| Description | Daily life at Celigny and visits to Gstaad, Lausanne and Thun. References to his children: Kate, Liza and Maria and the visits of his siblings (William, Verdun and Hilda) and their families. Also some references to the model Jeanne Bell and her son, Troy, who lived at the house for a time.
Brief mention of guests at Celigny, including Brook Williams, Maurice Solowitz, Aaron Frosch and Lindsay Anderson.
Recurring references to his drinking and anxieties about his health. Also various references to his abortive attempts to write a book; expresses frustration with himself for reading a good deal but failing to write. Records his reading, which includes biographies of Coleridge, Kipling, Dorothy L. Sayers, Oswald Mosley and Chairman Mao, J.G. Fraser's The Golden Bough and several histories of Africa. Also mentions that he is learning German. Various entries concern Elizabeth Taylor during her time in Leningrad working on the film The Blue Bird.
Also covers Burton's and Taylor's visit to South Africa, during which their second marriage takes place in Chobe, Botswana. Some expression of Burton's conflicting feelings regarding the marriage, his attitude towards media interest, his anxieties concerning Elizabeth's poor health and his recovery from malaria. Later entries record hosting with Elizabeth the London Evening News Drama Awards and a visit to Wales. |