Pomp and Circumstance

by Noël Coward

Overview

First published in 1960, Pomp and Circumstance, Coward's only novel, was greeted with wide critical acclaim. 'A South Sea Bubble of a book it is, with a Royal Visit expected on the Island of Samolo, and the narrator, a mother of three, dealing with everything from chicken-pox to the amours of a visiting Duchess' (Daily Telegraph); 'If there is anywhere on earth where the old Coward world still credibly lingers on, it is probably a fairly peaceful tropical colony ruled over by a British Governor General . . . Coward's long cast list might have walked out of one of his better comedies' (Evening Standard); 'It is all good, near-clean fun, magnificently readable' (Sunday Times).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780413563705
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/14/2007
Series:	Methuen World Classics: The Noel Coward Collection Series
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	623,792
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Noël Coward was born in Teddington, Middlesex, on 16 December 1899. His professional acting career began in 1911 and his writing career in 1918, and in the '50s he became a cabaret entertainer. In later years he lived in Bermuda and Switzerland, where he turned novelist. He was knighted in 1970, and died in Jamaica in 1973.

Editorial Reviews

Noel Coward's first and only novel is a small gem…Pomp and Circumstance reminds us, as if any reminder were necessary, that Coward was a master entertainer in the very best sense: an immensely intelligent, witty, resourceful man who took endless delight in the human comedy and managed to make it even funnier than it already is.
—The Washington Post

Jonathan Yardley

...you really should do yourself a favor and snag a copy of the master's sole novel—the perfect beach read...Coward's flawless pacing is sheer heaven—the way some bit of offhand hilarity waits for you at the end of nearly every sentence like an olive at the bottom of a perfect martini...Pomp and Circumstance hasn't lost a bit of vitality since it was published in 1960; I read it every August on vacation and each time (I have witnesses), it leaves me literally weeping with laughter, if not worse: There's a bit about Prince Philip and a broken toilet seat that might have you peeing in your pants.
—New York Magazine

Daniel Mendelsohn