A Bit of Singing and Dancing

by Susan Hill

When Susan Hill's first collection of stories, "The Albatross," (awarded the John Llywellyn Rhys Prize), appeared, the reviewer in the Times Literary Supplement compared her style to that of Tolstoy. With this collection, "A Bit of Singing and Dancing," she establishes herself as one of the very few novelists practising the art of the short story with total success. Whether she is relating the tragic series of events in the conservatory, or conjuring up the pathos of an unusual lodger, or portraying the ineffable Ossie in Venice, her powers of description are sharp, compassionate, and subtle. A French village, an English seaside town out of season, a hospital ward, these are some of her varied backgrounds. The eleven stories in this collection are a clear indication of Susan Hill's unique skill.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, British Literature, Novels

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 1976

About the author

Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".

She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".

Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.

In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.

Reviews

[Rachel Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for A-level and at the time it drove me mad. I found it a very frustrating collection of stories. But even now, over 20 years later, many of the stories haunt me. It is a collection about desolation, isolation and well misery really. But it obviously did have wuite a deep impact on me and I would dearly love to re-visit it. Shame it's out of print in 2011.

[Sana Abdulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Susan Hill

[Julie A. Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another piece of Susan Hills artistry

I was first introduced to the writing of Susan Hill some years ago. The first book was a gift from my best friend and I could not put it down. I quickly found I was reading all her published pieces. Susan Hill has an amazing way of drawing you into the world of her characters by her rich descriptions of their thoughts, emotions and surroundings. I loved this book of short stories. My only complaint is that I couldn't put it down so the reading experience ended too quickly. Excellent author.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of short stories by Susan Hill. Beautifully crafted with finely created characters.

[Ian Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bit of Singing and Dancing, by English author Susan Hill, is a collection of 11 short stories published in the 70s but seem to set in earlier decades.

This is the first of a personal endeavour, in 2016, to try more work by women writers than I normally have in the past. Susan Hill was a name I knew though only through one novel I read years ago. I remember it was about a soldier, serving in a war I think. I don't remember the title or much else other than the impression it was a good read.

Despite any impression the title may give, the theme of these stories is loneliness; sudden, creeping, chronic: loners, loss, despair, isolation, purposeless, anxiety, neuroses, illness, ageing, mortality and death. But not solitude, self-reliance and peacefulness, or any positive expression of being alone. Hill doesn't seem to do positive; this is something I remembered from the earlier novel. She also writes equally effectively from either gender perspective, from teenage to septuagenarian.

Downbeat but the writing is consistently strong. Okay, I would have liked a broader scope of stories, with a few happier interludes, but I never felt like giving up on it. Individually, these are exemplary shorts, well crafted, page turners and not too long. Very, very good but probably better read in smaller doses.

[Nirmal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read first story 'Holloran's child". A moving story set in a parochial, superstitious vilage. Twomey family is considered as inauspicious and bad omen to be avoided. Nate and Nelson Twomey are siblings who are brought up by their slightly older sister Bertha. Nelson is generally ruthless and somewhat a sadist rat-picker. Nate is dumb and deaf but is more humane and he is appalled by Nelson's sadistic attitude. Nate works as a coffin-maker. In the same village is a sickly and dying child Jenny Hollaran, Daughter of Hollaran's. In general every one in the village avoids Nate and other Twomey's. Infact Hollaran is particularly cautious about staying away from the dark/accursed shadows of Nate and other Twomey's.

However Jenny does not avoid Nate. Infact she starts to come to his workshop and spend some time there everyday. They were mostly quiet but occasionally Jenny spoke and Nate responded by grunts and signs. They both developed empathy for each other. This stopped after some time as Jenny's conditioned worsened and she was not allowed to come to Nate's workshop. Similarly Nate wasn't allowed to see her.

Nate's ordeal starts as he is not able to help Jenny who is becoming more and more sick.

[ClareT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a random selection from a second hand bookshop, having previously read and enjoyed The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. And it was an excellent choice, and was one of those books that I savoured rather than rushing through.
There are 11 short stories, all with the an overarching theme of loss, grief and loneliness.
In the first story, Halloran's Child, we see what it is to be a family on the outside of the community, treated with suspicion for no reason other than disability. In Mr Proudham and Mr Sleight, we see the slow deterioration of Mr Sleight, as viewed through their temporary neighbour, whereas In the Conservatory sees the sad result of intolerance of adults preoccupied only with themselves. Most of the stories are in a similar vein, dealing with intolerance, and the internal thoughts, mainly, but not only of the female characters. All are excellent, many are thought provoking, and most are a bit depressing, but all are well written.
It was a book I expected to read once but not keep, but this is going back on my shelf and I shall hunt down other books by the same author and see if I can find any more gems.

[Wisewebwoman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories mainly focussed on loneliness with interesting characters that live on long after the book has been read.

The only weakness (or I would have rated it 5/5)in my mind was the unnecessary addition of a final sentence or paragraph to some of the stories. Many of the stories I did give 5/5.

