Graham Payn first met Noel Coward at age 13, when he auditioned for the playwright by tap dancing while singing "Nearer My God to Thee." He became Coward"s longtime companion. So perhaps Payn knew better than anyone the personal side of Noel Coward, whose public personae had the trappings of an enchanted life but whose private life has been more difficult to capture. "His manner created distance between himself and those who would approach him." Payn says. This biography helps give a portrait of the playwright and tells of his vast accomplishments. The book should help keep Coward"s work alive.