Ivor Novello

Portrait of a Star
By Paul Webb

Noel Coward once quipped that 'there are two perfect things in this world: my mind and Ivor's profile'. As this entertaining biography demonstrates, Novello - Britain's most successful silent movie star, prolific playwright, West End actor and the composer and star of a string of hit musicals, from Glamorous Night in 1935 to Gay's the Word in 1951, was much more than a pretty face...

'...Paul Webb is an impassioned believer in the need to resurrect Novello’s work and reputation and he castigates the British theatrical industry . . . for its failure in this regard. Although Webb is clearly a diehard Novello enthusiast, it is impossible to read this biography without concluding he has a point.’

 New Statesman

'The best biography of Ivor Novello ... brilliant'

 Sheridan Morley

'An excellent new biography'

 British Academy of Composers and Songwriters

'Paul Webb's book is admirably researched and highly entertaining'

The Spectator

Paul Webb is a playwright, whose work includes The Lodger and A Dangerous Woman. He has lectured on Ivor Novello in locations as diverse as the Bahamas and the Baltic, and has scripted a Novello concert for the Halle. He wrote on theatre, and reviewed, for theatrenow.com from 2002-2003.