I’ve spent the last month or so working my way through this first volume of the diaries of Henry “Chips” Channon, and what a ride. My current opinion is that he’s the worst guy around but he is a great and entertaining writer who has never met a social ladder he did not want to climb, a royal he was unable to charm, and a cutting remark unsaid. He lived a really fascinating life where he knew every famous political and upper class English person of the 20th century and had a lot to say about all of them. He has a real talent for being in the thick of things and chronicling it — in this volume his life experiences include being in Paris during WWI, marrying Honor Guinness and getting an inside look into that family, becoming an MP and then getting to know all the major political figures of the time, befriending King Edward VIII and the Duke of Kent and then being involved in the abdication crisis, going to the Berlin Olympics and attending the Nazi get-togethers, etc, etc, etc. He loves to attend a fabulous party and remark on the clothes and the jewels, and he is highly driven by the pursuit of wealth and social standing.
This book is 915 pages long and the print is small, so this is an undertaking, but it flew by because he really has a talent for capturing the moment and doing pen portraits of people. He can capture a person in just a sentence (often very mean sentences) and the book is almost non-stop gossip, so it’s not a politically heavy book even though he spends most of it being a politician. Mainly he wants to complain about stuff like renovating his country house and how much money he wants to get. He also wants to spend a lot of time alone, which is relatable. His account of the abdication crisis was very gripping and had information that I hadn’t seen before, which surprised me given I’ve read several books about it. I was glad to get another facet of the story (even if I disagree with his conclusions).
In the introduction and some of the footnotes, the editor talked about how Chips was pro-Germany, antisemitic, and racist throughout this volume, but that his views would change. I guess that will happen in the second volume during the events of WWII, because Chips ends 1938 talking about how Hitler is “always right, always the greatest diplomat of modern times.” He earlier talks about how Hitler is the most incredible person he’s ever been around, the second being Mussolini, and the third being the Pope. He loves the Berlin Olympics, not for the sports, which he finds boring, but for the parties and to be around the Nazi power — Chips hates France and he hates Communism, so he views Fascism as the best alternative. He also doesn’t think very highly of democracy and by the end of this volume spends a lot of time talking about how the vigor of Fascist nations is impressive and they’re all vital and full of energy. Also, he likes Joe Kennedy and thinks the Maginot Line looks “terrific,” to round out his uniformly wrong opinions (also stuff like “I cannot believe that Hitler will risk war” — well, Chips, it’s happening sooner than you think!).
I think this is an unusual diary in that he is so open with what he’s thinking and feeling (other than some vagueness around his bisexuality, which he doesn’t really ever mention but is pretty obvious given his enormous crush on George Gage and his hanging out with all the other gay/bisexual men — also his reactive disdain and snobbery towards other gay guys, definitely some self-loathing and the thought process of “well, I’m not like that” going on that’s sad to see). I’m interested in Harold Nicolson’s whole milieu and Nicolson pops up here plenty. Chips is not one to censor himself and that’s why the diaries make for such compelling reading, especially if you’ve read other books about the period. It’s probably the best overview of that corner of the social scene I’ve read, as you get a sense of the tapestry of different relations, who’s in, who’s out, the scandals, all the little quotidian details that make up real life. It really is a lot of fun to read and I was having a great time throughout.
The reason I marked it 4 and not 5 stars is that he really is the worst in this volume. His comments especially about Jews and Black people and anyone “common” were too much for me. I would rather have them in the book than not included, and I’m very grateful that the editor and the family made the decision to keep them and not cut them, because I do think it’s historically important and gives you an understanding of who he was as a person instead of trying to make him appear perfect. I can imagine that that was a very difficult decision to make and I want to honor that and him as a complicated person who is supposedly going to change his mind in the next volume. I’d rather grapple with his ideas and opinions than not be given the opportunity. But it was rough to see him write “It is never a long step from homosexuality to black ladies,” which is such a wild and cruel statement on so many levels! He’s just so constantly full of bad opinions. Lord Curzon was joking when he nicknamed Chips “Horrible Boy,” because he liked Chips, but Curzon was also onto something there. He’s a real enfant terrible who’s constantly trying to destroy the lives of the people he doesn’t like and I can’t give him full marks in good conscience. I also don’t really buy the argument that oh, it was how it was at that time, because newsflash, my grandma was alive at this time and she didn’t have any of these opinions!! I’m taking a break and then we’ll see what volume 2 holds (hopefully fewer loving descriptions about what an amazing leader Hitler is).
