One of the great 20th century political diaries

'A tremendous read' SPECTATOR

'One stops to marvel at the achievement. Honesty, decency, modesty, magnanimity, are stamped on every page, as evident as the wit' EVENING STANDARD

Harold Nicolson was one of the three great political diarists of the 20th century (along with Chips Channon and Alan Clark). Nicolson was an MP (Conservative, 1935-45, who also flirted with Labour after WWII). He had previously been in the Foreign Office and attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and material from his period is included in this new edition for the first time.

Nicolson never achieved high office, but rarely a day went by when he didn't record what was going on at Westminster. He socialised widely, was married to the poet and author Vita Sackville-West, and together they created the famous garden at Sissinghurst. Both were bi-sexuals and had affairs outside their marriage. This new edition also draws on diary entries and letters previously considered too sensitive for inclusion.

The diversity of Harold Nicolson's interests and the irony in his writing make his diary a highly entertaining record of his life and times, as well as a document of great historical value.

A tremendous read * SPECTATOR *
Beautifully written, witty and wise. His son Nigel has edited them brilliantly -- Noel Coward
Nicolson's great gift as a diarist is that he does not simply record events: he brings those events and the characters in them brilliantly to life. His diary entries are astonishingly rich min-portraits of people and places, with a telling eye for detail... Brilliant, riveting stuff * TRIBUNE *
The book as a historical document has so many merits that it is hard to know where to begin * GUARDIAN *
One stops to marvel at the achievement. Honesty, decency, modesty, magnanimity, are stamped on every page, as evident as the wit * EVENING STANDARD *
He remains completely unaware that he is tapping out a masterpiece. As lively as Creevey or the de Goncourts * THE TIMES *
Not only a brilliant portrait of English society, but a touching self-portrait of a highly intelligent and civilised man driven by conscience and curiosity to enter politics -- Kenneth Clark
Beautifully written, witty and wise. His son Nigel has edited them brilliantly -- Noel Coward
He was clever and highly observant and a little absurd, and right at the centre of things. No two pages pass without something to alight on with pleasure . . . A tremendous read * Spectator *
Nicolson's great gift as a diarist is that he does not simply recoprd events: he brings those events and the characters in them brilliantly to life. His diary entries are astonishingly rich min-portraits of people and places, with a telling eye for detail... Brilliant, riveting stuff. * TRIBUNE *

Nigel Nicolson is the co-founder of Weidenfeld & Nicolson; he was a Conservative MP in the 1950s, but was sacked by his Bournemouth and Christchurch constituency for attacking Anthony Eden, the PM, over Suez. He went on to make a career of writing.