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Masquerade: The Lives of Noël Coward
'This is the biography - truthful, sympathetic and thorough - that Coward deserves'
DAILY TELEGRAPH
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 Noël 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 Noël 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. So central was he to his age's theatre that any account of his career is also a history of the British stage. And so daring was Coward's unorthdoxy in his closest relationships, obliquely reflected throughout his writing, that it must also be a history of sexual liberation in the twentieth century. In Oliver Soden's sparkling, story-packed new Life, the Master finally gets his due.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
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 Noël 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 Noël 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. So central was he to his age's theatre that any account of his career is also a history of the British stage. And so daring was Coward's unorthdoxy in his closest relationships, obliquely reflected throughout his writing, that it must also be a history of sexual liberation in the twentieth century. In Oliver Soden's sparkling, story-packed new Life, the Master finally gets his due.
614 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2023
16 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Oliver Soden
7 books6 followersOliver Soden is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of Michael Tippett: The Biography. Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in April 2019, the biography was hailed by Philip Pullman as a "delight to read", and was read (by the author) for BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week, with Sir Derek Jacobi playing Tippett.
Oliver was educated at Lancing College in Sussex, and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English. For his research on Michael Tippett he was awarded a Fellowship in the Humanities from the University of Texas at Austin.
His essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the Guardian, Gramophone, The Art Newspaper, BBC Music Magazine, and Musical Quarterly, and he is the editor of an edition of John Barton's ten-play epic Tantalus. He has appeared as a guest on the Six O'Clock News (BBC Radio 4), Proms Plus, Twenty Minutes, Music Matters, Composer of the Week, and Live in Concert (BBC Radio 3).
Oliver has worked as an assistant producer for a number of award-winning television documentaries, including George III: The Genius of the Mad King and Janet Baker: In Her Own Words (Crux productions), and is part of the team behind BBC Radio 3's long-running programme Private Passions.
Born in 1990, he grew up in Bath and Sussex, and lives in London.
Oliver was educated at Lancing College in Sussex, and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English. For his research on Michael Tippett he was awarded a Fellowship in the Humanities from the University of Texas at Austin.
His essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the Guardian, Gramophone, The Art Newspaper, BBC Music Magazine, and Musical Quarterly, and he is the editor of an edition of John Barton's ten-play epic Tantalus. He has appeared as a guest on the Six O'Clock News (BBC Radio 4), Proms Plus, Twenty Minutes, Music Matters, Composer of the Week, and Live in Concert (BBC Radio 3).
Oliver has worked as an assistant producer for a number of award-winning television documentaries, including George III: The Genius of the Mad King and Janet Baker: In Her Own Words (Crux productions), and is part of the team behind BBC Radio 3's long-running programme Private Passions.
Born in 1990, he grew up in Bath and Sussex, and lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 21, 2025
"I'm feeling quite insane and young again, And all because I'm mad about the boy" and so Dinah Washington completes her rendition of Mad about the Boy.
The words and music were Noël Coward's, written in 1932. He went on to write numerous songs and plays as well as acting in film and in the theatre. His career was long, and with ups and downs, he was throughout his performing life well-known and much in demand.
Oliver Soden's biography of Coward, the first full length account for some thirty years, is a fine achievement. It covers the whole life of Coward from his birth and youth with his possessive and all encompassing mother, through to his starting out in the world of acting and writing; to his paths during two world wars and on to more acclaim in the post-war years and then the final years of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Coward was a complex figure. Open to intense emotions of anger, love, gentleness, generosity to acid wit and simple nastiness (although often, but not always, quick to regret and try to resolve). The detail of the work - Coward was a never ending worker - he is shown undertaking, as well as the challenges in acting, writing and putting on plays are all very well covered. As are his friendships, loves, rivalries and fallings out. Amongst all this Mr Soden is sympathetic to his subject - clearly liking Coward - but never to the point of hagiography or star-struck exuberance and so the reader gains a full-picture of Coward and his full life. It is also astonishing how much money Coward was able to earn - and also spend; much of this on making sure family and friends were looked after in houses and the like. There is also much to learn about the close relationships he had with the men and women who worked with him such as on production, financial backing set and costume design. His private life with his many assignations, loves and friendships is very well detailed and gives both Coward and the wider story much depth.
