Just re-read Ballet Shoes as an adult

[heron98]

Someone answer me this - if they are so poor they can't even afford new clothes, why don't they get rid of the flipping cook and the maid? Why doesn't Garnie get a job instead of staying up all night stressing about money?

The Cazalet Chronicles books 1 and 2 are 99p on Kindle on Amazon today. Been wanting to read these for a while!

Elli, the head of the house of Combe is one if the most extraordinary novels I've read. The ghastly mother, the dreadful abduction attempt ( ok, propaganda, but really scary).., the social ostracism. etc.

The White People was a bit too woo for me.

I adore Sally's Family. Can't find my copy at the moment.

I've just bought Ballet Shoes from a seller on eBay. Loved Party Frock as a child!

I'm on a quest to buy all my old favourites to fill the bookcases that I haven't yet got

I'd love to find the rest of the Vicarage series - I've never been able to order them from anywhere.

The Gemma books were much more modern, but along similar lines as all the rest, but I think I preferred the earlier ones. White Boots might have been my favourite.

For other ballet-themed books, I enjoyed most Rumer Godden's Thursday's Child, about a boy who had such an amazing talent for ballet, but overshadowed by his mother's desire to push his sister into it (who wasn't as good/serious). Lots about the Royal Ballet School in it.

I've just downloaded Head of the house of Coombe from Project Gutenberg! But I need to get through a 400 page David Mitchell novel before I can start it (shakes finger sternly at self).

Bloody bridget, read The Shuttle as well. Elinor Glyn meets NY money and abusive husband.

I loved Caldecott place. And I thought it was a brilliant depiction of a breakdown.

I've not read NS's adult fiction. Is it worth it?

Did think I'd asked this on MN before but AS says not.

It was a book where 2 children go to live with dull relatives in England after their parents die in an earthquake (?)

The girl is insistent that she must have private ballet lessons and is a bit of a diva. The brother tries to help earning money. Turns out the girl is the daughter of a ballet star who ran off with an artist (? may have made that bit up)

House of dull relatives was called "Dunroaming" which I didn't get as a child. Ballet teacher was, of course, "Madame".

If anyone can help, MNers can. Someone once identified a childhood book for me based on my detailed synopsis - "Wartime I think and the girl was struggling to fry an egg with little or no fat" Still impressed by that. Should be prizes really.

The Shuttle is good too :) Fiderer I think it's ballet shoes for Anna.

Yes, , it's a NS. Can't recall which. Will look at the lists if someone doesn't get there first.

not something like Ballet Shoes for Anna?

Ballet Shoes For Anna

wow, cross posts with 3, all identical times!

:) cross post :) Orlanda I would try something like Poppies for England or the Whicharts out of her adult stuff. A lot of it is very depressing but her romances and a couple of the adult fiction ones are good. Is anyone else an O Douglas fan?

Yup.

Elli, yes....pink sugar?

Which us the one about her marrying a rich thick chap ( ? Gerald?)who lives in a nice house with a naice mother in somewhere like Windsor where she doesn't hear a word of proper conversation?

Anyone else like DE Stevenson?

Blimey you lot are quick Thank you. Off to Amazon

Saplings is a good NS adult read. Depressing story though.

Elli - yes, O'Douglas fan here. Penny Plain is one of my favourites.

Defoe Ballet Shoes for Anna.

Isn't it amazing to recall a whole plot of a book from childhood when I could tell you what I had for lunch yesterday? Just shows the power of reading. I love White Boots as I started ice skating as a child. Dreams.....

I have all of them apart from Gemma series but even back then I remember them being very different.

If you haven't read The Vicarage Family then I do recommend it. It makes sense of a lot of the reoccurring themes in NS's books - a vicarage family was 'respectable' and therefore mixed with the middle classes but were very poor in comparison. She wasn't close to her mother but very close to her siblings and every year they went to their grandparents where the nanny who brought up her father still lived. She sounds like the model for Nana/peaseblossom etc. She also had talented/pretty siblings where she was the plain, awkward one.

However you do have to remember she wrote it as semi-autobiographical so it has some artistic licence and i'm sure there is a certain about of personal bias in it!

Orlando - 'Eliza for Common?'

couldn't tell you what I had for lunch yesterday....

I quite liked Saplings in that it didn't suggest that everything could be fixed. The characters ended the book pretty damaged which is how it would be in reality...

Just remembered the name of the illustrator for the book that Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g posted a picture of above. Shirley Hughes!

You can see her illustrations for A Vicarage Family here

The Seven Stories collection also holds the original Ruth Jervis illustrations for BS (see pics). Tempted to enlarge and print one for framing.

*Gervis

Edward Ardizzone was another artist who provided illustrations for NS books. My copy of The Growing Summer contains his drawings.

My copies of Tennis Shoes and Curtain Up have illustrations by D L Mays which I also love.

I loved Penny Plain and Pink Sugar but my favourites are the Proper Place and the Day of Small Things. Mercedes I liked the beginning of Saplings but it got a bit too sad for me, very well written though.