Wickedly entertaining . . . scrupulously edited and annotated by Simon Heffer. Genuinely shocking, and still revelatory.--Andrew Marr, New Statesman

The between-the-wars diaries of the romping, social-climbing MP Henry Channon make for an irresistible, saucy read. There are plenty of anecdotes, bons mots and delicious tales of scandal . . . one of the most impressive editions of our time.--The Telegraph

Channon's chief virtue as a writer is his abiding awareness that dullness is the worst sin of all, and for this reason they're among the most glittering and enjoyable [diaries] ever written--The Observer

Sensation, spite, social climbing, high society, self-indulgence, sex;Chips Channon had the raw materials to make his uncensored diaries newsworthy a century after he began them. They shock, repel and compel because they don't conceal . . . He is calculating, selfish, amoral, vain, ambitious and deluded, and more of us should follow his example. Not in the living, but in the recording of it.--Jenni Russell, The Times

Although Channon was frequently wrong and occasionally repellent, there is no denying his talent as a diarist or the historical value of his diaries. Lacking pomposity or dissemblance, his entries are often witty, sometimes perceptive, and always fascinating--Air Mail

The diaries are fascinating and sometimes a key historical record. And the man could write.--Daily Mirror

Heffer has done his job with scholarly aplomb. Throughout his life [Chips] had the knack - invaluable for a diarist with dreams of publication - of bumping into all the right people. Fascinating stuff . . . a work of high camp.--Craig Brown, The Spectator

Gripping reading . . . While countless of Chip's decent contemporaries and especially politicians are today forgotten, the diaries make him an indispensable source for anyone writing of this period.--Max Hastings, The Sunday Times

A fabulous potpourri of first-hand history, snobbish gossip, acute insight and stomach-churning enthusiasm for Nazism (by no means unique among the British upper-classes at the time). Channon was vain, funny, bitchy, clever, pithy and fabulously well-connected: all the qualities of a superb diarist.--Ben Macintyre, Daily Mail

Chips perfectly embodied the qualities vital to the task: a capacious ear for gossip, a neat turn of phrase, a waspish desire to tell all, and easy access to the highest social circles across Europe . . .Blending Woosterish antics with a Lady Bracknellesque capacity for acid comment. Replete with fascinating insights.--Jesse Norman, Financial Times

Chips Channon, the bisexual snob and socialite who hobnobbed (and more) with royalty, politicians and famous writers . . . a new, expanded version of his disclosures has left some readers gasping at his audacity, indiscretion and promiscuity.--AN Wilson, The Times Weekend Essay

A masterpiece of storytelling and character assassination . . . Heffer's footnoted forays into Burke's and the Almanach de Gotha are worth reading alone for the picture they paint of a world so shifting and slippery that forging an identity is as much an act of will as an accident of history.--Book of the Day, Guardian

Channon is a delightful guide, by turns frivolous and profound.--The Times Book of the Week

A compelling account of the extraordinary times of interwar Britain. Reading Chips is like eating a rich cream. Impossible to put down. A superb edition of an indispensable chronicle.--The Oldie Magazine

Heffer has done a stupendous job. Eminently worth publishing.--Literary Review

I cannot put down Simon Heffer's wonderful edition of Chips Channon's diaries . . . Channon was a natural diarist - observant, gossipy, snobbish, disarming, preposterous, agonised and, more rarely, horrible.--Charles Moore, The Spectator

Channon, then, was a cipher for his times. An unremarkable politician, a mediocre intellect, and the morals of an alley cat on Viagra, did not prevent him from being the most acute commentator on his era.--The Herald

This enthralling book confirms Channon as the greatest British diarist of the 20th century . . .It's packed with weapons-grade above-stairs gossip and superb one-line put-downs: Stravinsky looks like a German dentist . . . it provides an unrivalled guide to society and politics in the interwar years.--Book of the Week, The Week

In his heyday, Tory politician Sir Henry 'Chips' Channon knew everyone and was present at almost every big event of the first half of the Twentieth Century . . . The diary is a whopper but there are gems on every page. Highly recommended and I'm looking forward to volumes two and three.--Express