Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) fought the label of 'charming, minor master' throughout his life, but today his oeuvre has achieved worldwide respect and popularity. Admired for his fine songs and religious works, he is perhaps best known for his humorous, insouciant pieces. From the freshness of Les Biches, composed for Diaghilev in 1924, to his ambitious 1956 opera, Dialogues des Carmélites, the author discusses Poulenc's work in the context of his colourful personal life and turbulent times.

The composer's affairs with younger, working-class men, which inspired major compositions, and his sensitivity about his role in the wartime occupation of France, have always been somewhat obscured. In this book the author uses recently published documents to shed new light on both the composer and the man.