Pas de deux

     I can hardly do better than to quote Penny Vincenzi's summing up of Hester's Story by Adele Geras: "A real lose-yourself-in-it book...a not-to-be-missed treat". That's exactly what it is.

     Hester Fielding was the star ballerina of her day. Her story follows her early childhood in Paris to the miserable years spent with relations in Yorkshire and then to the discovery of her gift for dance and her ensuing brilliant career, but in contrast to her very public face her personal life has always remained a closely guarded secret. Now retired from dancing but playing host to an annual ballet festival at Wychwood, her house on the edge of the moors, Hester is about to find her world turned upside down.

     A Ballet Shoes for grownups, this book has a wonderful feel for the world of dance, from the intense, unrelenting physical demands made on the performers to the music, magical effects and pure theatricality of 'the show'. The story moves back and forth effortlessly between Christmas 1986 - the run-up to the festival's opening performance which this year is choreographed by the talented, sympathetic Hugo Carradine - and Hester's early career, her patronage by the formidable Madame Olga and her time in Piers Cranley's Charleroi Company in 1940s and 50s London where she made her name. As events unfold in the present, what actually happened in the past is dramatically revealed.

     The story is full of romance, heartbreak, steadfast friendship, dedication, sweat and tears, and without giving anything away, there's a great ending. On a personal note, I was surprised and pleased to see that some crucial scenes are set in a place we love to visit! It's the perfect book to curl up with and, as Penny Vincenzi says, to lose yourself in, and while I don't quite feel the urge to don a tutu and practise my entrechats, it has certainly made me want to go to the ballet at the first opportunity.

Comments

[Anna]

How exciting, just the kind of tip I needed! Thanks. Happy world book day!

[Anne]

I am "losing myself" at the moment in A Hidden Life by Adele Geras. It's exciting finding an author whose books I have not read. Looking forward to "Hester's Story"

[Margaret PowlingM]

I thoroughly enjoyed Hester's Story, as I have all four of Adele's novels for adults (for she has hitherto been primarily a children's and teenage author.) However, my favourite is still her first novel, Facing the Light. I even love the illustration of the house for the original hardback cover. I don't know what anyone else thinks, but it reminds me of Mompesson House (NT) in Salisbury.

[carole]

I ordered this last week, so glad that I did, it sounds delightful. Just my sort of story. Does anyone know if the Wells books by Lorna Hill are still in print. I adored those when I was young, wanted to become a ballerina, which, of course, I didn't!!

[tara]

I have this one and am saving it for just the right moment. Lovely review. I just ordered Geras' most recent novel from bookcloseouts so look forward to that as well.

[Barbara]

I enjoyed this, especially the costumes, and like your description of it as a Ballet Shoes for grown ups.
Carole: Some of the scarcer Wells titles have been reprinted by Girls Gone By Publishers http://www.ggbp.co.uk/ and are still available. Most of the books had earlier paperback editions which may be abridged. Smugchops here has the whole lot in hardback.

[adele geras]

How lovely to have a review for this book on Cornflower! THANK YOU!