Blog Tour: The Sleeping Beauties, Lucy Ashe

This review is part of the blog tour for the novel. Thank you to Random Things Tours and Magpie Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy I will receive a percentage commission at no extra cost to you.

It’s 1945 and Rosamund Caradon is escorting the last of the evacuees that she has cared for during the war back to London, her daughter Jasmine enjoying her last chance to boss them around. Their journey back to London is disrupted when Briar Woods, a young ballet dancer, chooses their carriage to travel in. The children are delighted, having taken some basic ballet classes during their stay at Gittisham Manor, but Rosamund is suspicious. Why choose their carriage, noisy with excited children, when there are plenty of empty spaces? Her discomfort around Briar only grows as she encourages Jasmine to increasingly enter her world. Why is Briar so insistent that they become close, and why does she seem hostile to Rosamund?

The early chapters set up the scenario in a way that the reader is unsettled by Briar, seeing her through Rosamund’s eyes, but also have reason to suspect Rosamund may be being overly cautious. She repeatedly mentions how she’d like to be able to stay in the safety of the grounds of Gittisham Manor with Jasmine, away from the world. Could it be that the bustle of London and the sad memories it holds for her are influencing her response to this young woman who is being nothing but accommodating? The focus then shifts to Briar and her history and we follow her for the majority of the book with a few different time jumps to drip feed her story. 

Alongside her friends Martha and Vivian, Briar is a dancer with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet. We get a sense of the wonderful camaraderie between them, an intimacy from living and dancing together. You feel the excitement and promise of young lives, living on their own for the first time, travelling the country and meeting exciting new people. Unfortunately, this comes with a dose of heartache for some, and difficult situations that will have far-reaching consequences. We are reminded that although these young women seem to have freedom and independence, the age they’re living in is still very much stacked against them, and they are held to a very different standard than the men they encounter.

The fictional lives of Briar and her friends are intermingled with famous names from the ballet world (Margot Fonteyn, Ninette de Valois, and Robert Helpmann to name but a few) and events from the company’s history. They travel to the Hague as it’s on the brink of invasion from Germany, a difficult chapter from the past where fictional tragedy is inserted. Ashe seamlessly blends fact and fiction, and ballet fans will enjoy the references to well known figures and productions. There is no shying away from the challenges of being a professional dancer, especially during a time of war and rationing, but the splendour of their production of The Sleeping Beauty as they return to the Royal Opera House stands in stark contrast to the heartbreak of the characters.

This is a story of secrets and an examination of what it means to be a mother. It considers how the choices you make when young can have impacts far beyond what you can envisage at the time. It is a heartfelt, well researched novel. The ballet environment that forms the setting is enjoyable but the heart of the story could happen with any backdrop. The characters are well drawn and believable, and you’re left wishing you could see more of how the revelations play out. A great read, I’ll be going back and reading Ashe’s debut.

Pick up a copy:
Bookshop
Waterstones

A Dream of Sadler’s Wells, Lorna Hill

We meet Veronica on a train taking her away from her beloved London to live with relatives she barely knows in Northumberland. Her mood is dark and she compares the north of England unfavourably to her home city. When she meets a curious boy while escaping an increasingly smoke filled carriage she reveals that her father has recently died, as well as her secret dream of becoming a ballerina. The boy shares his own secret aspirations with her and they pass the rest of the journey in relative peace. On arriving with her family it soon becomes clear that they don’t have much in common - Veronica rushes to help the chauffeur and can’t understand why this is forbidden. Her cousin Caroline is friendly but Fiona is unpleasant throughout, jealous of Veronica’s toned body and talent. Veronica is dedicated to her art and practices diligently in secret until she is given a glimmer of opportunity, her aunt agreeing to her training as a dance teacher. Will she be able to persuade her society family that dancing is not to be looked down upon and achieve her dream of joining the Sadler’s Wells School of Ballet?

This is a cosy, innocent read with many a picnic and pony ride and the only peril being Fiona’s sharp tongue and the possibility of a missed train. They live a privileged life, and although this can be constraining, ultimately their voices are listened to far more than many would have been. Veronica’s ‘sort-of a cousin’ Sebastian is kind and understanding of her dreams. He is also the only person that can put Fiona in her place. Reading this felt very reminiscent of books like The Railway Children or The Famous Five where many a simple adventure is had, idyllic days are spent exploring, and small battles are fought with adults. 