One reason I had bought this book was to read more about Coward's role in WWII. This in itself was fascinating as he wanted to help do something that was worthwhile and utilised his love for the Royal Navy. In the end his work has some aspects of secretness owing to his connections to the spymaster William Stephenson and also a lot of travel in performing to the troops. Coward was one of a small group of entertainers who went out to Burma to work for the troops. These were long, arduous and not free from personal risk both from enemy action but also from the ever present disease. Mr Soden also provides some excellent detail and context to Coward's script and appearance as the lead in the superb wartime film "In Which We Serve".
Post-war there is much and we see the young Coward of the Bright Young Things age and become the "old" man as the late 50s and the 1960s introduces new youth movements, pop music, fashion, television, review theatre becoming markedly less popular, and the so-called gritty and working-class kitchen sink drama take centre stage.
However, in true performer style, Coward weathers storms and find new popularity amongst this new generation and society, perhaps notably for modern British readers, his role in the Italian Job as Michael Caine's character's big boss. His homosexual nature is no longer as despised by the establishment and laws freeing him and many others from possible prison finally come to pass. His writing continues throughout but as the years progress his friends and acquaintances leave the stage. Poor and failing health also affects Coward but he continues to perform and write into the first year of the 1970s.
As I finished this, I realised that I had more than enjoyed this book as I regretted I was at the end of Coward's life, and recognised Mr Soden has written a fine account backed up by considerable research. I found that I learnt much about Noël Coward the man, and indeed Noël Coward the performer, especially as both were perhaps themselves a masquerade of the real Noël Coward. I also learnt much about his output and why he was so famed and famous and remains a central name in British and world theatre.
The words and music were Noël Coward's, written in 1932. He went on to write numerous songs and plays as well as acting in film and in the theatre. His career was long, and with ups and downs, he was throughout his performing life well-known and much in demand.
Oliver Soden's biography of Coward, the first full length account for some thirty years, is a fine achievement. It covers the whole life of Coward from his birth and youth with his possessive and all encompassing mother, through to his starting out in the world of acting and writing; to his paths during two world wars and on to more acclaim in the post-war years and then the final years of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Coward was a complex figure. Open to intense emotions of anger, love, gentleness, generosity to acid wit and simple nastiness (although often, but not always, quick to regret and try to resolve). The detail of the work - Coward was a never ending worker - he is shown undertaking, as well as the challenges in acting, writing and putting on plays are all very well covered. As are his friendships, loves, rivalries and fallings out. Amongst all this Mr Soden is sympathetic to his subject - clearly liking Coward - but never to the point of hagiography or star-struck exuberance and so the reader gains a full-picture of Coward and his full life. It is also astonishing how much money Coward was able to earn - and also spend; much of this on making sure family and friends were looked after in houses and the like. There is also much to learn about the close relationships he had with the men and women who worked with him such as on production, financial backing set and costume design. His private life with his many assignations, loves and friendships is very well detailed and gives both Coward and the wider story much depth.
One reason I had bought this book was to read more about Coward's role in WWII. This in itself was fascinating as he wanted to help do something that was worthwhile and utilised his love for the Royal Navy. In the end his work has some aspects of secretness owing to his connections to the spymaster William Stephenson and also a lot of travel in performing to the troops. Coward was one of a small group of entertainers who went out to Burma to work for the troops. These were long, arduous and not free from personal risk both from enemy action but also from the ever present disease. Mr Soden also provides some excellent detail and context to Coward's script and appearance as the lead in the superb wartime film "In Which We Serve".
Post-war there is much and we see the young Coward of the Bright Young Things age and become the "old" man as the late 50s and the 1960s introduces new youth movements, pop music, fashion, television, review theatre becoming markedly less popular, and the so-called gritty and working-class kitchen sink drama take centre stage.
