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The Dancing Bear
Following a raid by the Huns, the slave Silvester, his dancing bear, Bubba, and Holy John attempt to find Lady Ariadne
244 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 1972
129 people want to read
About the author
Peter Dickinson
142 books156 followersPeter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was a prolific English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 18 reviews
May 21, 2016
This was THE book that made me determined to learn how to write.
It was recommended by one of my Latin/Classics teachers (back in the days when quite a few state schools taught these subjects) after I mentioned wanting to study the Byzantine Empire. I was blown away by Peter's ability to create a fully functioning world that felt so real yet utterly alien (at least for someone growing up in western Europe at the end of the 20th century).
He perfectly captures the climate, culture and mindset of a wealthy household in Byzantium, from the ascetic hermit who has spent decades on top of a column in an effort to be worthy of his God, and the young heiress who understands that she is just a pawn in her family's game of statesmanship but feels powerless to do anything about it, to the slave boy in charge of the household's dancing bear, never thinking to question his role in life.
Then their city is invaded by people as alien to them as the folk of Byzantium are to us, and they are all forced to look at their world again. When the girl's family views her kidnapping as the least of their worries and the boy finally realises that he, as a slave, is even more expendable than she, he decides to act.
It's an unlikely rescue party that accompanies him, not least the dancing bear.
This is one of those wonderful, life-affirming tales made more wonderful by the perfection of the setting, the portrayal of the characters and the way they develop and grow as the story unfolds. It appears to be out of print now but if you happen upon it grab it and read it because you're unlikely to be disappointed.
It was recommended by one of my Latin/Classics teachers (back in the days when quite a few state schools taught these subjects) after I mentioned wanting to study the Byzantine Empire. I was blown away by Peter's ability to create a fully functioning world that felt so real yet utterly alien (at least for someone growing up in western Europe at the end of the 20th century).
He perfectly captures the climate, culture and mindset of a wealthy household in Byzantium, from the ascetic hermit who has spent decades on top of a column in an effort to be worthy of his God, and the young heiress who understands that she is just a pawn in her family's game of statesmanship but feels powerless to do anything about it, to the slave boy in charge of the household's dancing bear, never thinking to question his role in life.
Then their city is invaded by people as alien to them as the folk of Byzantium are to us, and they are all forced to look at their world again. When the girl's family views her kidnapping as the least of their worries and the boy finally realises that he, as a slave, is even more expendable than she, he decides to act.
It's an unlikely rescue party that accompanies him, not least the dancing bear.
This is one of those wonderful, life-affirming tales made more wonderful by the perfection of the setting, the portrayal of the characters and the way they develop and grow as the story unfolds. It appears to be out of print now but if you happen upon it grab it and read it because you're unlikely to be disappointed.
October 7, 2024
This was enjoyed by all young listeners as well as by the reader. It was a good companion to history study of the Byzantine empire, the fall of Rome, barbarian invasions, etc.
A good deal of the story is spent relating day-to-day relations of humans (also animals) - not especially historical, but there are other bits that really make one consider what was happening at the time, how the eastern and western Roman empires survived out beyond the cities, how the various tribes interacted. The titular bear, Bubba (I would have preferred a different name) set this story apart from most historical fiction - a bit far-fetched, but maybe not too much so.
I think the only Dickinson I had read prior to this was his earlier Changes trilogy. I found some similarities, particularly in how in both he tells the stories of long travels.
Chapter heads and full-page section illustrations by David Smee were excellent.
A good deal of the story is spent relating day-to-day relations of humans (also animals) - not especially historical, but there are other bits that really make one consider what was happening at the time, how the eastern and western Roman empires survived out beyond the cities, how the various tribes interacted. The titular bear, Bubba (I would have preferred a different name) set this story apart from most historical fiction - a bit far-fetched, but maybe not too much so.
I think the only Dickinson I had read prior to this was his earlier Changes trilogy. I found some similarities, particularly in how in both he tells the stories of long travels.
Chapter heads and full-page section illustrations by David Smee were excellent.
January 28, 2021
3.5 stars.
• I particularly appreciated the vivid depiction of the numerous cultures that the narrative spans.
• There really should be more books about Byzantium.
• Bubba, the titular bear, seemed so realistically portrayed that I have to wonder how and where and under what circumstances the author made the acquaintance of a tame bear.
• The copy I read was a second edition published in March of 1973 and acquired by my county's library system in 1978. It even has an old library borrowing card in the back, stamped "OCT 21 80" and "MAR 17 87." It's funny to think that the book came into being two decades before I did.
• I particularly appreciated the vivid depiction of the numerous cultures that the narrative spans.
• There really should be more books about Byzantium.
• Bubba, the titular bear, seemed so realistically portrayed that I have to wonder how and where and under what circumstances the author made the acquaintance of a tame bear.
• The copy I read was a second edition published in March of 1973 and acquired by my county's library system in 1978. It even has an old library borrowing card in the back, stamped "OCT 21 80" and "MAR 17 87." It's funny to think that the book came into being two decades before I did.
August 19, 2011
Historical fiction by Dickinson, who I’ve always felt I should read more of. This book, set in the Byzantine era, tells the story of a noble girl, a slave, a dancing bear, and a holy man. Overall I was impressed by the story and the treatment of the time period, although there were a few implicit attitudes which grated on my nerves. [July 2010]
November 5, 2025
An enjoyable history read aloud for school. I had never heard of this author and was delighted to find a new favorite.
The story itself follows a young slave boy, an old Saint, and a bear as they journey to the Huns. The characters are endearing, the travels exciting, and the ending is just right.
