But at the time 'Chips' describes in these diaries, Chamberlain felt that Hitler could be held to his word when he asserted that he had no more territorial demands to make in Europe. Unfortunately, the afterglow of a preserved peace that prevailed over Europe after Munich was a short-lived one. For in March 1939, Hitler sent the Wehrmacht to occupy the remainder of Czechoslovakia and began the process of harassing Poland over transit rights for Germany through the so-called 'Polish Corridor' to East Prussia, in which Germany held a proprietorial interest. (Prior to November 1918, East Prussia and parts of Western Poland had been German.) Consequently, Britain and France made security guarantees to Poland, assuring it of their support should Germany attack Poland.

What I found most fascinating about these diaries is Chips' astute eye for detail, as well as his writing style, and his insights into himself and the lives of the various people with whom he had close relationships or knew slightly through his social contacts and connections as an M.P.

Again, as in Volume 1 of the Diaries, Simon Heffer does an outstanding job as editor of identifying the various personages who touched upon Chips' life between 1938 and 1943 (which briefly included a young JFK when his father was U.S. Ambassador to Britain) and providing context through the insertion of footnotes of the historical significance of the people and happenings Chips speaks about. As a reader with a deep interest in history and a fascination with the lives of people who made their mark on history (be it large or small), I appreciated that. Furthermore, the Diaries also contain photos of Chips and the various people who were part of his life.

There were also some purely personal reflections made by Chips that were enough to make me chuckle, such as the following:

From Monday, March 18th, 1940: "Came up to London in the morning; still nervous and aggrieved with Alan [Lennox-Boyd, his brother-in-law, who also, like Chips, was much more attracted to men than women]. Later he rang me up and we lunched together at the House [of Commons]. I warned him that his marriage was likely to crack - his selfishness is colossal and his insane worship of that vampire, his mother, will lead him to disaster. He cannot see it; I should like him to profit by my mistakes - but he won't."

From his diary entry for Tuesday, September 8th, 1942, Chips has the following to say about Winston Churchill: "... He always expects to dominate the House, and never does, although he usually dominates or terrorises it. Many people hate him. I have a deep and bitter loathing of him which dates from many years; yet I see his great and many qualities: but he remains a selfish, paranoidicial [sic] old ape, charmless, arrogant, grumpy, disagreeable, bullying, irritating, indeed infuriating ..."

And what Chips has to say about his mother, from whom he had been estranged for many years (both nevertheless maintained a distant, sporadic correspondence) I think, says a lot about him and his coldness towards his parents in general.

From Friday, June 18th, 1943:

"A cable was on my breakfast tray announcing that my mother died yesterday in St Luke's Hospital, Chicago where in the days of long ago (1927, I think!) I had my tonsils out. ... I have had no regrets, little remorse, still less sadness - yet. Her death is a release to her and me, and everybody. For years and years she has been a problem for she was more than half-mad, even eccentric, always unattractive and supremely selfish. I think she was, as doctors, psychiatrists as long ago as 1923 declared, a paranoiac and even dangerous, but always untidy, careless, suspicious, strange, depressed, lonely, she led a ghastly life and should have died thirty years ago. Of course, it is a shock."

For any reader with an interest in the interwar period and World War II, I highly recommend this book. Reading it for me was time well spent.

[Arnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[Phil Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the book is rather like eating sultana pudding. You eat lots of stodge in the confident expectation you will soon come across another sultana. His description of endless cocktail and dinner parties with list of guests is tiresome but you have to press on in the confident expectation of soon coming across a juicy revelation.
Channon is now at the heart of British political society at the momentous time of the start of WWII. He has married into the Guinness family, one of the richest in the country, so is able to mix with the great, if not the good, throwing money around with lavish entertaining. He is clearly someone of ability despite his fascination with social trivia. He obtains influential political office but is told by his boss “RAB” Butler, that his forte is the behind the scenes social influencer. Indeed he is the ultimate social networker, observing and recording everything. He is at the very centre of the social and political scene, and it seems almost to revolve around him. After he loses his job as a parliamentary private secretary it gets less interesting politically and the sultanas are less frequent. What one is left with is a series of puzzling questions:
- With the war at a critical stage, how could he fill his diary with trivia and often not reference some of the major war events? The one side of his brain thought there could be an invasion tomorrow as the other side was worrying whether his country mansion was sufficiently grand.
- Why was he so superficial when judging the performance of Churchill and the War Cabinet. He seemed to have no sympathy for Churchill and the difficulties of the war campaign but only how he performed in parliament.
- How could they still seem to dine at Claridges etc, with champagne flowing when there was rationing?
- How could he be so hateful about his parents when up to the time of his marriage, they had entirely funded his lifestyle?
- There is much unanswered about his homosexuality. He never seems to link his marital problems to his homosexuality. Was it a blind spot of did he think it irrelevant? Did his social set realise he was homosexual? We get many descriptions of his yearnings but have no idea whether this was unseen by most of those around him? Which men actually were his actual lovers? Eg Duke of Kent? One guesses he was guarded in his language because of the risk, both to him and others, should the diaries fall into the wrong hands.
- Why did he still seem to have an inferiority complex wanting to brag in his diaries his various claimed achievements?
- How could he still support Chamberlain and appeasement even after Hitler’s true nature was indisputable? In his eyes, Britain was responsible for the war by choosing to protect Poland.
- What was the break with the King and Queen which was never quite acknowledged?
- What was it that people liked about him eg Field Marshal Wavell? Was he indeed liked by his social set or was his lavish entertaining the price he had to pay?

