Compulsively readable, wise, and mischievous by turns, this sixth volume from the collection of Frederic Raphael’s personal journals chronicles his eventful life in the seemingly glamorous worlds of 1980s Hollywood and literary London. Included are his encounters with Mary Whitehouse and Meryl Streep, vital memories of Dirk Bogarde, and warm reflections on Peter Sellers.

Postwar British values and Byron’s sex life are subjected to scrutiny; and there are acute portraits of Robert Redford, Shirley Conran, and many others. This account continues the account of time spent, in the words of the Sunday Times, with “one eye on life’s greasy pole and the other on the eternal verities.”