However, in true performer style, Coward weathers storms and find new popularity amongst this new generation and society, perhaps notably for modern British readers, his role in the Italian Job as Michael Caine's character's big boss. His homosexual nature is no longer as despised by the establishment and laws freeing him and many others from possible prison finally come to pass. His writing continues throughout but as the years progress his friends and acquaintances leave the stage. Poor and failing health also affects Coward but he continues to perform and write into the first year of the 1970s.
As I finished this, I realised that I had more than enjoyed this book as I regretted I was at the end of Coward's life, and recognised Mr Soden has written a fine account backed up by considerable research. I found that I learnt much about Noël Coward the man, and indeed Noël Coward the performer, especially as both were perhaps themselves a masquerade of the real Noël Coward. I also learnt much about his output and why he was so famed and famous and remains a central name in British and world theatre.
April 17, 2023
magisterial!
May 25, 2023
Comprehensive, endlessly fascinating, and quite unflinching. This biography really doesn’t shy away from the more unsavoury aspects of Noël’s character (of which, being a Sagittarius, there are plenty — don’t pretend it’s not true, they’re repulsive beasts, even though I love a few of them) but equally disarming is the attention given to all his generosity and warmth even in complete contradiction.
When I went to buy this on Amazon, I accidentally caught sight of a one-line review that said something like “Couldn’t keep reading because of how this writer used the English language.” Which made me go “Whut?!” and also roar with laughter in my head. Such outrage, my goodness. Such contempt.
And okay, yes, Soden’s sentence structure does get unnecessarily tortured and maddeningly inverted here and there. More than once, I had to stop halfway through a very long convoluted sentence and go back to the start to re-grasp the point he was making. The boy adores his commas and multiple clauses, eagerly cramming a few too many ideas into one laboured thought. But you get used to his writing style and honestly, by the last quarter, I didn’t even notice it.
The central conceit of masks and masquerade is exceptionally powerful and I’m sure too overwhelming and repetitive for some. I didn’t mind it so much, mostly intrigued and impressed by how Soden applied his conceit to so many aspects of Noël’s life and work. Throughout the book, I had my fave Oscar Wilde quote ghosting through the back of my mind, “Give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the truth.” So I was quite delighted and not a little smug that it’s only towards the end of the book that Soden closes a chapter with the quote in its entirety.
No writer or queer person or queer writer can not love that quote, ungendered as I like to paraphrase it.
I did initially resist the little fake plays but was won over anyway and really rather loved the device of dramatis personae which gave me quite a thrill of anticipation. Having said that, I absolutely hated the final pastiche which felt awfully indulgent and bordering on bad taste, inasmuch as I can ever bring myself to accuse somebody of that. Let’s just say I could have peacefully done without it.
Also slightly bewildered by the short shrift given to Noël’s friendship with Leslie Howard and how Leslie’s voiceover to In Which We Serve is all the more chilling because of his death. I did like the belated mention of that event and the effect it had on Noël because I had half-forgotten that diary entry and it really brought back the anguish. Of course I am biased since Leslie that beautiful slut is also a fave, and I forget that not everyone is as impressed with him as I am. (fools.)
Likewise, I missed the fleeting presence of Dirk Bogarde and Noël’s fond dismissal of him. Katharine Hepburn only gets one mention so I’m doubly glad I have the (expurgated) diaries for that.
It really is a remarkable book, meticulously sourced and footnoted which made me very happy. The physical copy doesn’t hit our Australian stores until June which is absurd and annoying, but I’ve already decided to buy it in hard copy (or paperback) to add to my Coward collection which will come to a nice tidy number of ten. I’m glad I read this even though, like the Roald Dahl and Preston Sturges biographies, a few of my rose-tinted illusions about a writer I love have been smashed to rather sour sharp bits. Ah well.
