Years of Victory, 1802–1812, drew notable criticism, particularly for his preoccupation with comparing Napoleon with Hitler. The shortcomings of these works, possibly combined with their unusual popularity, helped ensure that he never received the highest academic honours. 1950s His single major work in the decade was a two-volume collection of Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke's diaries with additional commentary, The Turn of the Tide (1957) and The Triumph in the West (1959). These books created substantial controversy, given their criticism of Churchill, who was then at the height of his popularity. Despite this, they are still considered essential reading for understanding the British Armed Forces during the war. Final years The books he wrote during his later years included several volumes of broad English histories. They include Set in a Silver Sea (1984), Freedom's Own Island (1986, edited posthumously by John Kenyon), and a third volume. He retained a large readership and was guest-of-honour at the Conservative Monday Club's 1966 annual dinner. He spoke on "The Preservation of our National Character". The dinner, at the Savoy Hotel, was sold out. Bryant was knighted in 1954 (and made a Companion of Honour in 1967. J. H. Plumb wrote, "both of his public honours, his Knighthood and his C.H., were given to him by Harold Wilson, whose favourite historian he had long been." His second marriage dissolved in 1976. In his final years, he lived in Myles Place, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Death Bryant died after a brief illness at the age of 85 at Salisbury in the county of Wiltshire on 22 January 1985. He was cremated, with his ashes being entombed in Salisbury Cathedral. Works Bryant's total output was remarkable. He wrote over forty books overall, which collectively sold over two million copies. Most were published by William Collins, Sons and Co. Ltd. Also, in collaboration with W. P. Lipscomb, he wrote a play dramatising Pepys' life which ran for one hundred and fifty performances in London. He was a frequent lecturer, speaking at many of the leading cities and schools in Great Britain, as well as in the United States and fourteen European countries. His public speeches included the 1935 Watson Chair lectures sponsored by the Sulgrave Manor Trust. These lectures, on American history, literature, and biography, were later collected into the book The American Ideal. In 1936, Bryant took over G. K. Chesterton's "Our Note Book" column for the Illustrated