Product Description

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

• Amazon Sales Rank: #780427 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author
Noel 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.

Customer Reviews

Funny but old-fashioned
Noel Coward is a delightful and entertaining writer. Although he's best known for his many witty and sophisticated plays, he also wrote numerous short stories and this novel. The novel IS funny, as another reviewer has said, but it's also very old-fashioned.

The narrator, Grizel Craigie, is a married woman with three children. Her husband, Robin, owns and runs a banana plantation on a fictitious tropical island owned by the British. A male friend asks the Craigies to house his visiting and married paramour, which the couple is reluctant to do because of the possible scandal involved, even though they are friendly with both a homosexual male couple and a homosexual female couple, which fazes them not at all. Today one would have to ask, What scandal?

Grizel seems overwhelmed by her social obligations in spite of having three servants and a nanny to care for her children and no job outside the home. She's always looking for an opportunity to take a nap to relieve her frazzled nerves. When does the mother of today have time even to think about a nap?

If one can manage to take her predicament as seriously as she does, one can enjoy her humorous descriptions and dialogue.

A wonderful comedy and period piece
I first read this book twenty years ago and it is still one of my favorites.

The book (written in the early 60s) is told from the point of view of Grizel Craigie, who is married to a plantation owner in the fictional British colony of Samolo. Grizel and her husband are persuaded by their friend Bunny Colville (a charming womanizer) to act as a front for him, allowing him to invite the Duchess of Fowey, with whom he is having an affair, to visit Samolo. The hoped for illicit romance falters through a series of hilarious accidents and mishaps. A secondary plot is provided by a royal visit to Samolo by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, which throws British society on the island into a frenzy of social competition and discontent.

Coward, who himself lived in British colonies during this time, no doubt based his characters on people whom he knew. He expertly and comically paints a picture of the various expatriate residents of Samolo.

This is a very funny book. One of the final scenes, which describes a fiasco of a dramatic public performance in honor of the royals still makes me cry with laughter. If you've ever seen an amateur dramatic performance, you will collapse with laughter at reading this.

The downside to this book is that it reflects many attitudes and opinions that are no longer accepted in our day and age. Coward was a terrible snob and this is a very snobby book. Some of the things the characters say about "the natives", the "lower classes", etc. make me uncomfortable. The worst of Coward's scorn was reserved for lesbians, on whom he poured insults and clichés of every kind. This strikes me as odd, as Coward himself has many homosexual relationships (including with the Queen of England's uncle!). However, I think we should accept the book as a period piece and enjoy it for its very real greatness.