[Diana Cheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is better than the first one for me, as personally I find it to be more a more interesting period of history. However, it’s just as salacious, scandalous, shocking and surprising on every page! Fascinating man and a very good writer. Heffer’s editing is also excellent and great footnotes.
I can’t wait for the next one!

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars with the proviso that the truly fastidious may wish to keep a very large bottle of Lysol nearby. I have read all three volumes. That is a lot of Chips.

When I reviewed the first volume I mentioned what a bad idea it is to have your editor be someone who clearly dislikes you. Once again, Simon Heffer's footnotes are at least as entertaining as anything Channon writes. More, because you don't think that Heffer --- unlike dear Chips --- is helping bring on a World War through his work.

I have some thoughts, so this review will also be posted for Volume Three.

As a Tory member of Parliament for most of his life, Channon worked behind the scenes. That is a polite way of saying his career never advanced past glorified flunky because no one in his right mind trusted him. Chips knew everybody important, although he was only truly comfortable with women who wore tiaras and minor Yugoslavian royalty. Channon was almost dead (1958) by the time he received a coveted knighthood. The reader knows it was coveted because by the time the last volume rolls around Channon mentions how much he longs to be in the House of Lords on what feels like every other page. He is also married to Honor Guinness (yes, thoseGuinnesses) at least for the beginning of Volume Two. However, Chips doesn't limit himself to one side of the street. He has affairs with men throughout the period 1938-1958, and at least two long-term relationships that well outlast his marriage. It is an indication of Channon's character that he doesn't want to divorce Honor because 1) all that Guinness money might go away. It doesn't because Honor was such a pill that the Guinness family tended to blame her for deserting Channon without close investigation as to why she spent so much time skiing alone during their marital years. They have a child, Paul, whom Chips persists in calling his "Dauphin" and whom Honor ignores before marrying again, this time to an auto mechanic, which is a long way to go to make a point. Meanwhile, Chips is simultaneously canoodling with the aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India and Terence Rattigan, with strong hints of one-night stands with Noel Coward and Ivor Novello. Chips got around.

The chief horror of these absolutely insufferable, indispensable diaries for students of the period is that Chips is wrong about everything. He worshiped Neville Chamberlain, and Channon goes to his grave still thinking that World War II was a disaster. The reader can be forgiven for thinking Chips means it was a disaster for Chips alone as he throws off nonstop bitchy remarks about Jews, the Queen Mothe, Nancy Astor, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Alfred Duff Cooper, the French, the Americans (Chips is perpetually unhappy because he is originally from Chicago), his parents, the Guinnesses, the King, the Duke of Kent, Clement Attlee, people of color, you name it. He is misogynistic and weirdly homophobic given his own circumstances, but consistency is not Channon's long suite save for being wrong about every single blessed political issue in his lifetime. And this was all in the House of Commons, the governing heart of the British Empire. Men and women died because of the ineptitude of Chamberlain and his people. Chamberlain died before the full horrors of the Nazi regime became obvious at the end of the war, but Channon has no excuse. He is indeed proud of the fact that he thinks the Jews "asked" for it.

