Distant Music

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Life was tough in England after the Second World War -- at least it was for those who were not part of some particular elite, the fabulously wealthy or the tiny coterie of British film and theatre stars. Little wonder then that Elsie Lancaster, the granddaughter of a theatrical landlady, thinks of nothing else but trying to become one of that shining constellation. Surprising therefore, given their very different origins, that Oliver Plunkett shares the same ambition, for his is the pampered background of old money. Groomed from an early age by his father's theatre-mad butler, there is no other world to which he aspires. No such ambition infuses his best friend, the kooky Coco Hampton. Theatre for her is all about costume, costume, costume. That they all become involved with Portly Cosgrove -- sometime manager, and soon-to-be-agent -- is part of the inevitable flow of theatrical life, as is the fact that they become emotionally entangled with each other. Come success or failure, the music they dance to is the distant music of fame and fortune, a tune which is often dim and, at other times, tantalisingly clear -- only to fade once more.