Diaries and Letters 1930-1939 | 1939-45 | 1945-62 (three vols)

London: Collins, 1966+.

Three volume set of the Nicolson diaries. All first editions in the dust-jackets, slightly rubbed at ends of the spines. A VG+ set in unclipped and unmarked jackets. Harold Nicolson was one of the three great political diarists of the 20th century (along with Chips Channon and Alan Clark). He served as MP (Conservative, 1935-45, who also flirted with Labour after WWII) and had previously been in the Foreign Office and attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
Nicolson never achieved high office, but rarely a day went by when he didn't record what was going on at Westminster. He socialised widely, was married to the poet and author Vita Sackville-West, and together they created the famous garden at Sissinghurst. Both were bi-sexuals and had affairs outside their marriage. The diversity of Harold Nicolson's interests and the irony in his writing make his diary a highly entertaining record of his life and times, as well as a document of great historical value.