A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of Noël Coward

Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1969. This Stated First U.S. Edition (and unless it's stated, it's not) and unclipped dust jacket are in Very Good+ condition but are ex-library with markings on the endpapers, and a library number glued to dust jacket spine. But since in the small suburban library from which it came, most folks probably never heard of Coward, I'd be surprised if this copy was read at all. The book is bound in deep blue cloth, with woven beige spine cloth, and die-stamped lettering in blue and gilt over a blue background. There is tape residue on the boards and edge fading. (I removed the library protective sleeve and replaced it with a new Brodart protective sleeve.) The book includes photo inserts, a Coward Chronology, and an extensive Index. This was the first major biography of Noël Coward, who was still alive and still in the closet (to a few), and thus the reader needs to read between the lines to figure out which of Coward's friendships were particularly "special." However, Morley was also able to inverview Coward's contemporaries as well, many of whom are now deceased, as is the author himself (who was son of the actor, Robert Morley). The book measures 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches and includes 453 pages. . First American Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good+. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.