Firefly

A short, sparkling novel about the twilight years of Noël Coward''s life, by the author of Angel of Brooklyn. On a secluded hillside in Jamaica lies Firefly, Noël Coward''s peaceful retreat. Here, between sundowners and sunsets, brandies and cigarettes, the seventy-one-year-old Coward whiles away his days -- a comforting, frustrating pattern of unwanted breakfasts, reluctant walks, graceless dips in the pool -- in the company of his manservant Patrice. Both of them dream of a London that is long-gone or imagined: Noël''s peopled with glamorous friends -- Redgrave, Olivier, O''Toole -- and Patrice''s a picture-postcard vision of elegance and opportunity. Set over a series of summer days in the early 1970s, Firefly flits through Coward''s dreams and memories, his successes and regrets, against a sultry, seductive backdrop of blue skies and glistening water. Colourful and contemplative, this is a moving and poignant portrait of old age and friendship, and a life well lived.