Gossip, Scandal and High Society

Dan Snow's History Hit

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Henry ‘Chips’ Channon documented British high society in eye-watering detail. His diaries are gossipy, sometimes vile and rude but always honest. Even after his death, his diaries struck fear into the British upper classes and it is only recently that they have been able to be published in all their glory. Chips' friendships with figures such as Neville Chamberlain and Edward VIII mean that his diaries provide an unparalleled window into the lives of the powerful. Journalist and author Simon Heffer took on the mammoth task of bringing the diaries to life and sorting through the 1.8 million words that make up the diaries. Simon joins Dan to discuss the life of Chips Channon, how his diaries puncture some of our national myths and why it was 60 years before the diaries could be published.

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