When I went to buy this on Amazon, I accidentally caught sight of a one-line review that said something like “Couldn’t keep reading because of how this writer used the English language.” Which made me go “Whut?!” and also roar with laughter in my head. Such outrage, my goodness. Such contempt.
And okay, yes, Soden’s sentence structure does get unnecessarily tortured and maddeningly inverted here and there. More than once, I had to stop halfway through a very long convoluted sentence and go back to the start to re-grasp the point he was making. The boy adores his commas and multiple clauses, eagerly cramming a few too many ideas into one laboured thought. But you get used to his writing style and honestly, by the last quarter, I didn’t even notice it.
The central conceit of masks and masquerade is exceptionally powerful and I’m sure too overwhelming and repetitive for some. I didn’t mind it so much, mostly intrigued and impressed by how Soden applied his conceit to so many aspects of Noël’s life and work. Throughout the book, I had my fave Oscar Wilde quote ghosting through the back of my mind, “Give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the truth.” So I was quite delighted and not a little smug that it’s only towards the end of the book that Soden closes a chapter with the quote in its entirety.
No writer or queer person or queer writer can not love that quote, ungendered as I like to paraphrase it.
I did initially resist the little fake plays but was won over anyway and really rather loved the device of dramatis personae which gave me quite a thrill of anticipation. Having said that, I absolutely hated the final pastiche which felt awfully indulgent and bordering on bad taste, inasmuch as I can ever bring myself to accuse somebody of that. Let’s just say I could have peacefully done without it.
Also slightly bewildered by the short shrift given to Noël’s friendship with Leslie Howard and how Leslie’s voiceover to In Which We Serve is all the more chilling because of his death. I did like the belated mention of that event and the effect it had on Noël because I had half-forgotten that diary entry and it really brought back the anguish. Of course I am biased since Leslie that beautiful slut is also a fave, and I forget that not everyone is as impressed with him as I am. (fools.)
Likewise, I missed the fleeting presence of Dirk Bogarde and Noël’s fond dismissal of him. Katharine Hepburn only gets one mention so I’m doubly glad I have the (expurgated) diaries for that.
It really is a remarkable book, meticulously sourced and footnoted which made me very happy. The physical copy doesn’t hit our Australian stores until June which is absurd and annoying, but I’ve already decided to buy it in hard copy (or paperback) to add to my Coward collection which will come to a nice tidy number of ten. I’m glad I read this even though, like the Roald Dahl and Preston Sturges biographies, a few of my rose-tinted illusions about a writer I love have been smashed to rather sour sharp bits. Ah well.
April 30, 2024
Absolutely totally brilliant ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
March 28, 2024
First, an admission. I'm not really a Noel Coward fan and I'm not really familiar with much of the work. What I've seen and heard seems to me to be funny. But probably not in the way Coward intended. You could say I'm laughing at it - very gently - and not with it. I find the dialogue in In Which We Serve hilarious. Having said this I do recognise that Coward was an important figure in early-to-mid 20th Century Western culture. Which is why I decided to read this book. And what a brilliantly written book it is. Until we get to 1945. Then it moves away from the forensic, continuous narrative that has gone before to something much more general and episodic. Soden tells us this is how the book will be in his introduction. The reason he gives is no doubt genuine, but one can't help but think it had something to do with him not exceeding his word count. So he focuses mainly on Coward's heyday and - in more detail than is probably needed - WWII record. The 1950s and 60s are covered, but in fewer and fewer words as the years go on. The pre-WWII chapters cover the work more than the life (although the life isn't ignored) and this is when Soden is at his best. Sometimes the writing is of such high quality it's a joy to read (and reread). But this literariness does come with one downside. And that's the quirky play script structure that Soden uses throughout. I'm sure some people will love it. I didn't. Particularly A Late Play that concludes the book and which I found ill-judged. Biographers should keep themselves out of the story. But, the gimmicky structure and chronological unevenness aside, this is a brilliantly written, brilliantly researched piece of work.
