Diaries play a special role in Protestant culture. Denied the comfort of the confessional, the best of these diarists confront the blank sheet of paper with the intention of recording the day's events, but also in order to analyse their own motives. Such efforts often make fascinating reading, revealing the author's struggle to be honest about his motives, while attempting to present them in as favourable a light as possible. From this point of view, the diary of Robert Kilroy-Silk is a great disappointment.[1]

LRB 6 November 1986 | PDF Download