Six short stories from 1939 show the influence of Maugham and Waugh on Noel Coward. This is his first collection of fiction. The best, "What Mad Pursuit?," hilariously reveals the chaos visiting literary celebrity from the UK finds at a weekend house party on Long Island. "Nature Study" delves into the unhappiness caused when a gay man marries. "Cheap Excursion," inspired by Noel's passion for actor Louis Hayward says biographer Philip Hoare, examines the obsession of a stage actress for her younger asst. stage manager. Coward knows his material.