November 12, 2024
I'm British, so there's a certain extent where Noel Coward is still part of the culture. The plays are performed and the songs are sung. Yet, I didn't know much about the man himself. Indeed, reading this, I think I've always had the caricature of 'Noel Coward' in my mind.
This is a good overview. If anything I could have done with it being longer. Three volumes - Pre-War, War and Post-War.
This might just be me, but I found the post-War sections most fascinating. He spent long periods teetering at the edge of being a has-been. A reactionary figure, whose previous joie de vivre often looks curdled. I think it gets less attention here than his triumphs pre 1945, but I'd have happily read more on it.
This is a good overview. If anything I could have done with it being longer. Three volumes - Pre-War, War and Post-War.
This might just be me, but I found the post-War sections most fascinating. He spent long periods teetering at the edge of being a has-been. A reactionary figure, whose previous joie de vivre often looks curdled. I think it gets less attention here than his triumphs pre 1945, but I'd have happily read more on it.
April 2, 2025
Coward in context.
Having previously acquainted myself with Coward’s own autobiography and other published biographies, I did wonder if this time would be worth the effort. It was.
I feel I am closer than ever to understanding Noel the man, which leads to a greater enjoyment of his work. Perhaps the most interesting element of Soden’s book is that there is at least some degree of distance now on the lived experience of homosexuality in the 20c and therefore context can be better explored (his experience, his work and his beliefs).
Noel is much more than a trope, but the experience was specific to time and place and necessarily influenced and influences the work and perception of its author.
The breadth and quality of research is impressive, but it’s the clarity of perception that this leads to in Soden’s work that is so engaging. There is a love and appreciation for The Master, but this is no hagiography. That warmth of feeling is tempered always by any records and challenged where necessary by the discovered evidence. Beware any biographer who does not love his subject, for them it always says more about the writer than their subject.
Minutiae are a biographers secret weapon, and here the minutiae are lifted from the broad spectrum of contemporary sources and the family that coward made for himself. That ‘family’ context was never so fully explored and understood before.
The case is made (if it needed to be) for Coward as the greatest English dramatist of the 20c, but even for those who choose not to accept it, what is left is a wonderfully engaging, deeply insightful, genuinely learned, legitimately affectionate biography which I think will prove to ignite further interest in Cowards work, which surely must be the point of biography.
Soden is himself a supremely talented writer and reader possessed of a clear voice with a good tone and not without real acting talent too I think. I heartily recommend this audiobook.
Having previously acquainted myself with Coward’s own autobiography and other published biographies, I did wonder if this time would be worth the effort. It was.
I feel I am closer than ever to understanding Noel the man, which leads to a greater enjoyment of his work. Perhaps the most interesting element of Soden’s book is that there is at least some degree of distance now on the lived experience of homosexuality in the 20c and therefore context can be better explored (his experience, his work and his beliefs).
Noel is much more than a trope, but the experience was specific to time and place and necessarily influenced and influences the work and perception of its author.
The breadth and quality of research is impressive, but it’s the clarity of perception that this leads to in Soden’s work that is so engaging. There is a love and appreciation for The Master, but this is no hagiography. That warmth of feeling is tempered always by any records and challenged where necessary by the discovered evidence. Beware any biographer who does not love his subject, for them it always says more about the writer than their subject.
Minutiae are a biographers secret weapon, and here the minutiae are lifted from the broad spectrum of contemporary sources and the family that coward made for himself. That ‘family’ context was never so fully explored and understood before.
The case is made (if it needed to be) for Coward as the greatest English dramatist of the 20c, but even for those who choose not to accept it, what is left is a wonderfully engaging, deeply insightful, genuinely learned, legitimately affectionate biography which I think will prove to ignite further interest in Cowards work, which surely must be the point of biography.
Soden is himself a supremely talented writer and reader possessed of a clear voice with a good tone and not without real acting talent too I think. I heartily recommend this audiobook.
