Author | Noel Streatfeild |
---|---|
Illustrator | Ruth Gervis |
Language | English |
Series | Ballet |
Subject | Three Children on Stage |
Genre | Children's novel, Theatre-fiction |
Publisher | J. M. Dent & Sons |
Publication date | 1936 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | |
Pages | 303 pp (first edition) |
OCLC | 222639171 |
LC Class | PZ7.S914 Bal [1] |
Followed by | Tennis Shoes |
Ballet Shoes: A Story of Three Children on the Stage is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild, published by Dent in 1936. Her first book for children, it was illustrated by the author's sister, Ruth Gervis. [2]
Ballet Shoes was a runner up for the inaugural Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best British children's book by a British subject. [3] [lower-alpha 1] (Streatfeild won the award later for The Circus Is Coming . [4] [lower-alpha 2] )
The book concerns three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil. Each of the girls is discovered as a baby by Matthew Brown (Great-Uncle-Matthew, known as "Gum"), an elderly, absentminded palaeontologist and professor, during his world travels, and sent home to his practical great niece, Sylvia and her childhood nanny, Nana who live in London, England.
Gum embarks upon an expedition of many years and arranges for money to support the family while he is gone. Gum does not return in the promised five years and the money is almost gone. As they have no way to contact or track him down, Sylvia and Nana take in boarders to make ends meet, including Mr. Simpson and his wife, Dr. Jakes and Dr. Smith, a pair of tutors who take over the children's education after Sylvia can no longer afford their school fees. Boarder Theo Dane, a dance teacher, arranges for the children to begin classes at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training.
Pauline finds she has a talent and passion for acting while Petrova hates acting and dancing. Posy has a real talent for dancing. When she is about six, Madame Fidolia, a famous and retired Russian dancer, gives Posy private lessons, something she has never done before. As the children mature, they take on some of the responsibility of supporting the household. Much of the drama comes from the friction between the sisters and from balancing their desire to help support the family financially against the laws limiting the amount of time they may spend on stage. When Pauline is picked for a lead part in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland after performing in The Blue Bird, the early success goes to her head, because of which the producer replaces her with her understudy (although only for a single performance, not permanently as portrayed in the 2007 film). Through this, Pauline learns enough humility to balance her talent, and goes on to play many successful lead parts.
Posy is developing into a brilliant ballet dancer. She also clashes with her sisters, as she is so focused on dancing that she is insensitive about anything that gets in her way. Petrova is not interested in the performing arts and has little talent for it but must keep attending classes and performing to help support the family. However, she holds onto her own dream of flying aircraft.
The book ends with Pauline going off to Hollywood to make a film, accompanied by Sylvia. Posy is going to a ballet school in Prague, accompanied by Nana. Petrova wonders what will become of her, as she is still too young to live on her own and doesn't want to dance or act. At this moment, Gum arrives. He has been away so long that he doesn't realize who the three girls are at first, but after recognising that they are the three babies he left all those years ago, he decides he will take Petrova under his wing and help her achieve her dream.
Ballet Shoes has twice been adapted for the screen, both by the BBC:
On 5 November 2019 BBC News included Ballet Shoes on its list of the 100 most influential novels. [6]
The Red Shoes is a 1948 British drama film written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It follows Victoria Page, an aspiring ballerina who joins the world-renowned Ballet Lermontov, owned and operated by Boris Lermontov, who tests her dedication to the ballet by making her choose between her career and her romance with composer Julian Craster.
Joanna David is an English actress, best known for her television work.
Some films feature recognizable dance forms, demonstrating them, shedding light on their origin, or being the base of a plot.
Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series. Random House, the U.S. publisher of the 1936 novel Ballet Shoes (1936), published some of Streatfeild's subsequent children's books using the word "Shoes" in their titles, to capitalize on the popularity of Ballet Shoes; thus Circus Shoes, Party Shoes, Skating Shoes and many more. She won the third annual Carnegie Medal for The Circus Is Coming. She was a member of the historic Streatfeild family.
Moira Shearer King, Lady Kennedy was a Scottish ballet dancer and actress. She was famous for her performances in Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffman (1951) and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960).
