Books by Noel Coward

Although Noël Coward's work as playwright, songwriter and actor of stage and screen has long been celebrated, his contributions to the British musical have largely been forgotten. This new anthology of playscripts rectifies this omission from the musical theatre landscape, providing students and scholars with an introduction to the little-known musical theatre works of Noël Coward from the 1920-1960s, with notes on context for today's audiences.

This Happy Breed covers twenty years in the life of the Frank and Ethel Bibbons and their children, from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II. On one level the story is the chronicle of a middle class family. They haven''t done well in the years between the wars, but in the face of another conflict, family unity spans the chasm between the generations. At another level, this is the story of England, torn at times by the conflicts of its own progress, but quietly firm in its historical moments of crisis.

Written in 1941 this book remians the longest-running comedy in the history of the British theatre for three decades.

Noel Coward's glorious wit and dramatic precision combine to form his 1930s masterpiece about modern romance. Private Lives continues to be one of his most performed and read works.

Everything that wealthy London society had to offer a properly brought-up girl lay at the feet of little Sarah Millick in 1875; but she fell so desperately in love with her handsome young singing master that she threw it all away in order to be with him.|12 women, 2 men

Left a widow with five grown up children, Mrs. Dermot turns to brother Dan for help. Uncle Dan arrives to find an idle family ready to live on his money. He announces that he is doomed to die in three years and that he will leave his money to the member of the family who has made good by then. Each sets to with such determination that Oliver becomes a successful inventor, Evangeline a novelist, Bobbie a composer and Sylvia a film star; even Joyce, finishing her school career, distinguishes herself.-6 women, 4 men

Written as a vehicle for Coward's own acting talents alongside his frequent stage partner Gertrude Lawrence, Tonight at 8:30 is Coward's ambitious series of ten one-act plays which saw him breathe new life into the one-act form. From vaudeville to satire, from farce to intricate comedy of manners, from melodrama to romance, these plays span the full, glorious range of Coward's writing. Peep through your fingers at the chaotic Red Peppers music-hall show, witness a bankrupt couple use all Ways and Means to scheme their way out of debt, and break your heart along with Laura in the famous Still Life, the original version of the film Brief Encounter. First performed in London in 1936, the plays perfectly showcase Coward's talents as a playwright, providing a sparkling, fast-paced and remarkably varied selection of theatrical gems. Coward wrote of the first series of three plays with characteristic delight: 'They are all brilliantly written, exquisitely directed, and I am bewitching in all of them.' Gertrude Lawrence wrote to Coward in 1947, 'Dearest Noël, wherever I go . . . all I hear is "please revive Tonight at 8.30!"'All ten plays are collected together into this volume that features both Coward's own preface and an introduction by Barry Day, Coward expert and editor of The Letters of Noël Coward.This new edition of Tonight at 8.30 is published to coincide with English Touring Theatre and the Nuffield Southampton's revival for the first time in the UK since Coward starred in them in 1936.

The second part of the autobiography of one of the most astonishing characters in British theatrical history.

The Seventh Coward volume, including four pieces from the Tonight at 8.30 sequence.

Published to tie-in with the world premiere of Noel Coward's forgotten play in 2001, this version of Star Quality is adapted from Coward's unpublished play and his short story of the same name. The play takes us behind the scenes of a West End production.

The sixth volume in the Coward Collection, including Semi-Monde.

Featuring the words and music of Noel Coward. Devised by Gerald Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. Chracters: 6 male, 6 femaleRevue style setting. An immense success in London. An imaginative and innovative presentation of Noel Coward's words, music, sketches, which also shows us something of the man himself. Cowardy Custard contains not only those classic medleys and duets, but also previously unpublished material, snippets of plays and dialogues, material from his autobiographi

'A uniquely charming and enticing journey through a remarkable life.' Stephen Fry With virtually all the letters in this volume previously unpublished - this is a revealing new insight into the private life of a legendary figure.

'In my time I've said some noteworthy and exceptionally memorable things.' A delightful and revealing collection of quotations from the master wordsmith, Noel Coward In His Own Words displays Coward's surprising capacity for depth and compassion, as well as his inimitable 'talent to amuse'.

Noel Coward was one of the most celebrated characters in british theatrical history, with a career that spanned almost sixty years. This volume brings together Coward's celebrated verse, from snappy epigrams to seven-hundred-line short stories.

First published in 1960, Pomp and Circumstance, Coward's only novel, was greeted with wide critical acclaim. 'It is all good, near-clean fun, magnificently readable' (Sunday Times).

Performed with Shadows of the Evening in London with Coward, Lilli Palmer and Irene Worth, this view of the haute monde is tempered by having the man and wife Americans this time. She is a social climber, while he is a rich cornhusker who couldn't care less about society. While the wife is entertaining a high and mighty prince downstairs, the husband is entertaining a threadbare princess upstairs. It doesn't take long for the husband to realize he has more in common with royalty than his wife does.2 women, 2 men

The first volume of Coward's autobiography. Displaying an early dedication to the theatre, it hints at the success that would come to Coward as actor, playwright, novelist and performer, and is punctuated with his trademark effervescent wit.

This one-volume editions contains the complete collection of Coward's short stories spanning fifty years of his life. This special edition is published to mark the centenary of Noel Coward's birth.

The fifth volume in the Coward Collection, containing Coward's best work from the last two decades of his life.

Volume Four of Noel Coward's plays contains a selection of Coward's plays from the thirties and forties.

The third volume of Coward's plays contains some of his best work from the thirties.

The second volume in the Coward Collection, including Private Lives, Bitter-Sweet, The Marquise and Post-Mortem.

I am shirking off the chains that have shackled me for so long - I have suddenly come to realise that I am a woman - a living, passionate, pulsating woman - it never occurred to me before. Janet Ebony and her best friend, Peter Chelsworth, are innocently sharing a sleeping compartment when their train to Paris is involved in a disastrous railway accident. Outrage and scandal ensue as Janet''s husband, Paul, and her fearsome mother-in-law accuse Janet and Peter of adultery. Aghast at their families'' accusations, Janet and Peter decide to take revenge by inventing an adulterous affair ... Written with Noël Coward''s trademark wit and insight, Home Chat is a distinctly modern comedy about female sexuality and fidelity in a society rigidly governed by decorum and reputation.This edition was published to coincide with the first revival of the play since its premiere in 1927.

Coward's entire collected verse compiled from published volumes, private letters and diaries and edited with a contextualising narrative by Coward expert Barry Day.