The Duff Cooper Diaries [Hardcover]

John Julius Norwich (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0297848437 | ISBN-13: 978-0297848431 | Publication Date: September 28, 2007 | Edition: 3

A witness to numerous significant events from 1914 to 1950, the life of Duff Cooper is explored in full in this collection of diaries. From life as a young soldier at the end of World War I, as a politician during the General Strike of 1926, as King Edward VIII's friend at the time of the Abdication, and to Paris after being liberated in 1944 when he became British ambassador, this reveling and insightful resource is superbly edited by Cooper’s son, John Julius Norwich, whose familial link ensures all kinds of additional information as footnotes. With additional details on Cooper’s numerous, public love affairs, this enthralling diary captures history as it was being made.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a portrait of an equable, intelligent man, by profession a diplomat and politician, in private, a dedicated hedonist, a reckless gambler and bon viveur, with a profound love of literature and an insatiable appetite for beautiful women... good diaries, candid and courageous... as his son, John Julius Norwich, writes in an excellent Introduction." -- SELINA HASTINGS SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "John Julius Norwich provides a short though admirably well-judged introduction and footnotes identifying all the characters... evident are [Duff Cooper's] courage, his exuberance, his sense of humour, his lack of pomposity, his warmth, his loyalty. This is a dazzling self-portrait of a man who lived life to the full, relished it enormously and gave much joy to others in so doing." -- PHILIP ZIEGLER SPECTATOR "enthralling volume, scrupulously edited, is a welcome act of filial homage that brings to life a world that now seems as remoteas Restoration England... a vivid, fascinating... portrait of an age. Frank, amusing and generally well-written... Duff Cooper was a good scholar , had ambitions to be a poet and wrote a fine biography of Talleyrand. Posthumously, with this absorbing portrait of a lost world, has has perhaps completed the book he was born to write." -- Robert McCrum OBSERVER "His proximity to power, such as his involvement in the abdication crisis as a close friend of Edward VIII's and his resignation as a cabinet minister in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy, gives his diaries a certain energy, as does the busy whirl of upper class socialising and philandering that seemed to take up so much of his time." FINANCIAL TIMES "Cooper was a phenomenon. For nearly half a century after 1914, he was close to the centre of events in Britain, and since he was in turn a diplomat, solider, backbench politican, cabinet minister, envoy to Charles de Gaulle's Free French and then Britain's post-war ambassador in Paris, he was often a participant in these events. He was clever and gifted... brave" THE ECONOMIST "We must salute the industry and courage of John Julius Norwich and his wife in preparing this highly readable book from what mut have been mountainous material. The notes and link passages are exemplary. The pages on the Abdication are riveting." -- AN WILSON COUNTRY LIFE "Duff Cooper, an exceptionally fluent writer... could have made a fortune from publishing his own [diaries]... Who but he could offer an insider's view, not only of the Munich crisis, the general strike and life among the Free French in Algeria, but of Edward VIII in the feverish days before his abdication?... the diaries confirm him to have been a politician of exceptional ability." -- MIRANDA SEYMOUR SUNDAY TIMES "I thought the Duff Cooper Diaries were interesting and terrific, and also made me envious as hell. Oh, to have lived back then. People sure had fun... Read the Diaries and see how we used to live, and weep." -- TAKI SPECTATOR "reveals Viscount Norwich's life as politician, diplomat and socialite. Publication of these highly revealing diaries has long been resisted by Norwich's family - part of the diaries were nearly burnt as they were considered so shocking." GOOD BOOK GUIDE "his diaries are a scream... Gorge yourself on his son's finely tuned edition" TATLER "The great merit - at times the rich delight - of these diaries is as the record of an exuberant, sensual, selfish and ambitious homme du monde living comfortably during uncomfortable times." -- Richard Davenport-Hines TLS "These diaries are a revelation... The diary is beautifully edited, with notes which provide just the right amount of information, and John Julius Norwich has written a perfectly judged introduction. As a candid record of an extraordinary marriage, this book is gripping." LITERARY REVIEW "deserve to be read for their candour and compulsive readability." -- MICHAEL GOVE THE TIMES

About the Author

Duff Cooper - as above. John Julius Norwich - his only son - trained as a diplomat, but gave up the Foreign Office to write. He is the premier historian of Venice. He is currently writing a history of the Meditteranean.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing; 3 edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0297848437
• ISBN-13: 978-0297848431
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Admirable Rake, November 26, 2007

By 

Christian Schlect (Yakima, Washington/USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Duff Cooper Diaries (Hardcover)

A great book for those interested in the public and private life of a key political player for HMG during the first half of the last century. Nicely edited by the diarist's son.