Haunting and beautiful.

[Rachel]

Susan Hill is one of my favourite authors. Her stories are so well rounded. I would love Red and Green Beads to be extended into a novel. There is potential to find out much more about the characters.

[Lottie Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the collection that introduced me to Susan Hill and made me into a lifelong fan of her work. These stories are deceptive - not a lot happens but they will stay with you for years, perhaps forever. As with all her work they are finely crafted and beautifully written.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book. The stories were so depressing and gloomy I confess I gave up on it midway. Nothing to sing and dance about.

[Jane Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that made me love reading again.

[Chris Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterclass in short story writing.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I always like a bit of singing and dancing, some variety. It takes you out of yourself, singing and dancing.”

Despite the title, this collection of short stories has little singing and dancing, although surely the collection of misfit, misunderstood, or simply different characters could do with a little singing and dancing to get out of their lethargic lives.
I found it to be a very particular collection, very well written and with a message that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

[Adm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written, atmospheric book for when you want to really accutely feel that everyone you love (+ you yourself) is either dead, dying or in some unspecified, immediate danger - but before the catastrophe they (+ you yourself) will be humiliated, tormented by bodily degradation and/or cruelty of others/the world itself - before ultimately realising that they (you) have probably wasted their whole lives.

[Trevor Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a mesmerising, haunting collection of short stories.

Hill writes precisely, economically.

Her descriptions of the natural world are exceptional.

I have just one slight criticism: a lack of variety in style and subject matter. One or two lighter, more humourous stories would have been welcomed.

But what we do have are some of the best stories written in the English language.

[Gavin Carr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but there is something wearing about working through a series of short stories where you know that they are going to end badly/sadly. This felt clear after reading the first couple and it was the case. I found myself skipping in a couple of them - it felt pointless to engage with the characters when it was a foregone conclusion that they would fail.

[Swastika Verma · Rating 4 out of 5]

almost all the stories revolves around the themes of death, repentance and regrets, experienced at the dawn of life.

[Mr Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine collection of stories that I recommend without question. I found some of the stories left me feeling drained and even a bit sad by the end. The Custodian was particularly moving.
The characters in this book are all really well defined and believable. They seem to have plenty in common : sadness, world-weariness, eccentricities galore. I still can’t work out if Mr Proudham and Mr Sleight were a couple or whether they were two men who just happened to live and grow old together. There are plenty of unanswered questions across all 11 stories.
I did find some of the older characters touched me deeply. I’m no longer a young man and I can feel some recognisable traits in these people that actually left me feeling a tad uncomfortable. These people are all shown to have had lives and are now finding themselves living in a world that they don’t appear to belong in. A veil of sadness wafts over many of them.
So, yes, highly recommended. I read this originally back in the late eighties when I studied it as part of my A levels, and my reaction to it and the characters therein has changed dramatically. I know some of these tales will stick with me until the end.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

PRELUDE:
Saw the BBC version of Susan Hill's novella ghost story "The Woman In Black" which was chillingly superb. On a visit to London in 2005 I took a friend to see the play version at a suitably old and creaky theatre in the West End.
Since, I have bought two novels and this book of short stories, although I have never read the actual novella which has made me place faith in Susan Hill as a writer.And THAT is true faith: "sight unseen"!!!
So far I see her characters as recluses but not because they choose it. It is forced on them by fate or circumstance or society...a man born deaf and dumb but also seen as a harbinger of Death because he makes coffins; an elderly gay couple; a childless woman with a boring husband becomes equally trapped by a clandestine affair; and the young solicitor of the novella isolated in the empty home of his dead client and by the community who fear the house's mystery.
Read on,MacDuff!!!

A wide range of characters of every age, sexuality and situation.
Will be interested to read more.
What higher recommendation can there be!!!

[Andrey Reshetnikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

In short, it is about what people feel and think when they are young and when they are old. She describes relations between the ages. Most of the stories are depressing. I was emerging from the bleak and gloomy world almost every time. If not death it would be an ellipsis with the invitation to speculate about the subsequent drama.

The characters in the stories have deceptions about life and people, and, more often, about themselves. They break their own lives and others' lives too. She is especially "cruel" with children. If for the old ones it is a bitter ending and we pity them, for the young, and this is most dramatic, it is an ending without even proper beginning or a start of a damaged life. On top of it, Susan Hill writes nothing from the scope of ordinary life, these situations are commonplace even today, I believe, she is just direct about it.

[Kalle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of hit-and-miss, as is usual with collections of short stories. Some of these were amazing, and a few were written in a way that made it impossible for me to get into them.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely read.
Takes you back in time and also in the present to live, love, laugh, cry and understand a few things about life and living- and mistakes.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most short story collections, there are good and bad. This seems to have more from the bad and mundane genre.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying collection of poignant short stories in a wide range of settings. Each setting was vividly conveyed without ever being overblown.