Orton kept diaries over two different periods of his life. The ‘juvenile’ diaries were written between 1949 and 1951 and his mature diaries from 1966 and 1967.

The first, his ‘juvenile’ diary, covered his last years in Leicester and first two months at RADA. They reveal an unremarkable young man with a yearning for fame and to break away from the mundanity of everyday working life in Leicester. His entry for 1950 shows his desire for self-improvement:

‘During 1950 writing must be improved parts of 1949 are almost unreadable. Tennis must be taken up seriously this year and not half-heartedly as in the past. Gramophone must be paid for this year and an effort must be made to save’.

The final entry in the diary are the short entries that teasingly expand on the beginning of his relationship with Halliwell:

‘Well!, June 17th’, ‘Well!! June 18th’, ‘Well!!!, June 19th’.
The final entry on June 20th reads ‘The rest is silence’.

This would be the last diary entry until December 20th 1966.