Sleuthing in the Stacks

Well, we’ve had a look at the novels and short storie s published in 1924, the year in which the Devon Library Service was established , which can be found down in the stacks. Let's n ow turn our attention to the poetry, plays and general non-fiction published or performed in that year.   The theatrical life of the time is represented by a number of play scripts we have. 1924 was a momentous year for Noel Coward. His play The Vortex premie red at the Everyman in Hampstead in November and soon became a success , creating a scandal, such a scandal with its story of an older woman mourning her fading glamour and her close relationship with her son, a cocaine addict. Coward’s international fame was assured the following year, with a West End production of Hay Fever and a Broadway run of Easy Virtue, both plays written in 1924. The Coward era had begun.    In Dublin, Sean O’Casey’s play Juno and the Paycock received its first performance at the Abbey Theatre. This had been the centr