Cole Porter: The Definitive Biography

The definitive biography of Cole Porter – the urbane American composer of musical comedies and of over 1000 songs – which reveals the darker side of the star whose life and work epitomizes the romance of Café Society.

Cole Porter – composer of Night and Day, Easy to Love and I’ve Got You Under My Skin – is familiar to three generations. His tunes conjure up romance, glamour and cultivated sensuality.

This biography charts Porter’s life, beginning on a fruit farm in Indiana and moving on to Yale, where his social charm and musical gifts earned him leadership of the Glee Club. From Yale he moved to Harvard, where he roomed with Dean Acheson, and on to the School of Music and the Paris Conservatoire to study music theory, history, harmony and counterpoint.

In 1919, Porter married the rich and beautiful Linda Thomas. The pair spent a decade roaming glamorous, bohemian Europe and Porter, sponsored by Irving Berlin among others, experienced the beginnings of success with his songs before making his name in the 1930s with hit shows like Anything Goes. A riding accident left him in constant pain, but he still continued to write shows like Kiss Me Kate and Silk Stockings until his death in 1964.

William McBrien contrasts Porter’s refined, elegant music with the stoicism, pain and passion of a life which mixed devotion to his wife with numerous homosexual love affairs.

Talking to friends and colleagues (for example, Bob Hope, Diana Vreeland, Stephen Sondheim) who have never spoken about him before, McBrien paints a picture of Porter’s sophisticated and unstable world in Europe and America.

Researching Porter’s lyrics and correspondence, McBrien makes new links between his work and life and reveals how Porter’s particular brand of hedonism – nonchalance, lovely pals, glamorous venues, splendid tailoring, good hotels, and love – was his protection against encroaching darkness.