The Greyhound Diary : Daily Mail Book of the Week

DAILY MAIL BOOK

OF THE WEEK

As featured in The Oldie

'In 1949, aged 26, the bright, well-connected

Judy Montagu (first cousin of Mary Churchill and friend of Princess Margaret)

criss-crossed the United States on a Greyhound bus. The Greyhound Diary is a

vivid and often humorous account of the three months she spent on the

road'. The Spectator

Judy Montagu spent her late teenage years and early

twenties directing anti-aircraft defences during the Second World War as a

Captain in Gunnery for the British Army. Demobilised in 1946, she set out in

search of fun and freedom in America and found herself swept into a bright and

glamorous social circle. She soon counted Joe Alsop and the Cushing Sisters

among her new friends and even began to consider becoming a US citizen.

In 1949, determined to understand America more deeply, Judy embarked on a

three-month tour of the country by Greyhound bus. Letters of introduction

opened doors to a range of encounters, capturing an extraordinary moment at the

height of the Anglo-American alliance. At each stop, Judy met newspaper

editors, political leaders, and celebrities. In Texas - where she rode in a

rodeo - she was the guest of Jesse H. Jones in Houston and Amon Carter in Fort

Worth. In Hollywood, she had tea with Mary Pickford, and by the time she

reached Illinois, her final state, she met and fell in love with Adlai

Stevenson. As a cousin of Clementine Churchill, Judy's travels attracted

regular press attention, adding another dimension to the diary.

The Greyhound Diary , edited by Judy's daughter Anna Mathias, is written

in a snappy, well-paced style that reveals Judy Montagu's fascination with

people and politics. She is generally generous in her portraits of fellow

travellers, while offering a more caustic, often witty, take on her grander

hosts.

'This fascinating and original book is a gem for

anyone who enjoys diaries, travel writing, and social history.'-Robert

Harris

'I absolutely loved it. What a pleasure to be reunited with Judy Montagu!'-Anne

Glenconner

'Judy had such charm. More than anything else I wanted her friendship'.-Antonia

Fraser

'Her diary is droll as well as observant...Montagu's short life - she died at 49 - was in many ways a sad one, but she was a brave original'. Max Hastings, The Times

' The Greyhound Diary is a real-life time capsule of a forgotten

America, high and low, in the years after World War II...'-Cullen Murphy

'...paints not only a picture of a long-gone America but also one of an

adventurous young cousin of Clementine Churchill whose travels brought her into

the circles of political titans, movie stars, and gossip columnists'.- Town

& Country

'Judy's hitherto unpublished diary is not only fun but informative - enhanced

by her daughter Anna Mathias's intelligent introduction and footnotes.'- The

Catholic Herald

'The Greyhound Diary invites the reader to think about the narrative thrust,

the accidents and incidents that accrete and shape life...- The Spectator

'What makes Judy's 1949 travel diary so riveting is its

intoxicating mixture of the low life and the high life.'- The Daily Mail

Author: Judy Montagu

USA, Biography: historical, political & military, Diaries, letters & journals

Published on 23 Oct 2025 by Zuleika.