Book excerpt: This record of Elgar's intimate friendship with Alice Stuart Wortley--daughter of the painter Millais and wife of an MP--and her family chronicles a period of great artistic accomplishment set against a brilliant background of Edwardian theater, Royal Academy dinners, and private concerts. Containing some of Elgar's finest letters, many never before published, the volume also draws on diaries, manuscript notes, and personal recollections to fill gaps in the correspondence, creating a rich and full portrait of a fascinating society and a great artist at the height of his powers.