"This book is the first full-scale biography of William Alwyn since his death in 1985. Adrian Wright's book balances detailed analysis of Alwyn's work with a vivid account of his marriages to the musician Olive Pull and the composer Doreen Carwithen, relationships that profoundly affected the course of his career. Using a mass of hitherto unpublished material [including an unexpurgated version of his noted Ariel to Miranda] and interviews with prominent figures in Alwyn's life, the volume places his achievements in the musical context of his time, along the way dealing with his relationship with Benjamin Britten, and such hitherto almost unknown works as Don Juan, The Fairy Fiddler and the radio opera Farewell, Companions."--Jacket.