The Mysterious Henry - Another Life Story of Henry 'Chips' Channon : Life & Legacy of Sir Henry Channon, In a Fly (ePub)

Born in Chicago in erstwhile London, Chips Channon was the quintessential party man who moved in vertiginously high social circles, partying and hobnobbing with leaders, politicians, actors, socialites, etc. Chips' uneventful, yet colorful life would have remained buried under the sands of time, but for the slanderous diaries that run into 30 volumes of 3 million words. Chips' diaries are replete with the juicy gossips of the private life of top-notch elites of the society that ruled the roost during the pre-war era. Despite being a livid and candid account of sexual indulgences of the most famous people of the time, Chips' diaries also open a window to London in all its opulence, grandiose, and glamor. His unabashed love and proclivity for beauty and glamor, unrestricted fixation with lust, effortless and non-judgmental dissection of human flaws and foibles, is enthralling and appalling in equal measure. The censored version of the caustic diaries first published in 1967 sent the world in a tizzy and now it is soon going to be published in all its pomp and glory. One cannot imagine what unfurls when the unredacted version is made available to the public. The fact that the author put an embargo on its publication until 50 years of his death itself suggests his reservations regarding the diaries and its blazing contents. In spite of its libelous nature, one cannot but feel enamored by the author and his blatant openness in exposing the most intimate details of his own and the lives of people dear to him. From Fuhrer to Winston Churchill, Chips' diaries open a can of worms when he unapologetically bears his political stands with impunity. His anti-American sentiments are strong and have no qualms in calling the American civilization a menace to world peace. From harmless dalliances with fledgling actresses to reckless debauchery with umpteen married women of power and position, the diaries abound in promiscuity and are indeed salivating to the masses given that the people in his social orbit are the ones constantly feted by the media and the paparazzi alike. The 30 diaries are tinctured with accounts of homosexual courtship with several known names, including one with a Catholic priest; Chips brazenly describes it with at most honest; his chutzpah is laudable. Chips had no compunction in calling Churchill the most dangerous man in Europe, while also openly admiring Hitler. Overall, Chips Channon's diaries are a bear it all. The not-so-successful social climber, the candid and extraordinarily honest diarist, the modestly-successful author, the promiscuous Chips Chaanon died on the 7th of October 1958; he was 61 years old.

A gentle reminder to potential buyers: This book is universal and doesn't contain the contents of the diary.