This collection of ten one-act plays was written by Noel Coward as a vehicle for his own acting talents as well as an ambitious attempt to revive the one-act play form. First performed in 1935, the plays perfectly showcase Coward's talents as a playwright and his trademark panache for sparkling, sophisticated, witty dialogue. The short form also exhibits Coward’s versatility with themes that range from comical farce to dark satire, played out in plots about mistaken identities, unconsummated affairs and love at first sight. These plays are set between the Victorian era and the emerging Modern period of the 1920s and 30s.

This edition features Coward's own preface and an Introduction by Barry Day, editor of The Letters of Noel Coward.  Included are all ten plays originally written for the collection: Red Peppers, We Were Dancing, Shadow Play, Family Album, The Astonished Heart, Hands across the Sea, Fumed Oak, Ways and Means, Still Life, and Star Chamber.