The Complete Stories of Noël Coward

"This one-volume edition contains the complete collection of Coward's short stories, twenty in all, spanning fifty years of his life. Originally published as To Step Aside, Star Quality, Pretty Polly Barlow and Bon Voyage, short stories were a form he found 'fascinating to write'. From shipboard gossip at the captain's table to backstage intrigues in flower-filled dressing-rooms, from poolside champagne breakfasts in Hollywood to suburban romances in rooming-houses, the 'Master' reveals himself as a consummate prose stylist, demonstrating why. for all his success in virtually every other field of entertainment, he returned again and again to the short story. This special edition is published to mark the centenary of Noël Coward's birth" -- Back cover.