In Search Of Ruritania
The life and times of Ivor Novello
AVAILABLE AT BOOKSTORES AND ONLINE
This is not a sentimental journey - more a fascinating insight into the life,
work and world of the late Ivor Novello
WELCOME
David Slattery- Christy
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Images, reviews and cast details from productions of  the
stage plays listed. Please click on the
Plays link in the
navigation bar to access these areas.
Lee Wolstenholme as Ted in the Buxton
production of Forever Nineteen
Joanna Glover as Mildred and Rachel
Dickinson
as Ameil in the Manchester
production of Forever Nineteen
NOVELLO GALLERY
Selection of Novello's personal
photographs from
Glamorous Night (1935)
now permanently displayed in the West
End's new
Novello Theatre - These
photographs are also featured in the book
In Search Of Ruritania
Elisabeth Welch -
Glamorous Night (1935)

Mary Ellis as Militza and Ivor Novello as Anthony in
Glamorous Night (1935) Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
PLAYS
FOREVER NINETEEN
Kristin Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, Bob Balaban, Kelly MacDonald
and Dame Maggie Smith in Gosford Park
WELCOME
Counter
"High Class - students so at
ease with timeless tunes... "
(Robin Duke)
Link to musical productions...
Into The Woods, History of the
Musicals, The Boy Friend,
Fosse...
You need Java to see this applet.
BUY  NOW! - Tesco - Waterstones -  Amazon.com -  Barnes & Noble - Book Stores - BUY NOW!
Great research resource for plays and playwrights and much more....
New & Revised Edition Now
Available



Paperback £9.99 + pp
Hardback £14.99 + pp
Anything But
Merry!
The life and times of
Lily Elsie
AVAILABLE AT BOOKSTORES & ONLINE
A new book by David Slattery-Christy exploring the life and
times of the Edwardian actress Lily Elsie, the star of Lehar's
original West End production ofThe Merry Widow in 1907.
"[A] biography which is the
result of  
extensive
research
... I found this an
intriguing reappraisal of
a former theatre idol whom
I had tended to
dismiss..."
Tom Howard -
Rogues & Vagabonds
"An absorbing and
thoroughly engaging
read, and a
must-own for fans of
Altman's film looking
to learn more about
Novello and his
work...
Excellent look at
both the man and
the legend of Ivor
Novello, with special
insights into the
filming of the late
Robert Altman's
brilliant film

"Gosford Park"

straight from the
film's Ivor Novello
consultant."
Tara O'Shea -
Chicago

"This new biography delves much deeper into
Novello’s life than its predecessors.  While this
may have alienated those who prefer to remember
Novello as fragrantly as his famous lilacs, I found
it to be well-researched and thought-provoking.  
Novello’s output is analysed in the cold light of a
new century, and within a theatrical context which is
markedly different to the one in which his shows
were first produced...

There are interesting accounts of interviews with
Olive Gilbert’s nieces, Mary Ellis, Gordon Duttson
(one of Novello’s partners who appeared in some of
his shows) and Nicholas Hassall.  The writer often
uses a compelling style - the description of his first
visit to Redroofs is akin to something out of
‘Rebecca’, and the tension is also built up during his
work in the archives of Drury Lane...  

What will disturb some Novello fans are the
sections which deal with his sexuality.  I found this
information an essential part in building up a
rounded picture of Novello as a human being...  

This revealing biography is a useful and well-
researched addition to other books on Ivor Novello:
one which is not afraid to cover all areas of his life."

David  Wheeler - The Gaiety Magazine
Discover the extraordinary life of one
of Edwardian England’s most

