Review: Dance of the Earth by Anna M Holmes
Today, I’m delighted to welcome author Anna M Holmes to Ruins & Reading. I’m sharing my review of her compelling saga, Dance of the Earth. It’s well worth checking out, especially if you enjoy reading about the world of theatre at the turn of the last century. Read on!
Dance of the Earth is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find enticing excerpts, insightful articles, and more HERE!
Dance of the Earth
by Anna M. Holmes
Review:
When I first heard of this novel, I couldn’t wait to read it. As someone who took ballet lessons when I was young, and who still loves to dance, it had to be done.
The story begins at the back door of the famous Alhambra Theatre in Victorian London, where a newborn baby girl is found lying in a basket, abandoned. No one knows where she came from, so it is left to seamstress Molly to look after the babe, soon named Rose. Although living on her own, Molly decides to keep her.
Rose grows up in the hustle and bustle of behind-the-scenes theatre, surrounded by staff, dancers, seamstresses, and managers, and soon enough, she catches the dance bug.
Molly watches on proudly as Rose begins to make a career for herself as a classical ballet dancer. Her reputation grows with her confidence, and soon, a teenage Rose enjoys the trappings of artist life, doing her best to be noticed amongst the plethora of dancers.
When handsome Arthur Roberts, a few years older than her, pays her attention, Rose allows him to take her out, enjoying their time together. She knows he's married, but when she eventually becomes his mistress, she soon finds herself pregnant. Deeply disappointed that Arthur would not leave his wife for her, Rose realises that her life as she knows it will change forever. When she gives birth to a daughter, in a back room at the Alhambra, she still holds on to hope that she'd manage. Then they realise she's having twins, and Rose's dreams shatter.
Fast forward several years, and Rose and her daughter, Nina, still live with Molly – whilst her son, Walter, has been taken in by his father, Arthur. But Rose is no longer a dancer. She has joined Molly and works on costumes and dresses behind the scenes.
Nina's and Walter's upbringing couldn't be any more different. Whilst precocious Nina enjoys the excitement of theatre and learns to dance, Walter receives a solid middle-class public school education. But the one thing he truly enjoys is playing the piano.
Then his father, Arthur, dies unexpectely – and his life changes irrevocably, as he learns about his real mother, Rose, and his twin sister, Nina.
But with the spectre of war looming across Europe, how will their different lives pan out? Will Walter and Nina find a common thread, or will they be forever apart? Well, I highly recommend you read the novel to find out!
Dance of the Earth is an utterly enthralling tale of abandonment, love, betrayal, music, and dance! We follow Nina's thrilling journeys across the world with the famous Ballets Russes, and Walter's harrowing wartime experiences that have a lasting effect on him. Their lives couldn't have been any more different.
Nina grows into a free spirit, happiest when on tour with the troupe. She is a restless soul, well ahead of her time in outlook and behaviour, and this makes for uplifting reading.
But it is Walter – grown from public schoolboy into sensitive adult, who has gone through Hell and back – whose life turns out rather intriguing. His life choices are, like his sister's, ahead of their time, but also firmly rooted in the past.
Both siblings have to accept their circumstances, whatever is thrown at them, and they do it remarkably well. Their decisions and choices add a strong dose of realism to the plot.
All the while, we discover the workings of coordinating large ballet productions during volatile times in thrilling detail, and we are introduced to some fascinating real-life characters who dazzled audiences over 100 years ago.
Dance of the Earth is an exceptional family saga of hardship and shattered dreams, but also of great love, deep care, and unwavering support in face of realistic challenges. The plot is thought-provoking, honest, exciting, daring at times, and throughout, utterly compelling. This dancer is one happy reader. Expect to stay up late into the night!
Highly recommended!
Blurb:
From world stages to theatres of war, Dance of the Earth is a sweeping family saga.
Set against the backdrops of London’s gilded Alhambra music hall, Diaghilev’s dazzling Ballets Russes, and the upheavals of the First World War, Rose and her children, Nina and Walter, pursue their ambitions, loves, and dreams. Dance and music shape their identities, helping each to find their place in the world.
Spanning the years 1875 to 1921—an era of profound artistic and social change—fact and fiction interweave in this tapestry of birth, sacrifice, and renewal. Art—both serious and comic—is at the story’s beating heart.
'I absolutely loved this! The characters were well-rounded, and the plot absorbing. The descriptions of the war, and Walter’s injuries, were heart-breaking. I’m a musician and am well-acquainted with the score of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring but had never considered it from the dancer’s perspective before and found this absolutely fascinating. I look forward to reading more Anna Holmes.'
~ Caroline Swinburne, Amazon 5* Review
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link
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Stories with big themes written as page-turners are Anna M Holmes’s speciality.
With an extensive background in dance and theatre, Dance of the Earth is a story she has longed to write.
Her novels—The Find, Wayward Voyage, and Blind Eye—are all typified by deep research.
Anna worked as a radio journalist before embarking on a career in arts management. Originally from New Zealand, she now lives in South-West London.
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