Duff Cooper was a WW I war hero, writer, member of the House of Commons, who resigned from the British cabinet over policy related to Hitler. He was a handler for the difficult General de Gaulle during WW II, then ambassador to France. While doing all this, he greatly enjoyed pretty women (often married) and very fine living. It is fitting that he ultimately died aboard ship on a New Year's Day.

An incredible role of bit players appear in these diaries: to name a few, the killer of Rasputin, Will Rogers, Cole Porter, Greta Garbo, and Evelyn Waugh.

Aside from the high society social history of the time, serious readers will learn more on important events and people, such as Churchill, the rise of Hitler, the handling of Palestine, De Gaulle and early post-war France, and the seeds of what is now the European Union.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ... amusing 512 pages ....., October 25, 2006

By 

Mr Bassil A MARDELLI "Antoun" (Riad El-SOLH , Beirut Lebanon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Duff Cooper Diaries (Hardcover)

Duff Cooper's name is associated with two main tempestuous events.

He played a remarkable role during the Egyptian crises of the early 1920s. Saad Zaghlul - prominent Egyptian Lawyer and Prime Minister - demanded at the head of Wafd Party, independence for Egypt but the British arrested him to weaken the nationalist movement.
Britain's action sparked civil unrest degenerating to debauchery and unrestrained violence. About 1000 Egyptians were killed in one month when the British decided to deport Zaghlul to Malta.
That was what Egyptians call the 1919 First Revolution.
Cooper interfered with the British authorities in London and was able to convince his government to back down; Saad Zaghlul was released and returned to Egypt.
The Wafd `Delegation' arrived in Paris and presented its case, at Versailles' Peace Conference - post WWI - for immediate independence.
What Cooper succeeded in preserving as authentic support for Zaghlul, was ruined when the United States - the Champion of Wilson's 14 points - ended up backing Great Britain, and the British Protectorate over Egypt continued for thirty five more years.


Cooper was adamantly against Munich agreement signed in 1938 with Adolph Hitler. He was a staunch critic of Neville Chamberlain policy of `appeasement' and played active role that led to Chamberlain's downfall. This appears quite interesting considering Cooper's great admiration of `Talleyrand' - known as widely controversial and equivocal in European history -. Chamberlain was not naïve, he was another Talleyrand but his cohorts never noticed.
In 1943, under Winston Churchill, Cooper was appointed Britain's liaison to the Free French.
By 1944 he became Ambassador to France.
The city of `love and romanticism' flourished intimate relationships with wives of foreign diplomats. His wife, Lady Diana Cooper, had fostered intimate relationship with the American Ambassador in Paris. Cooper was no exception; he too had `special' relationship with the wife of `an' American diplomat and it is said they had illegitimate son.

While the soldiers were fighting, the diplomats were flirting. (better not to use another word !!!!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Man for all Seasons, January 18, 2009

By 

careful reader "SY" (Washington, Connecticut) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Duff Cooper Diaries (Paperback)

Diplomat, soldier, patriot, womanizer, husband of Diana Manners - the most beautiful woman of her time - the twenties and thirties - friend to Churchill, what makes this diary appealing is the honesty of Duff Cooper, a man who makes no effort to rationalize his sexual infidelities - or to claim a higher place in his world than what he managed to obtain through wit and hard work. A very likeable diary - human and literate - qualities that reflect its author - a diary that provides an excellent read as a social history of England between the wars as seen by a man born into a privilaged class. I'd recommend it for those with a keen interest in this period, and those who simply want a glimpse into that Brideshead world that Waugh fictionalized, and that Duff Cooper lived.