Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy in Three Acts (1930)

by Noël Coward

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

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I would actually give this book 3 1/2. It is a little less predictable than "Hay Fever" and I think it is an interesting exploration of how intimacy and human relationships can go awry with people so oppositely matched. It's also really amusing to see the back and forth of the twisted conversations that the main characters have. It's hard to tell at some times whether they are going to end up in bed or simply killing eachother. It's sort of like the literary or even conversational equivalent to a roller coaster ride. (

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kirstiecat | Mar 31, 2013 |

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Is contained in

Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever, Private Lives: Three Plays by Noël Coward

Play Parade by Noël Coward

Noel Coward Plays 2 (World Classics) (Vol 2) by Noël Coward

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1930

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Private Lives (1931 ∙ IMDb)

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Private Lives

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0573619255, Paperback)

Full Length, Comedy

Characters: 2 males, 3 females

Set Requirements: 2 interiors

Revived in 2002 by the Royal National Theatre in a production that sparkled on Broadway, Private Lives is one of the most sophisticated, entertaining plays ever written. Elyot and Amanda, once married and now honeymooning with new spouses at the same hotel, meet by chance, reignite the old spark and impulsively elope. After days of being reunited, they again find their fiery romance alternating between passions of love and anger. Their aggrieved spouses appear and a roundelay of affiliations ensues as the women first stick together, then apart, and new partnerships are formed. A uniquely humorous play boasting numerous successful Broadway runs boasting such as stars Coward himself, Laurence Olivier, Tallulah Bankhead, Gertrude Lawrence, Tammy Grimes, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

"Gorgeous, dazzling, fantastically funny."-The New York Times

"A gleaming and gleeful comedy."-New York Post

(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:30:35 -0500)

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▾Library descriptions

Humorous play about four mismatched lovers on the French Riviera.