''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

Richly imagined and extraordinarily affecting... Everett is a terrific storyteller'' Hadley Freeman, Sunday Times

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.

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.

''Rupert Everett is one of my favourite writers. He''s brilliantly witty, acutely perceptive and highly sensitive, and his writing is incredibly good. His stories are both moving and tender, often outrageous, and funny too. A gifted storyteller'' Santa Montefiore