"Keeps its finger on the pulse of the rare book world" - William Reese

More than 500 unpublished letters from and to Noël Coward have been made available to Barry Day, a leading Coward scholar, who will be publishing them. The letters were stored in a bank safe in Switzerland for 25 years where Coward’s long-term companion placed them after his death.
The letters, which are dated from war years, reveal that Coward was recruited as a British undercover agent in 1938. Coward suffered from tuberculosis and a head injury, which prevented him from serving his country during World War I. In 1939 he wrote to Winston Churchill: “During the last ‘war to end wars’ I’m conscious that I made little or no contribution. This time I am determined to play as much of a part as the powers-that-be allow me”.
The letters show Coward’s criticism towards actors who fled to Hollywood instead of fighting for their country and include correspondence with Winston Churchill, actor-friend Greta Garbo and his mother Violet. The Letters of Noël Coward will be published by Methuen Drama, an imprint of A&C Black, and will be released on November 12th 2007.

 By Michou Gerits