Another self

The late James Lees-Milne (1908-­1997) was among the most celebrated of modern diarists; his published entries (which span the years 1942 through 1974) offer an unparalleled social and cultural portrait of modern and — because of the author's decades in the service of The National Trust — historic Britain. Another Self narrates the author's early life, before his diaries begin: childhood in Worcestershire under the mismatched wings of a flighty mother and an obdurate father; studies at Eton and Oxford; holidays in Portugal and bandit-ridden Corsica; army service at the start of World War II. What distinguishes this civilized and humorous autobiography is the way Lees-Milne's memories are made to cohere into shapely comedies; each chapter is a set piece of deft characterization and outrageous anecdote.