| Description | Letter written from The Bellevue Stratford, Philadelphia in which he praises Butler's book, 'Amateur Agent'. Coward is mentioned in the book and he writes: 'It engulfed me in a wave of nostalgia for those curious 'Phony war' days. I was really very touched by your kind and generous appraisal of me'. Coward also writes about the problems of staging a musical version of 'Blithe Spirit' and refers to plans for going to Jamaica and then to New York, London and Switzerland. The letter is dated 4 March but with no year date: as 'Amateur Agent' was published in 1963, the presumed date of the letter is 1964, at a time Coward was known to be in America.
Ewan Butler was, with Coward, a member of the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War. Butler's book, 'Amateur Agent', published in 1963, is a description of the exploits of the SOE. Coward spent the first few months of 1964 in America staging 'The Girl Who Came to Supper' as well as the musical version of 'Blithe Spirit'.
Source: Information supplied by the bookseller |