Channon's UK narrowly avoids destruction by 1945, but struggles to recover. The Empire is gone by Channon's death, and he makes no secret of the fact that this outcome means the war wasn't worth it. It is an indication of Channon's truncated world view that he cannot see that the Empire was unsustainable. But his only real concerns are his Dauphin, his 18th century dining room in London, his country estate, how young he still looks and whether he is invited to the best parties. Meanwhile, entire cities are being bombed out of existence and the imperial troops are engaged all over the map trying to stop the Nazis (Channon doesn't care about the Japanese unless they invade India and put his friend into harm's way). At the end of the war the exhausted country tried to come to grips with its losses and unavoidably diminished world power status. Chips is merely happy that he can take his son to Germany and introduce him to German aristocrats.

The diaries are the residue of an awful human being, but are as necessary for an understanding of the decline and fall of the British Empire as the duc de Saint-Simon's are for the court of Louis XIV. And all three volumes are impeccably edited by Heffer.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was he as terrible in person as he was in his diary? I for one know, having read a biography of her, that his on again / off again friend and dining guest Lady Diana Cooper, who he both loved and hated in various pages in his diary, was as causally racist (and quite possibly anti-Semitic, although I don’t remember that) as he was, in person, in front of people, so I imagine he was as well. People were like that. People are still like that, when other people aren’t around. Or not. There aren’t many redeemable qualities about him. He loved his son. And he was reasonably loyal to the Duchess of Windsor - he never bad mouthed her in the diary, at least up to 1943. So why, you may ask, did I keep reading this diary of a name after name after name dropping, almost but not quite Nazi-loving (the ice was thin), Royalty ass-kissing snob above all snobs? These diaries are a pointillist portrait of a man’s life - a queer man, no less, who is more or less openly queer in his diary (if not his life), a queer man who brushed up against some of the most famous people of the 20th century (Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, Anthony Eden, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor). He heard Churchill giving those famous speeches and wrote about them. He knew Prince Philip was “the one” (his close friendship with the Greek royal family gave him some inside knowledge). He was undeniable terrible, but also terribly fascinating (and maybe we all are undeniably terrible in our private diaries, although he buried them in the backyard when he thought the Nazis were going to invade England - yes, you read that right - so he had plans for them all along, so he was choosing his words). This is not a book for everyone, certainly. But if you know the times, and can stand all the footnotes, you’ll enjoy it.

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second installment in the mammoth diaries of Chips Channon, this volume covering the years 1938 to mid 1943 and weighing in at some 1050 pages. Channon may not have been much of a politician remaining as a backbencher but he knew anyone and everyone in society and his diaries are witty, bitchy, illuminating, fascinating and grand. Some of his comments are not acceptable by todays standards being antisemitic and racist but were not unusual by those of the period and a deliberate decision was commendably made not not to alter the record. Chips is also capable of great loyalty and the diaries contain many wonderful vignettes of politics and London society in the last year of peace and WW2, this volume ending with the news of the fall of Mussolini.
This volume covers the end of his marriage, his deep sense of longing for his child (sent to safety in America during the war), his bisexuality and relationship with Peter Coates, his loyalty to his close friend Prince Peter, the Regent of Yugoslavia pilloried for the pact with Hitler in 1941 and his respect for Neville Chamberlain. Chips was associated with the appeasers and disliked Churchill which damaged his political career. Although he was a rich man by any account Chips spent freely and entertaining a dazzling array of people , the diaries reoccurring muse on his money worries.
All in all the publication of these diaries (a heavily censored and editted version appeared in the 1960s) places Chips into the pantheon of the great diarists and they are truly a portrait of the age.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found volume 2 of Chips Channon's diaries more interesting than volume 1 as he experiences the outbreak of the Second World War from his role in the foreign office and undertakes travel to Africa and Yugoslavia. There are some brief moments of personal growth amidst Channon's acerbic descriptions of politicians and dinner parties as he muses about whether he has been too hard on his parents or too selfish and materialistic and later learns about the full horrors of Nazi Germany. His marriage to Honor Guinness comes to an end and he forms a close relationship with Peter Coats. He mourns the loss of the Duke of Kent and is one of the few members of the House of Commons to attend the royal funeral. Like Volume 1, however, the diary is more interesting than the diarist. Once he leaves the foreign office, Channon devotes his time to his social life and does very little for the war effort (and seems confused by society ladies who are suddenly devoting themselves to farming or nursing). Despite his house being bombed, Channon never seems to wrap his mind around the hardships caused by the Second World War and never seems to think of his constituents during his time in the House of Commons. The audiobook narration is excellent but the introduction could be expanded to place the people and events of the diary in greater historical context.