celebrated and revered musical
comedy stars, Lily Elsie.
From her childhood days in the music halls of
Salford and her rise to fame as the child
singing star “Little Elsie” (hailed by press and
public as “the infant Patti”, after the world
famous opera star Adelina Patti) to her arrival
in London as a young woman with an almost
reluctant desire to conquer
the West End stage, her ever-present mother
urging her to make the most of every
opportunity...
Click here to purchase
Paperback: £9.99 + pp
Hardback: £14.99 + pp
Paperback: £9.99 + pp
Hardback: £14.99 + pp
Guide To Mary Ellis Papers - 1897 - 2003 Billy Rose Theatre
Division, New York Library for the Performing Arts.
Includes Glamorous Night adaptation script and correspondence with
David Slattery-Christy
Selected links for research information
westenddatabase.com
Glamorous Night
Book & Music: Ivor Novello
Lyrics by : Christopher Hassall
Revised version by:
David Slattery-Christy
By arrangement with Samuel French Ltd
Film history, book recommendations and much more...
"David Slattery-Christy has researched his work
diligently. He tells Lily's story clearly and
dispassionately...his book is an important
contribution to our understanding of Edwardes
and the Gaiety Girls, one of the most glittering
periods of London's theatre history."
Richard Anthony Baker - The Stage
"The characters around Elsie are capably brought to
life... a good, dramatic, read and you will end up
knowing Elsie by the end."
Rob Sedman - lily-elsie.com
Luton Girls Choir sing
Novello's
Someday My Heart
Will Awake
Click on image for link to YouTube
British Pathe News
- Gaiety Girls
Reunion, London
1947
Click Here!
The Merry Widow
Vienna Music
Click Here!
The Mistletoe Bride - Screenplay in development. More Information below V
Manchester Award for Drama
Forever Nineteen and Les Miserables 1992
From the Ivor Novello Consultant for Robert Altman &
Julian Fellowes OSCAR and BAFTA winning film
GOSFORD PARK
Mrs. Anthony Berry (Sonia) and David
Slattery-Christy, Bath 2009.
Sonia remembers Lily Elsie from
childhood. Elsie and her mother were
great friends.
Elsie's Cartier carriage clock featured on the Antiques Roadshow from Bath on 7th February 2010.
The clock was a gift to her from husband Ian Bullough. The hidden message in Latin, Tempus Fugit,  
translates as 'Time Flies' The message in other symbols translated as 'Love Remains'.
"This is not a formal footnoted
biography
...Lily's life is written  like a very well
researched novel for the reader...it shines a light
on a lady whose postcards from the height of her
fame fascinate even now...
K. Maxwell (Sydney, Australia)
...the back section offers mini biographies of all
the main people in Lily Elsie's life and a
comprehensive biography of
sources."
Claudia Blakely & Jeremy Northam in Gosford Park
Click on image to visit the Jeremy Northam
blog site
NEW & UPDATED EDITION NOW AVAILABLE
Drama set in the present day and
Victorian England. A Mistletoe
Bride is murdered on Christmas
Eve by her jealous sister who locks
her in a linen chest, where she
suffocates. Her ghost haunts the
Oxfordshire stately home until her
remains are discovered and the
truth revealed. The story is based
on the legend of the Mistletoe
Bride, popularised in a poem by
Thomas Haynes Bailey in 1884,
then set to music and became the
popular song:
The Mistletoe Bough!
The Mistletoe Bride
Screenplay - In Development
By David Slattery-Christy








Shortlisted for the UClan
Matt Greenhalgh Award 2011
Click image for
TMW musical
tribute...
TITANIC PLAY  
Tim Bohannon as Patrick and Julia
Stubbs
as Mary in the Manchester
production
of The Post Card
Nora Connelly as Bridie in
the London production of
The Post Card
The Post Card
"Heartwrenching...unsinkable!"
The Independent
"This is old Ireland, Milkwood style..."
Derby Telegraph
On April 11th, 1912, a young Irish emigrant sent his sweetheart a post card to tell
her he was boarding the TITANIC on her maiden voyage. The poignant post card
survived to be sold at auction and the story behind these facts provides the
basis for the play - involving Patrick & Mary, a fatal scandal, and the lovers
sadly compromised best friend, Liam.
"Past and present are interwoven through narrative, song,
monologue and dramatic scene and a Thomas Hardy style
story of blighted love unfolds."
Edinburgh Evening News
Now Available for Professional & Amateur Performances
2012 marks the 20th
anniversary of the first
production of the play at
Manchester's Green
Room. This is an image
of the real Patrick Dooley,
whose story inspired me
to write the play.
All enquiries to: slatterychristy@aol.co.uk
AFTER THE TONE
Scott Kentell as
Daniel in the
Manchester
production of
After The Tone
TITANIC PLAY
The Post Card
By David Slattery-Christy
NOW AVAILABLE
"This is old Ireland, Milkwood style..."
Derby Telegraph

"Heartwrenching...unsinkable!"
The Independent
Limerick's Life - Read the Titanic Article
Titanic Play - The
Post Card - Review...