The American No

Eight 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 Russian-American countess who confronts sex and age in a Wiltshire 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.
Praise for The American No
'This is a storyteller unafraid to spike his black comedy with sudden and strongly brewed emotion... exhilarating' Guardian
'Full of kindness, even tenderness... He is a brilliant writer: opulently gossipy as few are these days, but also truthful, witty, wise and stoical' Rachel Cooke, Observer
'Everett is a brilliant writer - funny, waspish, warm and seductive' Camilla Long, The Times

Rupert Everett is an actor, writer and director. He has appeared in film and TV productions including Napoleon, My Policeman, Adult Material, The Serpent Queen, Funny Woman, An Ideal Husband and My Best Friend's Wedding. On stage his work includes Another Country, The Vortex, Pygmalion, Amadeus and The Judas Kiss. His first memoir, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, was a Sunday Times bestseller and its sequel Vanished Years won the Sheridan Morley prize for biography. His documentary series Love for Sale won the Grierson award and his film of Oscar Wilde's later years, The Happy Prince was released in 2018 to widespread acclaim.