Based on Cecil Beaton's personal recollections, notebooks and sketchbooks, this account investigates his contributions not only to the theatre but also to ballet, opera and film, where his work has brought him great acclaim and recognition. The evolution and characteristic components of the Beaton style, with its celebration of English high society of the Edwardian era, are recorded in a selection of illustrations. In Charles Spencer's revised and enlarged study, Beaton's achievements as a stage designer are traced from his early undergraduate days at Cambridge through to the celebrated productions of Lady Windermere's Fan, The School for Scandal and the film version of My Fair Lady.