As Veronica is not yet a student at Sadler’s Wells the focus is less on ballet than I imagine the rest of the series might be, but there is still plenty to keep fans interested. Hill shows both the glamorous, elegant side of performance with the beautiful costumes and union with music, but also the daily grind of attaining the skill to create such moving displays. Veronica has a deep appreciation for the art and finds herself lost in the music and surrounds, performing above and beyond anything she has attained previously. She is also lucky to have supportive adults around her. Her beloved Madame back in London and her new teacher Miss Martin go out of their way to support her in achieving her dreams, an indication of the talent they see in her.

Despite Veronica’s reservations when first arriving in her new home, she comes to appreciate the landscape and enjoys summer days spent with her cousins and Sebastian. Nonetheless, she offers us plenty of glimpses of her life in London and we get a good sense of the characters she knew there. Mrs Crapper, her landlady, and the artist Jonathan who lived above them and encouraged her creativity to flourish. She reflects on the shift from leaving London and feeling as though she were losing her home and returning and feeling still that she is leaving home. Her feelings are conflicted and realistic as she grows into her new life.

This is a delightful read with amusing misunderstandings and all the joy of the freedom of youth. Veronica is an amusing narrator, brutally honest in some of her opinions, but ultimately kind and hardworking. The writing is richly descriptive and absorbing. The perfect cosy read for the colder months.

Polina, Bastien Vivès, Translated by Polly McLean

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy I will receive a percentage commission at no extra cost to you.

Polina follows an aspiring dancer from auditions as a child through to adulthood, trying to find her way in the world while reluctant to let go of what she was taught in her formative years. Bojinsky is famed for his high standards and often reduces students to tears, leaving them convinced they should quit dancing for good. He is no less exacting in his training of Polina, but she is determined to stick with it. When she moves on, she begins to realise others see his technique as old-fashioned and try to get her to forget what he taught her. She finds herself torn between the two, studying with him in secret and jeopardising her position at the theatre school. There is a sense of Polina being over-burdened and pulled in too many directions throughout which adds a sense of heaviness, of enclosure, to the novel.

The depictions of ballet training play on some of the over-done stereotypes - her mother tells her not to show if it hurts when the teachers test her suppleness in the early pages of the book. Bojinsky’s views that you can’t be taught grace and other basic elements required of dancers also feels at odds with reality. He is an unsettling character, demanding and unreasonable, and I spent large sections of the book worried that his behaviour was going to escalate. Polina’s devotion to him seems illogical on the surface, but she feels a sense of loyalty to him because he saw something in her and kept her working hard to achieve her potential. There’s a sense that he shaped her as a dancer, even though her career diverts from his technique. Their relationship made me quite uncomfortable, but it was interesting to see the dynamic between mentor and pupil explored.

Polina rarely seems happy, caught in constant conflict with herself and eager to please others before herself. When she suffers setbacks that would be fairly devastating they are quickly passed over and this can create a slight distance with the emotional side of the characters.

The plot progresses at quite a pace, leaving much left to be assumed as we jump forward across the years. This can help sweep you along with the story with no time to stop and dwell, but it can also be a bit jarring as you have to discern how much time has passed and where we find Polina now.

This was my first time reading a graphic novel and although it was easy to get wrapped up in, I was left wanting something more from it. The illustrations themselves nicely capture movement and resist being bogged down in too much detail. For fans of ballet and coming-of-age stories, this is an interesting book to pick up.

Pick up a copy:

Bookshop

Foyles

Waterstones

George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker, Robert Gottlieb

Having served on the Board of Directors at New York City Ballet, Gottlieb knew Balanchine and his dancers and so brings a personal perspective to the biography. From the loneliness of his childhood to his deathbed, this is an informal biography of one of ballet’s greats, and in which the author does not hide his admiration. In it we see a man who shakes up the ballet world while remaining largely liked.

It is no secret that his muses were normally young female dancers, he did not respond to male movement with such adoration. Even when Baryshnikov joined NYCB he was not treated in any special way and no new works were created on him. Balanchine rewarded those who were loyal to him highly and there is only one dancer included who does not speak kindly of him, a rare feat for a creative genius. He was married multiple times and seems to have taken it in his stride that they would not last forever, although he loyally cared for Tanaquil le Clerque when she was struck down with Polio, despite the fact they had agreed to go their separate ways before tragedy struck. His attitude to money was similarly easy-going, giving it away as freely as he earned it.

What emerges is a portrait of a man whose creative output was vast and who changed the landscape of ballet, and yet always had a loneliness lingering. For one remembered as a choreographer it is also remarked upon that he was a beautiful dancer and that those performing his works often felt they’d never be able to dance them as beautifully. A warm, chatty biography that is a joy to read, though by no means comprehensive.

Paris Part Three – Palais Garnier, Fontainebleau, and the Musée d’Orsay