June 28, 2023
(Audiobook)
As a playwright, Noel Coward is best known for his most popular stage plays ‘Private Lives’, ‘Hay Fever’ and ‘Blithe Spirit’, though he wrote many works that are largely unfamiliar to the theatre-going public. He also wrote novels, screenplays and serious and comic songs, such as ‘Mad About the Boy’ and ‘Mad Dogs and Englishman’. This biography tells us about the real Noel Coward – his life, relationships and his opinions.
Although many people will only know Coward from his appearance with Michael Caine in the classic heist caper, ‘The Italian Job’, I first came across his writing in the film version of ‘Blithe Spirit’, starring Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford, one of my all-time favourite movies. This book also reminded me that he penned ‘Brief Encounter’ (from his short play, Still Life) and appeared in classic British wartime movies, ‘This Happy Breed’ and ‘In Which We Serve’, as well as ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ and ‘Our Man in Havana’.
Oliver Soden has written an entertaining and well-researched book that uncovers the life of this highly talented and influential writer. While the format – written as a series of stage plays – didn’t quite gel with me, the author has created a detailed and enlightening book that stays away from any hint of sentimentality.
An excellent insight into one of Britain’s most gifted playwrights.
As a playwright, Noel Coward is best known for his most popular stage plays ‘Private Lives’, ‘Hay Fever’ and ‘Blithe Spirit’, though he wrote many works that are largely unfamiliar to the theatre-going public. He also wrote novels, screenplays and serious and comic songs, such as ‘Mad About the Boy’ and ‘Mad Dogs and Englishman’. This biography tells us about the real Noel Coward – his life, relationships and his opinions.
Although many people will only know Coward from his appearance with Michael Caine in the classic heist caper, ‘The Italian Job’, I first came across his writing in the film version of ‘Blithe Spirit’, starring Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford, one of my all-time favourite movies. This book also reminded me that he penned ‘Brief Encounter’ (from his short play, Still Life) and appeared in classic British wartime movies, ‘This Happy Breed’ and ‘In Which We Serve’, as well as ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ and ‘Our Man in Havana’.
Oliver Soden has written an entertaining and well-researched book that uncovers the life of this highly talented and influential writer. While the format – written as a series of stage plays – didn’t quite gel with me, the author has created a detailed and enlightening book that stays away from any hint of sentimentality.
An excellent insight into one of Britain’s most gifted playwrights.
November 19, 2023
"All the futile moralists who try to make life unbearable. Laugh at them. Be flippant. Laugh at everything, all their sacred shibboleths" (Private Lives)
Beyond the cliches - clipped voice, silk dressing gown, elegant cigarette holder - Soden reveals the complexities both of the man and his work (which, in all its astonishing volume and variety, was literally his life).
As Soden summarises, Coward's world was one "of contradictions: meaningful in the flippant shadows, trite in the sincere depths, authentic only in pretence, and impossible to catch in the act of profundity, which creeps in on the sly.
"What matter in Noel Coward is not what lies beneath the mask but the mask itself."
This is the insightful biography that Coward deserved.
Beyond the cliches - clipped voice, silk dressing gown, elegant cigarette holder - Soden reveals the complexities both of the man and his work (which, in all its astonishing volume and variety, was literally his life).
As Soden summarises, Coward's world was one "of contradictions: meaningful in the flippant shadows, trite in the sincere depths, authentic only in pretence, and impossible to catch in the act of profundity, which creeps in on the sly.
"What matter in Noel Coward is not what lies beneath the mask but the mask itself."
This is the insightful biography that Coward deserved.
January 6, 2025
Fabulous book on Coward, does a great deal to place him in context, then and now. One comes away from this book with two conclusions, Coward had more than just a talent to amuse, he was a great man of the theater. Also the British theatre reviewing press were absolute bastards. I am sure Coward would be delighted with both sentiments.
July 17, 2023
Really enjoyed this
October 14, 2023
Fabulous biography of a fabulous performer. Everything you ever wanted to know about Noel Coward and then some.
January 1, 2024
Interesting walk through the years of recent history and getting to appreciate one man’s achievements in the British entertainment industry. A man who was true to himself.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews