Why a Booktrail?
1940s: A tale of obsession, jealousy and heartache against the backdrop of WW2
The Sleeping Beauties
What you need to know before your trail
May 1945 and at long last, Rosamund Caradon is feeling optimistic. As she returns the last few evacuees to London from her Devonshire manor, she vows to protect dance-obsessed daughter Jasmine from further peril.
But a chance meeting with a Sadler’s Wells ballet dancer changes everything.
When the beautiful, elusive Briar Woods bursts into Rosamund’s train carriage, it’s clear her sights are set on the immediately captivated Jasmine. And Rosamund cannot shake the eerie feeling this accidental encounter is not what it seems.
For Briar may be far away from the pointe shoes and greasepaint of the Sleeping Beauty ballet that is so much a part of her, but her performance for Rosamund might just be her most successful yet.
This, Briar feels, is a show for a mother and daughter. A dance that could turn deadly
Locations
Reset- England - London
- A: Sadler's Wells Theatre
- B: Covent Garden
- England - Devon
- C: Ottery St Mary
- D: Gittisham
Travel Guide
The Sleeping Beauty Ballet
The author in her note says that the story of the Sadler’s Wells ballet is remarkable, especially during the war years. She doesn’t feel as if she has done the story justice. The team at Sadler’s Wells were courageous and dedicated in keeping the ballet going through the darkness of times.
Many real figures from history feature in the novel and it makes it all the more remarkable. You know you are reading fact and fiction mixed – the author herself trained at the ballet school so scenes are authentic and mesmerising in equal measure.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Sleeping Beauties
Destination: London, Devon Author/guide: Lucy Ashe Departure Time: 1945
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