Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

Tells of the extraordinary life and talent of Coward who wrote mountains of song, classic plays, screenplays etc. I knew relatively little of Coward other than the characture of a somewhat effete snob with his notoriously razor sharp, dismissive wit and was therefore captivated by the fact he dragged himself from working class poverty to becoming rich, poor and rich again. That he clearly loved his mother and did much for her, that he helped the UK war effort by visiting the U. S. and Australia to drum up support and that friends by the truckload really adored him reflected a good, kind and hard working man. Gay throughout a lifetime where for most part homo sexuality was illegal put additional pressure on him and yet despite this and a few short periods where he fell out a favour, he seems to have lead a remarkable, successful, event filled life - a unique character and an interesting biography.