Beneath a waning moon - James Lees-Milne

Those who know him already will be prepared for the unexpected, and they will not be disappointed. Those new to him may be surprised to find - along with his honesty and delicious perceptiveness - the almost surreal oddness of some of his anecdotes.

The thoughts, pleasures and regrets of those who appear in these pages are similarly fascinating. The Prince of Wales feels that the mantle of John Betjeman has fallen on his own shoulders, Diana Mosley explains why Macmillan rather than Ribbentrop should have been hanged after the war, Mick Jagger displays an extensive knowledge of Shakespeare, and Alan Clark admits he is bored stiff by his life in politics.

JLM unites a sensibility uniquely his own with inconsistencies and prejudices of a kind we all share. He combines wit, acerbity and compassion, and is as delightful a companion in print as in life.