At first I felt daunted by this tale of ‘wartime secrets’ in London’s best-known hotels. Written in breathless style with page-long paragraphs, it is as if all the endless names, rumours, details, events and speculation with which the book is stuffed have been hurled into a giant bran tub of words.

Once one can plot a way through the thickets of prose, all kinds of fascinating things emerge. At the Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane, for instance, the walls were so thickly insulated from the sounds of war that diners were informed of the end of an air raid by the band singing ‘All Clear! All Clear!’ to whatever tune they happened to be playing.

After a shaky start, the grand hotels of London kept going in remarkable fashion during the war. Many became a refuge for those of the rich who shut up their large houses in Mayfair or Belgravia, now largely servantless, to seek the greater safety and comfort offered by hotel life.

POUSSE Cafe.

1 Ounce Grenadine, 1 Ounce Blue Curacao, 1 Ounce Benedictine Brandy, 1 Ounce lemon vodka.

Pour slowly in stated order over back of spoon into cordial glass.

Knickerbocker special.

1 teaspoon raspberry syrup, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon orange juice, 1 chunk of pineapple, 2-3 ounces of light rum, 2 dashes of curacao.

Shake well and strain into medium size glass.

Savoy Hotel Special Cocktail.

2 Dashes dubonnet, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, 2 ounces of dry gin.

Shake well with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Twist orange peel on top.

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