[Laura Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ever changing mind of Chips. As I had listened to Volume one I felt I had to go on to finish them all. To be very honest with you I have backed and forwarded on whether or not I like Mr Channon. I admire his drinking powers because I can tell you I would not be able to drink and eat the way Channon did. He must have had something about him as people (well society at least seemed to like him) I admire his skill in brining to life the war years. He had a charmed life he never did a hard days work in his life but had money much money. Yet the people he got his money from particularly his parents he was horrible about. His wife and her parents likewise. He is politically naïve and those real politician's know this so he never rises about PPS. He well to my mind was a terrible MP for Southend, he carried very little for this constituency or indeed those who fought and won the war while he swilled Champers, slept around with many men and gossiped like an old woman. Indeed the only redeeming qualities about him seem to be his love of his son Paul. (Named for his former lover the Regent of Yugoslavia) The diary is funny in parts, his run-ins with Mrs. Astor who was another person he hated. It was either love or hate with Chips no Grey area. He was lucky very lucky that he got away with what he did because today you can be sure he would be cancelled.

[Reason Restored · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very particular lens on history.
Channon continues to obsess over class, wealth, privilege and power as only a real arriviste, such as he is, can do.
His hypocrisy grows as he continually fails to grasp how he has backed the wrong horse in every area of political and societal life. That said, his insights into the people he comes into contact with, and their personalities, are insightful and have credibility given his close proximity to these people and the events of their time. Only superficially shocking, only a fool would think the revelations about people’s complex personalities are a surprise. His insight into some of the behind the scenes political machinations of power during WW2 are sometimes genuinely new. And the portraits of figures like General Wavell are fascinating. His personal sensibilities and indeed his great romance show almost contradictory sides to a peculiar but interesting figure.
I’ve seen another review that implies it’s an insight into how awful ‘the great and the good’ are. I don’t agree at all. It simply shows that people at all levels are human, but this diarists key strength I think, is that he can see the best and the worst of a person all at once.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of prolific diarist Henry 'Chips' Channon does not disappoint. Coming in at a staggering 1120 pages, it has taken me some time to read it all but the nature of the writing and the structure as a diary enables one to dip in and out easily and to take time savouring the eloquent record of the lives of the upper classes during WWII.
Channon had a unique position in society as a close friend to European royals and significant political figures of this period and consequently provides an equally unique viewpoint of what was actually going on behind the scenes during this period of global turbulence.
At times narcissistic , insecure and egocentric, Channon makes wry and clinically sharp observations on those he encounters and of the politics of the day.
From the fall of Chamberlain, the ascent of Churchill and following the progress of the war, we discover many secrets of the era and alternative view points on what history has told us so far.
This is an engrossing and important account of this period of our history and deserves to be widely accessible. Looking forward to Volume Three.

[Becky Motew · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

Yummy yummy! What a great reality series this would have made! Chips is an insufferable snob of course and hates Americans, being himself from Chicago! One of the many humorous moments is a scene of Chips holed up with Wallis Simpson, confirming with each other how much they despise their countrymen. Ha!

Social climbers extraordinaire!

It is exhilarating to read of Lady Cunard (Emerald) stating at some dinner party that "no man has ever been faithful in a marriage for more than three years." "Oh, but you never knew my Freeman," says Lady Soandso to which Emerald replies, "Perhaps more than you think."

Ha again! Worthy of Dorothy Parker! (quotations approximate)

Chips doesn't care for Winston C, though he does praise his oratory. He can't stand DeGaulle. It's terribly interesting to read these opinions, ones we never hear in the mythologized stories that have been handed down to us. I read somewhere that when news of the diaries emerged, people turned "ashen."

I can well see why.

[Neil Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chips in full snob

Again very interesting reading about both the political and society life in London during these years.

Chips, increasingly certain of his own capabilities and exploits and increasingly more snobbish. Quite amazing how he looks down on the, as he describes them, 'common people'. It is quite astounding when you consider his lavish lifestyle and position as MP are totally due to the generosity of other people, his in-laws the Iveaghs. Even after his separation from hIs wife, his father in-law continues to support his lfestyle.

I was also surprised, that even with rationing in full swing at this time, he and the rest of society managed to throw what appear to be lavish lunches and dinners for large groups of people.

If you have read and enjoyed volume l, this second book will.not disappoint.

[Stephen King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phew! I’ve finished this very densely typed 1000+ page set of caustic diaries covering the period from the late 30’s to 1943 and the fall of Mussolini. Simon Heffer’s re-editing of the diaries is magnificent and more nuanced than Peter Coat’s version from the 1960’s which was heavily edited and omitted large sections due to his unwillingness to offend living subjects. Coats as Channon’s partner was also highly conflicted. These diaries are a unique window into high society in wartime London and the exhausting round of dinners, luncheons and country visits which the upper classes still managed to pursue at the height of WWII. It’s also interesting to hear from an MP who wasn’t a supporter of Churchill (despite being a member of his government). Highly recommended but get yourself a good reading light !

