Books by Meryle Secrest

Drawing on interviews with friends, family, collaborators and lovers, this biography of Stephen Sondheim looks to bring us not only the artist - as a master of modern compositional style - but also the private man.

The life of composer Richard Rodgers encapsulates the very essence of New York and London high society during the first half of the twentieth century. This biography is a portrait of a man - though riddled with insecurities, he was a composer unequalled, not just for longevity but output - thirty-nine musicals, and more than a thousand songs.

A comprehensive, compelling biography following the life and style of the inimitable Elsa Schiaparelli by renowned biographer Meryle Secrest.One of the most extraordinary fashion designers of the twentieth century, Elsa Schiaparelli was an integral figure in the artistic movement of the times. Her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dal , Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art. Her story is one of pluck, determination and talent with scandal as spice. As the daughter of minor Italian nobility whose disastrous first marriage to a Theosophist caused near penury, she transformed herself into a designer of great imagination and, along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at that time.

This biography focuses on Wright's family history, personal adventures and colourful friends and family. The author had unprecedented access to an archive of over 100,000 of Wright's letters, photographs, drawings and books, and she also interviewed surviving devotees, students and relatives.

Tells about Joseph Duveen (1869-1939) and his humble beginnings running his father's business to knighthood and eventually a peerage. The eldest of eight sons of Jewish-Dutch immigrants, he inherited an uncanny ability to spot a hidden treasure from his father, proprietor of a prosperous antiques business.