Terribly Intimate Portraits
Public-domain ebook
Terribly Intimate Portraits
by Noël Coward
Language: en4,427 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Humour·Essays, Letters & Speeches
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #26649.
About this book
Terribly Intimate Portraits is a collection of whimsical sketches that blend autobiographical diary entries with exaggerated character studies. The book opens with a flamboyant declaration that romance and heroism are far from extinct, followed by a parade of fictitious “national heroes” such as Snurge, Spout, Puffwater and Plinge, each presented as a foil for the author’s satirical celebration of past and present daring. From there the first chapter, “My American Diary,” launches into a series of dated entries that recount the author’s chaotic arrival in New York, his encounters with customs officials, Broadway lights, and the eccentric social whirl of the Algonquin set. These snippets are peppered with absurd anecdotes, falling off a bus, a mishap on the “Whip” at Coney Island, and a tongue‑in‑cheek critique of theatrical elites, setting the tone for a book that is part travelogue, part parody of heroic biography.
The voice is unmistakably Noël Coward’s: sharp, self‑aware, and laced with the breezy wit of the interwar London stage. The prose swings between dry observation and flamboyant hyperbole, reflecting a 1920s‑era sensibility that revels in both high society’s pretensions and the everyday absurdities of modern life. Readers who enjoy clever satire, playful caricature, and a lively chronicle of a transatlantic artist’s adventures will find this work a rewarding diversion, while those who prefer straightforward narrative may be put off by its fragmented, sketch‑like structure.
Who appears in Terribly Intimate Portraits
- SnurgeTall, broad-shouldered gentleman in a crisp 1920s military coat, crisp moustache, polished leather boots
- SpoutLean figure wearing a tailored tweed suit, pocket watch chain, thin moustache, fedora tipped forward
- PuffwaterPortly man in a velvet smoking jacket, silk cravat, round spectacles, pipe in hand
The opening · free to read
Modern realists would have us believe that romance and beauty are dead, that the spirit of heroic achievement and chivalry has been crushed by the juggernautic wheels of civilisation. Poor blind, sad-hearted fools--their dreary, unlovely minds have risen like gaunt weeds from the ashes of their wasted opportunities. Romance dead? Never! And in order to disprove their dismal forebodings, I have included in my portrait gallery studies of such national heroes as--Snurge, Spout, Puffwater and Plinge. Men selected purposely not merely for the glory of their achievements but for the individual dissimilarity of their fundamental characteristics, and to illustrate to doubting minds the amazing resemblance between the signal courage and romanticism of our forebears, and the innate present day spirit of high endeavour.
Take for example "Madcap Moll," Eighth Duchess of Wapping, and her famous ride to Norwich--and compare it with Jabez Puffwater's ride to the succour of his old Aunt Topsy. Or E. Maxwell Snurge's celebrated national appeal in West Forty-Second street, and Sarah, Lady Tunnell-Penge's dramatic speech from Tower Hill to the turbulent people of London.
All, all are impregnated through and through with the never failing spirit of public heroism, and staunch loyalty to existing standards, and all will stand for beauty, romance, and nobility of purpose until the end of time.
Ring up the curtain. Bring to life the faded tapestries of yesterday side by side with the vivid multi-coloured bas-reliefs of to-day! The frou-frou of brocade and lavender adown bygone corridors, and the sharp toned clarion call of Twentieth Century heroism and daring-do!
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