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Novello wrote his musical|musical shows in the
style of operetta, and was one of the last major
composers in this form. He generally composed his
music to the librettos of Christopher Hassall.

During World War II, Novello was convicted of
illegal use of rationed petrol (gasoline) and was
briefly imprisoned.  This downfall from his
luxurious lifestyle completely broke his spirit,
and he was never the same man after his release. 
However, he continued to appear on stage until the
day before his sudden death
from a coronary thrombosis on 6th March 1951, aged
58.

Novello was a homosexual, well known for some of
his more glamorous affairs. For 35 years, he was
the lover of the British actor Bobbie Andrews, and
he had an affair with the British poet and writer
Siegfried Sassoon. It was alleged by W. Somerset
Maugham that Sir Winston Churchill confided in him
that he had once been to bed with Novello.

The Ivor Novello Award is a prize awarded for
songwriting, named for Ivor Novello, and awarded
each year by the record industry to song writers
and arrangers rather than the performing artistes.

Novello was portrayed in the fictional film
Gosford Park (2001 in film|2001) by Jeremy Northam
and several of his songs were used for the film's
soundtrack. 

His memory continues to be promoted by The Ivor
Novello Appreciation Bureau, who hold annual
events around Britain, including an annual
pilgrimage to Redroofs in Littlewick Green in
June.

==Principal Shows==

*Glamorous Night  (1935)
*Careless Rapture (1936)
*Crest of the Wave(1937)
*The Dancing Years(1939)
*Arc de Triomphe  (1943)
*Perchance to Dream (operetta)|Perchance to Dream
(1945)
*King's Rhapsody  (1949)
*Gay's the Word   (1951)

==Outstanding Songs==

* Keep the Home Fires Burning
* Fold Your Wings
* Shine Through my Dreams
* Rose of England
* I Can Give you the Starlight
* My Dearest Dear
* When I Curtsied to the King
* We'll Gather Lilacs
* Someday my Heart will Awake
* Yesterday