The American No by Rupert Everett

Seven stories of love and loss, drama and glamour, hope and rejection, from a writer at the height of his powers.
 
In Rupert Everett's first, glorious collection of stories, he takes us on an exhilarating journey with a cast of extraordinary characters. A blackly humorous story of a chaotic and emotional funeral in Paris. Oscar Wilde's last night in Paris, vividly evocative, unflinching and elegiac. A middle-aged Russian countess who confronts sex and age in a Cotswold teashop. The ferociously unforgiving life of an L.A. talent agency and the unexpected twist that launches a completely different kind of career. The deathbed confession of a woman who left home for 1850s India, never to return. A story of emigration, love and grief. And a beautifully evocative and touching portrayal of Proust's creative life and his childhood.
 
A brilliantly witty, funny and tender collection of stories that draws on the wealth of film and TV ideas Rupert Everett has created over the course of his career, The American No will delight and surprise his many fans.
 
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Everett has a flair for historical fiction...What were once ideas for screenplays have become stories - and are all the better for the years of marinating. There is some real depth and richness here, as well as a sharp critique of the mores of La-La Land - Erica Wagner, Tatler