In Search Of Ruritania – Ivor Novello
BBC Radio 3 Composer of the Week – Christmas 2016 – Ivor Novello
“An absorbing and thoroughly engaging read, and a must-own for fans of Altman’s film looking to learn more about Novello and his work…”
Delighted with this great article about my interview with the Operetta Research Center about Ivor and my involvement with the BBC Radio 3 Composer of the Week broadcasts – starts Boxing Day at 12 noon!
http://operetta-research-center.org/ivor-novello-bbc3-composer-week/
Composer of the Week – Feedback
“Sensitively researched life story combined with location insights AND the music – worth the @BBC licence fee on its own.” Another said: ”
@BBCRadio3 @DSCAuthor “Ivor Novello” Awarded the best @BBCRadio3 programme of the year!”
Paperback and Kindle editions available.
Delighted to announce that a brand new edition – fully updated with extra pictures – of David’s Ivor Novello biography IN SEARCH OF RURITANIA will be available from December 2016 to coincide with the Christmas broadcast of the BBC Radio 3 tribute to Novello who is featured as Composer of the Week for the first time in the shows 70 year history. David is Donald Macleod’s guest for the week and also features Rosy Runciman & William Differ from Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. Broadcast on 26 – 30 December 2016 on BBC Radio 3
Delighted to be part of BBC Radio 3 and their
Composer of the Week tribute to Ivor Novello.
With Donald Macleod (presenter Radio 3), David Slattery-Christy
& Rosy Runciman (Archivist for Delfont Mackintosh Theatres). To
be broadcast on 26th to 30th December 2016. BBC Radio 3
“[A] biography which is the result of extensive research… I found this an intriguing reappraisal of a former theatre idol whom I had tended to dismiss…”
Tom Howard – Rogues & Vagabonds
“As latecomers to Gosford Park, we were intrigued by the more than passing references to Ivor Novello. The book is a delightful look into the life and work of the composer of “Keep The Home Fires Burning” and will surely keep your interest on a coast-to-coast flight.” Phil Stevens – Los Angeles
5 Star Review
Listen to David’s interview about his book and Ivor Novello on BBC Radio 2 with Don Black, and other guests, as part of the BBC Great War Commemorations 2014. Produced by Jonathan Mayo.
In Search Of Ruritania BBC Radio 2 Interview
“An absorbing and thoroughly engaging read, and a must-own for fans of Altman’s film looking to learn more about Novello and his work…with special insights into the filming of the late Robert Altman’s brilliant film Gosford Park; straight from the film’s Ivor Novello consultant.” Tara O’Shea -Chicago
Published by AuthorHouse in Hard Back and Paperback from £9.99
“This new biography delves much deeper into Novello’s life than its predecessors. While this may have alienated those who prefer to remember Novello as fragrantly as his famous lilacs, I found it to be well-researched and thought-provoking. Novello’s output is analysed in the cold light of a new century, and within a theatrical context which is markedly different to the one in which his shows were first produced…There are interesting accounts of interviews with Olive Gilbert’s nieces, Mary Ellis, Gordon Duttson (one of Novello’s partners who appeared in some of his shows) and Nicholas Hassall. The writer often uses a compelling style – the description of his first visit to Redroofs is akin to something out of Rebecca, and the tension is also built up during his work in the archives of Drury Lane… What will disturb some Novello fans are the sections which deal with his sexuality. I found this information an essential part in building up a rounded picture of Novello as a human being. This revealing biography is a useful and well-researched addition to other books on Ivor Novello: one which is not afraid to cover all areas of his life.”
David Wheeler – The Gaiety Magazine
Overview
New Edition released 6th December 2016 – 10 Year Anniversary!
From the Ivor Novello Consultant on Robert Altman & Julian Fellowes Oscar and BAFTA winning film, Gosford Park.
In Search of Ruritania is an honest and affectionate journey into the life, work and world of the late Ivor Novello. From his first success as a composer with the First World War hit Keep The Home Fires Burning, he went on to become a film star, successful playwright and the creator of glamorous ruritanian musicals which filled the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Ruritania was the mythical land in which he set these romantic musicals, it was a land of his own invention and also one which reflected the historical and social events in the real world around him.
Within the book his association with the likes of Sir Edward Marsh, who offered him support using his “murder money”, and introduced him to Winston Churchill, are explored. Both went on to enjoy a life-long friendship with Novello.
Interwoven through the story are accounts of my experiences whilst involved with my own and Novello’s works. From the tribute concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to the role I undertook on the award winning film Gosford Park as the Novello Consultant. Along the way I have met and interviewed the likes of Mary Ellis, who starred in Glamorous Night in 1935; Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, who often stayed at Novello’s country home with his wife Joan Crawford; Gordon Duttson, Novello’s last secretary and lover; Nicholas Hassall, whose father, Christopher Hassall, was Novello’s lyricist and close friend.
In Search of Ruritania could stand alone as a story in its own right and doesn’t shy away from exploring Novello’s homosexuality and his hedonistic, and often bizarre, lifestyle during the 1920s and 30s, and his prison sentence during the Second World War. He could be selfish, petulant and childish but also extraordinarily kind, charming and generous. These elements are a vital part of his story, as much as understanding what was happening in the world around him. Putting Novello in context with world events and social conditions is vital to understanding what influenced him, and how these conditions provided the fertile ground on which he built his celebrity.
His sudden death in 1951, aged 58, was front page news. His funeral route was lined by thousands of fans. His circle of close friends closed ranks to protect his memory. In fact what they achieved was destructive. Within ten years of his death he was all but forgotten, as if he had never existed.
2016 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL – BBC RADIO 3 – COMPOSER OF THE WEEK
1/5 – Keep The Home Fires Burning – 26th December at 12 noon.
2/5 – The Next Valentino – 27th December at 12 noon.
3/5 – Glamorous Night – 28th December at 12 noon.
4/5 – Singing For World Peace – 29th December at 12 noon.
5/5 – Novello Does Time – 30th December at 12 noon.
“David Slattery-Christy is a writer very much in tune with British society during the first half of the last century…it has served him brilliantly with his two well-researched biographies [on Lily Elsie & Ivor Novello]. David has an amazing gift for bringing back to life the bustle and allure of London’s West End in the days of Daly’s and beyond.” (Raymond Langford Jones – Sardines Theatre Magazine 2014)
