Tall Tales from A Privileged World

Oh what a glorious war they had.
Best of everything ; much of it on others money .
Parasites galore.
Eyes were opened wide.
The Great and the Good ? I don’t think so.
Enquire within to know all.

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repetative and engaging

Engrossed in life in ww2 not disimaler to Boris and current 2022 conservative party, I would reduce all parliament privileges, and royal

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brilliant

a brilliant inside look at life in the second world war; love, life, death and intrigue. The narrator is the best I have heard, can't wait for volume 3.

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Totally addictive...I'm.loading volume 3 now.

A treasure trove of history and gossip about the social and political elites..not all bores!

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Even more entertaining than the first volume

Chips is growing on me... though like a fungus or a rose remains to be seen.

In Volume 2 he is maturing. We are in the middle of WW2 and Chips is close to the social action, but well away from the battlefield. His estranged wife Honor is living in sin with her estate manager, while Chips divides his time between Kelvedon Hall and Belgrave Square. When we first catch up with him in this volume, he is still working as PPS to his idolised boss Rab Butler. When Rab moves to Education Chips loses his position, and Rab persuades him that he can have more political influence socially than as a political high-flyer, which he doesn't have the talent for. Chips excels on the social scene and throws himself back into it with gusto, continuing to entertain the elites of the day.

This volume covers a period of loss and loneliness for Chips as he contemplates the scandalous fall-out from Honor's affair, and his loss of the prestige afforded him by being the husband of such a wealthy woman. Chips however has a few skeletons of his own, and is courting young army officer Peter Coats for whom Chips gets the job of ADC to Field Marshall Wavell. Letters and gifts between the pair cross regularly in the diplomatic bag. At the same time Chips is still involved in a semi-incestuous relationship with his brother in law Alan Lennox Boyd. Several of Chips' friends - and enemies - die in course of this volume. His obituaries to them are honest and hilarious - Chips hasn't lost his infinite capacity for vituperation and malice. Most of all Chips misses his son Paul who has been sent to the US for the duration of the war.

Superbly narrated by Tom Ward, I can't wait for Volume 3, due to be published later this year.

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1 person found this helpful

Brilliant reading, fascinating text

Channon is gloriously acid, snobbish, camp, often wrong but also immensely charming and often moving in his diary entries.
I recommend it not least because it's perfectly read by Ward. Everything about the reading is sheer perfection; the voice, the intonation, the pace; the lot.

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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 he diarists key strength I think, is that he can see the best and the worst of a person at once.

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Fascinating

Have lived with Chips and the diaries give an intimate and highly subjective view of the period. So looking forward to the next volume. Well read but several embarrassing mispronunciations.

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Truthful diaries, how unusual

Due to the brutal truth, Chips does not come across as likeable. However he gives a blow by blow account of the political manoeuvring in theHouse of Commons during war time. Although the catalogue of dining made one wonder if there was a war on. No rationing for the MPs and upper classes.

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highly enjoyable, but I missed the footnotes.

Really enjoyed this book (although I did miss not having access to the footnotes, and found myself Googling a lot).

Chip's is such an unlikeable b*tch with few redeeming qualities - but this just made it all the more compelling. The insights into the lives of 'High Society' during the run up to, and the early part of war are fascinating, not least about the politicians in Chip's set.

The narration was wonderful and has sort of ruined any other audiobooks that are not narrated by Tom Ward for me.

I enjoyed volume 1 also, albeit the earlier chapters took some patience, as I imagine knowing Chips must have. The entries around the abdication have really changed my view of that time and the Windsor's, esp Wallace which I wasn't expecting.

I understand volume 3 is out in September and I can't wait.

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