The Turning Point is a 1977 American drama film centered on the world of ballet in New York City, written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. It stars Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft, along with Leslie Browne, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Tom Skerritt. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The script is a fictionalized version of the real-life Brown family and the friendship between ballerinas Isabel Mirrow Brown and Nora Kaye.
Ballet Shoes is a 2007 British television film, adapted by Heidi Thomas from Noel Streatfeild's 1936 novel Ballet Shoes. It was produced by Granada Productions and premiered on BBC One on 26 December 2007. It is directed by Sandra Goldbacher.
White Boots is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild. It was first published by Collins publishers in 1951. The book was published under the title Skating Shoes in the US, also in 1951. White Boots tells the story of a poor girl and a rich girl who meet as a result of figure skating and is the tale of their unlikely friendship.
Ballet Shoes is British television adaptation of Noel Streatfeild's novel Ballet Shoes first broadcast on BBC One in 1975. Adapted by John Wiles and directed by Timothy Combe, the series was aired in six parts on Sunday evenings. It was aired by PBS in the United States on 27 December 1976.
Wintle's Wonders is a children's novel about a theatrical troupe by Noel Streatfeild. It was first published in 1957, and in 1958 was published in the US as Dancing Shoes, a title which has also been used in more recent UK editions. A number of Streatfeild's children's novels have undergone similar retitling, linking them to her most successful book, Ballet Shoes. Wintle's Wonders draws on the author's own acting experience, and revisits the type of theatrical establishment seen in her adult novels The Whicharts and It Pays to be Good.
Mary 'Betty' Newmarsh Woolcock née Ladler (1914–2004) was an English artist and illustrator, most notable for her illustrations in books written by Enid Blyton.
Marion Catherine "Kitty" Barne was a British screenwriter and author of children's books, especially on music and musical themes. She won the 1940 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.
Curtain Up is a children's novel about a theatrical family by British author Noel Streatfeild. It was first published in 1944. To remind potential readers of Streatfeild's highly successful first novel, Ballet Shoes, it is often retitled Theatre Shoes, or Theater Shoes in the US. A number of Streatfeild's children's novels have undergone similar retitling.
Petrov or Petroff or Petrova, is one of the most common surnames in Russia and Bulgaria. The surname is derived from the first name Pyotr or Petar and literally means Pyotr's or Petar's.
The Painted Garden is a children's novel by British author Noel Streatfeild. It was first published in serial form in 1948, and as a book in 1949. The abridged US edition was entitled Movie Shoes. The novel is now out of print, the most recent publication being the 2000 Collins paperback.
Ruth Gervis was a British illustrator. Together with her sister Noel Streatfeild she illustrated the 1936 book Ballet Shoes. Her other book illustrations include The Buttercup Farm Family, The Pole Star Family, The Saucy Jane Family and The Very Big Secret.
The Circus Is Coming is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild, about the working life of a travelling circus. It was first published in 1938 with illustrations by Steven Spurrier. For this novel, Streatfeild was awarded the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject. American editions and some later British editions are titled Circus Shoes.
The Streatfeilds, Streatfields or Stretfields are an aristocratic English family of the landed gentry, from Chiddingstone, Kent. The family are traceable to the early 16th century and are a possible cadet branch of the Noble House of Stratford. They were significant landowners in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, and instrumental in shaping those counties throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. From the early 16th century until 1900 the family seat was Chiddingstone Castle. The family later sold the castle to Lord Astor in 1938.
Posy or Posey or Posie is an English given name derived from the English term for a small flower bouquet. A posy is also a word for a single flower. It can also be derived from an English nickname, sometimes used independently, for a formal name such as Josephine. The name came into use along with other botanical names for girls in the 1800s. It has also been associated with poesy, referring to a collection of verses. A posie ring is a gold ring with a meaningful verse on its surface. They were exchanged by lovers as a symbol of commitment from the 1500s. Other spelling variants in use include Posee and Posi.
Sylvia Anne McCully is a Singaporean ballet dancer, choreographer and dance instructor. She founded the Sylvia McCully School of Dancing and has choreographed dance sequences for multiple Singapore National Day parades.
The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.