Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon
Seventy-five years after Ivor Novello's untimely death in 1951, he remains a defining figure of British popular culture of the first half of the 20th century whose name is most commonly recognised by the contemporary music awards that bear his name. But who was the man described as the 20th century's most consistently successful composer of British musicals, and why was his work so successful in so many different fields?

Ivor Novello In His Own Works is the first critical study of both Novello the icon and Novello the artist. Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of his death, this in-depth study tracks his activities across popular song, musical theatre, plays and silent film, as well as exploring his work as an actor and theatre producer that made him central to popular culture of the period and beyond.

From becoming a silent film matinée idol of the 1920s through to the creation of spectacular Drury Lane musicals in the 1930s including Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years his true reach goes well beyond such selection. He encompasses such diversity as the composer of the World War I anthem 'Till the Boys Come Home' and early musical comedy and revue hits for London, a script writer in Hollywood and as the playwright of a succession of successful light comedy plays in which he usually starred.

Often overlooked in both academic and popular study, Novello enjoyed a phenomenal career of creation and success, repeatedly capturing the popular national mood through a highly individualized approach of assimilation and reinvention. Through five themed chapters, this new study explores Novello's works to reassess his exceptional musicality and theatricality and redefines his place in British popular culture by asking us to re-assess the importance of this celebrated British icon.

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Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon
Seventy-five years after Ivor Novello's untimely death in 1951, he remains a defining figure of British popular culture of the first half of the 20th century whose name is most commonly recognised by the contemporary music awards that bear his name. But who was the man described as the 20th century's most consistently successful composer of British musicals, and why was his work so successful in so many different fields?

Ivor Novello In His Own Works is the first critical study of both Novello the icon and Novello the artist. Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of his death, this in-depth study tracks his activities across popular song, musical theatre, plays and silent film, as well as exploring his work as an actor and theatre producer that made him central to popular culture of the period and beyond.

From becoming a silent film matinée idol of the 1920s through to the creation of spectacular Drury Lane musicals in the 1930s including Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years his true reach goes well beyond such selection. He encompasses such diversity as the composer of the World War I anthem 'Till the Boys Come Home' and early musical comedy and revue hits for London, a script writer in Hollywood and as the playwright of a succession of successful light comedy plays in which he usually starred.

Often overlooked in both academic and popular study, Novello enjoyed a phenomenal career of creation and success, repeatedly capturing the popular national mood through a highly individualized approach of assimilation and reinvention. Through five themed chapters, this new study explores Novello's works to reassess his exceptional musicality and theatricality and redefines his place in British popular culture by asking us to re-assess the importance of this celebrated British icon.

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Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon

Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon

by John Snelson
Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon
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Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon

Ivor Novello In His Own Works: A Critical Study of the Songs, Plays, Films and Musicals of a British Icon

by John Snelson

Overview

Seventy-five years after Ivor Novello's untimely death in 1951, he remains a defining figure of British popular culture of the first half of the 20th century whose name is most commonly recognised by the contemporary music awards that bear his name. But who was the man described as the 20th century's most consistently successful composer of British musicals, and why was his work so successful in so many different fields?

Ivor Novello In His Own Works is the first critical study of both Novello the icon and Novello the artist. Published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of his death, this in-depth study tracks his activities across popular song, musical theatre, plays and silent film, as well as exploring his work as an actor and theatre producer that made him central to popular culture of the period and beyond.

From becoming a silent film matinée idol of the 1920s through to the creation of spectacular Drury Lane musicals in the 1930s including Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years his true reach goes well beyond such selection. He encompasses such diversity as the composer of the World War I anthem 'Till the Boys Come Home' and early musical comedy and revue hits for London, a script writer in Hollywood and as the playwright of a succession of successful light comedy plays in which he usually starred.

Often overlooked in both academic and popular study, Novello enjoyed a phenomenal career of creation and success, repeatedly capturing the popular national mood through a highly individualized approach of assimilation and reinvention. Through five themed chapters, this new study explores Novello's works to reassess his exceptional musicality and theatricality and redefines his place in British popular culture by asking us to re-assess the importance of this celebrated British icon.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350501461
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 09/17/2026
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Snelson has worked extensively in music across performance, publishing and teaching. Following his PhD on the West End musical (2003) his scholarly publications have included the monograph Andrew Lloyd Webber (2004) and chapters in core reference works on British musical theatre. He was Senior Internal Editor (covering popular, pop and light music) for the Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001), to which he was also a contributor. He lectures on musical theatre, including for Goldsmiths, University of London. He has also published extensively on opera and for twenty years worked for the Royal Opera House.

Table of Contents

PART ONE - 'Man of the Theatre'
i. Learning the Trade ii. Plays and Players iii. Self-Reflections iv. Theatre as Family v. Putting it Together

PART TWO - The Art of Song
i. Early Musical Influences ii. Popular Song iii. Developing British Operetta iv. Musical References v. Fusion and Self-Expression

PART THREE - Novello and Film
i. A New Art ii. Stage-Screen Interactions iii. American Outcomes iv. Influences and Consequences

PART FOUR - Reframing Ruritania
i. Creating Ruritania ii. Case study 1: The Truth Game iii. Case study 2: Glamorous Night iv. Case study 3: King's Rhapsody v. Case study 4: Gay's the Word

PART FIVE - Beyond That Profile
i. A Problematic Reputation ii. Ivor and Noël iii. Novello the Contemporary iv. A Fuller Picture

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