The voice,the dressing-gown,the cigarette in its holder,remain unmistakable. There is rarely a week when one of Private Lives,Hay Fever,and Blithe Spirit is not in production somewhere in the world. Phrases from Noel Coward's songs - Mad About The Boy,Mad Dogs and Englishman - are forever lodged in the public consciousness.
He was at one point the most highly paid author in the world. Yet some of his most striking and daring writing remains unfamiliar. As T.S. Eliot said,in 1954:
'There are things you can learn from Noel Coward that you won't learn from Shakespeare.'
Coward wrote some fifty plays and nine musicals,as well as revues,screenplays,short stories,poetry,and a novel. He was both composer and lyricist for approximately 675 songs. Louis Mountbatten's famous tribute argued that,while there were greater comedians,novelists,composers,painters and so on,only the master had combined fourteen talents in one.
Publisher: Orion Publishing CoISBN: 9781474612807Number of pages: 656Weight: 960 gDimensions: 240 x 164 x 56 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
What a pleasure it is to read a book into which so much labour,and so much affection,have evidently gone. But the labour is never flaunted and the affection is mingled with the same sophisticated irony that made Coward such a giant of the theatre. This is the biography - truthful,sympathetic and thorough - that Coward deservesAssiduous,even-handed,readable...astuteExcellent...reveals Coward to be a more complex individual than we had acknowledgedA captivating biographyThis is a sympathetic and very touching biography. Soden makes the daring decision to write occasional sections in imitation of Coward's style. Not every biographer would be up to this,but Soden pulls it off. The ending is particularly good - first skating around Coward's last days,letting him evaporate like Elvira,then giving us a chorus of biographers,boyfriends and household servants to narrate it in detail. But the whole book is beautifully done,and will last...There's every reason to think Coward will last forever - and this excellent biography is just what he deservesSoden,who has had access to unpublished diaries and letters,comes up with a far more complex Coward than we have seen before... This is a highly illuminating book that makes us reconsider CowardMasquerade is a pleasure to read - not just for Oliver Soden's splendid survey of Coward's life,but also for the rhythm and tempo of his writing as he parries with his mercurial subject. This Coward commands our empathy: more real,more mortal,"more Nol than Coward",as Soden intended... His fallibility renders him more likeable,lovable even. With this enriched arc from conception to denouement,the myth is made man. At last,the character of Nol Coward makes sense.Praise for Michael Tippett: The Biography An exceptional piece of work
Praise for Michael Tippett: The BiographyGenerous,game-changing biography
Praise for Michael Tippett: The BiographyThat rarest of things: a genuine landmark publication
Praise for Jeoffrey: The Poet's CatSimply unforgettable...one of the most beautiful and haunting books of recent times
Praise for Jeoffrey: The Poet's CatInspired and original
Praise for Jeoffrey: The Poet's Cat I intend to give a copy to everyone I like
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