Count Egbert Belcredi (1816–1894) came from an Italian family, grew up speaking German and was a major player in Czech politics in his native Moravia. His brother Richard had been Austrian Prime Minister in 1866; but the real political head of the family was Egbert, a combative conservative, settled between class feudal, bohemian constitutional and early Christian social currents. As a country gentleman with a castle in the vicinity of Brno, he often tried in vain to persuade his peers to become more involved in public affairs. This edition of his colored, often bitterly biting diary entries was prepared by Antonín Okáč before 1989, but could not be published during the communist regime.