Cole Porter, composer of more than 1000 songs - Night and Day, Easy to Love, I've Got You Under My Skin - is familiar to three generations. His tunes conjure up romance, glamour and cultivated sensuality, and epitomize Cafe Society. This biography charts Porter's life from a fruit farm in Indiana to Yale, where his social charm and musical gifts earned him membership of two exclusive clubs, Deke and Keys, and leadership of the Glee Club. From Yale, Porter moved to Harvard, where he roomed with Dean Acheson, and on to the School of Music and the Paris Conservatoire to study music theory, history, harmony and counterpoint. In 1919, Porter married Linda Thomas and they spent a decade roaming glamorous, Bohemian Europe. In the 1920s, Porter experienced the beginnings of success with his songs sponsored by, among others, Irving Berlin and in the 1930s he made his name with hit shows such as Anything Goes. A riding accident in 1937 left him in constant pain, but he continued to write shows such as Kiss Me Kate and Silk Stockings until his death in 1964. William McBrien contrasts Porter's sophisticated, cool music with the stoicism, pain and passion of a life which mixed devotion to his wife with numerous homosexual love affairs. Having spoken friends and colleagues (for example, Bob Hope, Diane Vreeland, Stephen Sondheim), he paints a picture of Porter's refined but unstable world in Europe and America. Researching Porter's lyrics and correspondence, McBrien makes new links between his work and life and reveals how Porter's particular brand of hedonism - nonchalance, lovely pals, glamorous venues, splendid tailoring, good hotels, and love - was his protection against encroaching darkness.