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Dancing Peel #2
Dancer's Luck
Dancer's Luck
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 29, 2014
The second of one of Lorna Hill's 'other' series, Dancer's Luck is a fascinating read to somebody very much entrenched in the Well books. You'll have to forgive me if I make any faux pas about this series as Dancer's Luck is my introduction and, well, it's a bit ... stretched, is it not?
Oh, I'm leaping ahead and that is poor of me. It is wrong to address the issues without acknowledging first the strengths, for no book is wholly one or the other. They may be weak, or they may be strong, but they will always have (I hope!) something in them that they do well.
So Lorna. Lovely Lorna Hill. I have a great passion for her writing when it is at its best. It is light, loving and fiery all at the same time. It's a curious skill to have, but I'll defy many others of her contemporaries to be able to balance a great, passionate, almost pastoral love for life and dance against the banal practicalities of a career in the theatre. Her first Wells books are full of this, this sheer joy in existing and dancing and being.
Maybe it's that that makes this book pale for me, because in a way it's all been done better elsewhere. And she's done the 'flight to an audition' already, and better, with Veronica, and she's done the quietly attractive Scot better with Robin and his kitten rescuing powers. And she's done the bad girl (Sheena is a bad girl, right?) better with poor foolish Fiona. It all feels a little bit ... retrod. Like the curtain has been drawn up and the show must still go on even though nobody's quite ready.
But that's to do a lot of Dancer's Luck a great disservice, for there is one thing that I think remains one of Lorna Hill's huge and glorious talents, and that is to make you fall in love with the world. Hill loves her worlds. She writes nature, and the countryside, and the world of her characters with such passion and adoration and yes, a little overly romantically at points, but it's hard to resist the sheer charm of it. She has such skills in translating the beauty of the world that, even with all this twice-told story, will always make me come back to her.
One additional thing to note is that I rather love Hill's Noel Streatfeild-esque stylistics in Dancer's Luck, what with having the cross references to Madame Boccaccio...
Oh, I'm leaping ahead and that is poor of me. It is wrong to address the issues without acknowledging first the strengths, for no book is wholly one or the other. They may be weak, or they may be strong, but they will always have (I hope!) something in them that they do well.
So Lorna. Lovely Lorna Hill. I have a great passion for her writing when it is at its best. It is light, loving and fiery all at the same time. It's a curious skill to have, but I'll defy many others of her contemporaries to be able to balance a great, passionate, almost pastoral love for life and dance against the banal practicalities of a career in the theatre. Her first Wells books are full of this, this sheer joy in existing and dancing and being.
Maybe it's that that makes this book pale for me, because in a way it's all been done better elsewhere. And she's done the 'flight to an audition' already, and better, with Veronica, and she's done the quietly attractive Scot better with Robin and his kitten rescuing powers. And she's done the bad girl (Sheena is a bad girl, right?) better with poor foolish Fiona. It all feels a little bit ... retrod. Like the curtain has been drawn up and the show must still go on even though nobody's quite ready.
But that's to do a lot of Dancer's Luck a great disservice, for there is one thing that I think remains one of Lorna Hill's huge and glorious talents, and that is to make you fall in love with the world. Hill loves her worlds. She writes nature, and the countryside, and the world of her characters with such passion and adoration and yes, a little overly romantically at points, but it's hard to resist the sheer charm of it. She has such skills in translating the beauty of the world that, even with all this twice-told story, will always make me come back to her.
One additional thing to note is that I rather love Hill's Noel Streatfeild-esque stylistics in Dancer's Luck, what with having the cross references to Madame Boccaccio...
February 21, 2017
the second book about diminutive ballet student Annete Dancey. this one is set mainly in Skye, where Annete's friend Angus is staying with his friend Jamie Gordon, who struggles to maintain his crmbling ruin of a castle. naturally Angus's beautiful, troublesome cousin Sheena turns up, and soon has her sights set on handsome enigmatic Jamie Gordon (and who can blame her?). jamie is attracted to Sheena, but has no illusions about her character. Maenwhile Annette comes north on a tour with her dancing school, and naturally ends up dancing in Portree. This is a very enjoyable story with interesting characters (watching Jamie outwit crafty Sheena at every turn is great fun), and lyrical descriptions of the skye scenery, and a dramatic climatic race across Skye. I am looking forward to reading the next one.
April 9, 2020
Another old favorite. Probably 3.5 stars. At first the story veers away from Annette and her trials and tribulations, to introduce the reader to Jaimie Gordon of Skye, who has his own trials and tribulations. But then the two stories converge and Annette meets Jaimie, who just happens to be an old friend of Angus's. Adventures ensue, along with a happy ending. Very sweet and enjoyable.
October 14, 2014
There's an awful lot of dashing about in this book - principally to, from, and around Skye. It's hard to keep up. But Annette is slightly less annoying than in the first book, as is Sheena, so that's an improvement.
I'm not sure, though, that I care about the characters so much that I'll be hunting for the rest of the set. It's fairly obvious what's going to happen and if the whole journey is going to dart about like this one - trains, planes, automobiles, and horses, bikes and boats - it could well be too exhausting to be entertaining.
I'm not sure, though, that I care about the characters so much that I'll be hunting for the rest of the set. It's fairly obvious what's going to happen and if the whole journey is going to dart about like this one - trains, planes, automobiles, and horses, bikes and boats - it could well be too exhausting to be entertaining.
August 15, 2014
Annette loves her visit to Skye. But what on earth does Jamie see in Sheena?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews