{"product_id":"the-vortex-9781350421936","title":"The Vortex","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe roaring twenties. A world in flux. The magnetic Florence Lancaster draws people to her like moths to a flame. But when her son Nicky arrives home from Paris with an unexpected fiancée and a secret, it sets off a chain of events which threatens to pull them all into a maelstrom. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNoël Coward's brilliantly witty and stinging portrait of the darkness beneath the glittering surface of the Jazz Age is as vivid today as when it premiered, causing a sensation and catapulting its young writer to his first great success. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis revised edition returns to Coward's original drafts and was published to coincide with Chichester Festival Theatre's new production directed by Daniel Raggett and starring Lia Williams and Joshua James, in April 2023.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNoël Coward\u003c\/b\u003e was born in 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex. He made his name as a playwright with \u003ci\u003eThe Vortex\u003c\/i\u003e (1924), in which he also appeared. His numerous other successful plays included \u003ci\u003eFallen Angels\u003c\/i\u003e (1925), \u003ci\u003eHay Fever\u003c\/i\u003e (1925), \u003ci\u003ePrivate Lives\u003c\/i\u003e (1933), \u003ci\u003eDesign for Living\u003c\/i\u003e (1933) and \u003ci\u003eBlithe Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e (1941). During the war he wrote screenplays such as \u003ci\u003eBrief Encounter\u003c\/i\u003e (1944) and \u003ci\u003eIn Which We Serve\u003c\/i\u003e (1942). In the fifties he began a new career as a cabaret entertainer. He published volumes of verse and a novel (\u003ci\u003ePomp and Circumstance\u003c\/i\u003e, 1960), two volumes of autobiography and four volumes of short stories: \u003ci\u003eTo Step Aside\u003c\/i\u003e (1939), \u003ci\u003eStar Quality\u003c\/i\u003e (1951), \u003ci\u003ePretty Polly Barlow\u003c\/i\u003e (1964) and \u003ci\u003eBon Voyage\u003c\/i\u003e (1967). He was knighted in 1970 and died three years later in Jamaica.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Methuen Drama","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50394653819154,"sku":"9781350421936","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3fd8bcca-4e91-484e-abf7-2e445ebb70bd.jpg?v=1729012658","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-vortex-9781350421936","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}