It was the Journal of Arnold Bennett . Of course not. Margaret Drabble, who wrote a biography of Bennett, described him as someone who would be an ideal friend, and reading his journal, you feel that. You like him, you enjoy his company. It begins in 1896 when Bennett was a young man in London, an assistant editor with literary ambitions, and ends in 1928, three years before his death, when he was one of the most successful authors of his time.
Work is a theme that runs throughout.
In 1896, he recorded a conversation with a man who wondered whether he or Bennett was the more energetic. His program continued, alternating work and exercise, until 11 p.m. The best I have done for years. Nearly 5000 words. I dined at the Savoy.