[Pauline Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Ward's reading of these diaries is fantastic, as well as the diaries themselves. I love Chips snobbery, his sucking up to royalty of all nationalities, his put-downs of almost everyone in his upper-class circle, the sly references to homosexual activity and off-hand reference to it in others, the endless dinners, lunches, grand houses and sumptuous living, and all this even during the war. And yet, he's an MP and not once in all that time does he mention his constituents or their needs. All we get on his visits to Southampton is where he's made a good or bad speech. And his anti-Semitism is sickening. I have stopped in 1940 as a break but will pick up later to hear his divorce and fully-fledged flight into homosexuality.

[Jean M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible audiobook and perfectly narrated by Tom Ward. Chips Channon comes alive and I felt I had a ringside seat to all of the main events of the first half of the 20th century as they were unfolding. The diaries are gossipy, scandalous, scurrilous but well informed and insightful, although many of Chips’ opinions are abhorrent. I am looking forward to the third volume. I tried reading the books but found the footnotes too distracting because I wanted to read all of them so listening but having the actual text to consult was the best of both worlds. Congratulations, Simon Heffer! Editing must have taken over your entire life! If there were an Oscar for audiobook narration, Tom Ward should win it for his unfaltering performance.

[PerGustav Eriksson]

Brilliant and revealing diaries written by a snob who knew or were acquainted with almost everybody in aristocratic society, politics, military, journalism and art.

An interesting and scandalous blend of contemporary gossip, observations and criticism.

A must read for people who are interested in the 1920s - 1950s when London was the center of the world and Britain still was a kind of global mega power.

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long read - lots of nonsense from this rather stuck up snob who would have had England on side with the Nazis , the Fascists and Franco .
A fine example of certain members of ‘society’ getting through WW2 enjoying bridge , champagne and oysters - I do not think much has changed in eighty years . Some parts are so up their own fundaments that you would have to laugh - why was there not a revolution in England in the 20s ?

[Browncadoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get over the narcasistic and self-deluded character of the man, and take a lot of his assessments as spite and jealousy, there are some worthwhile insights into the history of the times and the attitudes of the rich and priveledged.

[Faith McLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear CHIPS! A fantastic diarist, a jaw-dropping snob. He had a ringside seat to history. I didn't think I could follow this as an audiobook, but it turns out to be a splendid way of consuming these fascinating, irritating diaries.

[William Standley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the war and pre war portions the most. Enjoyment from the his views/gossip aspects and how and if they changed pertaining to certain personalities over time. And of course the "pretension" aspect of his class was entertaining.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a dull moment. There won't be the like of he again, perhaps that is a good thing.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

7th Sep - 27th Oct 2025
A 7 week Chips Channon Marathon - all 3 volumes together. What a journey. He was always amusing, but you can't help think that his was a shallow life. Apart from his minimal work as an MP his time was spent frivolously and his lack of morals and fidelity and casual racism more than jarred. His redeeming feature was his love for his friends and son. I wonder though whether they were true friends in the sense I understand today. I don't understand the motivations of the society he moved in. Does anyone live this lifestyle now, maybe in somewhere like Monaco?

A massive tome, it was much harder to enjoy than the first one due to his pro Chamberlain and appeasement views. It drove me crazy how deluded he remained to the threat of Hitler. He blamed the war on anyone but him. Due to those views & his removal from a role in politics the second half of the diaries just detailed his frenetic social and love life, which was much more enjoyable. Viewing the war on a day by day basis through the House of Commons and Channon's contacts was interesting. Was Churchill really as unpopular in 1942 as he reports?

I am looking forward to the last installment to see if he recants any of those views and how he coped with the post war austerity (if that's even an issue for someone of his means).

[Jim Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since Alan Clark's diaries were published, publishers have been trying to recapture the lightening in a bottle like that. This book tries to do that, by looking at the diaries of a man who knew many of the great and the good in the 1930s to 1950s, but couldn't pick the right side of an issue with an instruction manual and a crystal ball.

The result is that we'll get a close up view of an extreme right winger who knew a lot of rich British people during the war, but unless you know the people concerned (and it's possible you won't), you'll struggle to see why you should carry on reading the book, because it won't be because of Channon's insights, he had very few.