Themes of duty, love, freedom, humanity, and growing up are all touched on. This is a book that can be enjoyed over and over with new nuggets to find each time. More history and less philosophy than Lewis, but nearly as enjoyable.
Also, it was fun to learn that Peter Dickinson was married to another favorite author, Robin McKinley who wrote The Blue Sword.
The story itself follows a young slave boy, an old Saint, and a bear as they journey to the Huns. The characters are endearing, the travels exciting, and the ending is just right.
Themes of duty, love, freedom, humanity, and growing up are all touched on. This is a book that can be enjoyed over and over with new nuggets to find each time. More history and less philosophy than Lewis, but nearly as enjoyable.
Also, it was fun to learn that Peter Dickinson was married to another favorite author, Robin McKinley who wrote The Blue Sword.
April 5, 2025
How can a runaway slave escape unnoticed while taking a bear with him?
With the help of a holy man with imposing rethoric, the good-luck reputation of bears, and his own medical knowledge, Silvester manages to gain people's good-will in his journey to escape the Byzantine empire borders and find his lady who has been taken prisoner by kutrigur huns.
Peter Dickinson effortlessly submerges us in Justinian's times and draws a vivid picture of life in Byzantium and the steppes.
With the help of a holy man with imposing rethoric, the good-luck reputation of bears, and his own medical knowledge, Silvester manages to gain people's good-will in his journey to escape the Byzantine empire borders and find his lady who has been taken prisoner by kutrigur huns.
Peter Dickinson effortlessly submerges us in Justinian's times and draws a vivid picture of life in Byzantium and the steppes.
February 22, 2017
Beautiful, great adventure, love the characters, just wonderful. Bubba <3
January 10, 2026
This book sent me into a deep dive on the subject of dancing bears. I hadn’t known there was such a thing when I first picked this book up at a thrift store, and I was quite horrified when I found the very inhuman ways that bears were forced to dance. “Dancing bears were commonplace throughout Europe and Asia from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, and can still be found in the 21st century in some countries..” - Bear Conservation. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
There’s been many organizations who have sought and been successful at banning the inhuman practice in the past century.
What’s notable about this book though, and probably fantastical as well, is that Sylvester’s bear loves to dance. The bear was trained with sweets from childhood and has never had the negative experience others like her have had.
The bear aside, I enjoyed the world building and the various discussions on social norms of the time. The book reads rather fantastically. Though there is battle, warfare, and overall unsettledness between Huns, Roman’s, and the villagers caught in-between, the author finds a way to bring to fore the simplistic love and pursuit of life of a relatable person. I was at first incredulous while reading. How can a village boy long to be a slave (though I do find it relatable now that I’m 30, I would love if someone could tell me what to do). How can the author write of such things in such a common way when similar timeframes are written like high fantasy, for example: ‘King Arther and His Knights of the Round Table’.
And the world building does seem historically accurate the whole way through.
Holy John, I love him as a character. We at first meet him sitting on a pole, fasting, praying, and at times giving splendid speeches that take the form of damnation to the city. The main character is in awe of holy men (again, the kids inclinations are weird). Somehow (and I was incredulous) Holy John is suddenly leading the adventure into the unknown. He at times is speaking as though God has directed him on this journey, and at other times, speaks as though he’s the sly fox setting fire to the tails of those who are evil. I’ve read my way through stories of god fearing people during this period and I’ve only met them as people who are self serving or people who die at the stake. Holy John is neither, he walks the line in between and I find that I would love to be a Christian like him. He’s both wise and self serving, yet insane and kindhearted.
Our main character does find some wisdom towards the end of the book thankfully, and Holy John is no longer his hero, men of Faith are no longer his hero, but he’s learned some good lessons from the man that help him navigate the upheaval of the fall of the Roman Empire.
Over all, I give this book a 10/10 for original work, relatable fantasy, and historical fan fiction.
There’s been many organizations who have sought and been successful at banning the inhuman practice in the past century.
What’s notable about this book though, and probably fantastical as well, is that Sylvester’s bear loves to dance. The bear was trained with sweets from childhood and has never had the negative experience others like her have had.
The bear aside, I enjoyed the world building and the various discussions on social norms of the time. The book reads rather fantastically. Though there is battle, warfare, and overall unsettledness between Huns, Roman’s, and the villagers caught in-between, the author finds a way to bring to fore the simplistic love and pursuit of life of a relatable person. I was at first incredulous while reading. How can a village boy long to be a slave (though I do find it relatable now that I’m 30, I would love if someone could tell me what to do). How can the author write of such things in such a common way when similar timeframes are written like high fantasy, for example: ‘King Arther and His Knights of the Round Table’.
And the world building does seem historically accurate the whole way through.
Holy John, I love him as a character. We at first meet him sitting on a pole, fasting, praying, and at times giving splendid speeches that take the form of damnation to the city. The main character is in awe of holy men (again, the kids inclinations are weird). Somehow (and I was incredulous) Holy John is suddenly leading the adventure into the unknown. He at times is speaking as though God has directed him on this journey, and at other times, speaks as though he’s the sly fox setting fire to the tails of those who are evil. I’ve read my way through stories of god fearing people during this period and I’ve only met them as people who are self serving or people who die at the stake. Holy John is neither, he walks the line in between and I find that I would love to be a Christian like him. He’s both wise and self serving, yet insane and kindhearted.
Our main character does find some wisdom towards the end of the book thankfully, and Holy John is no longer his hero, men of Faith are no longer his hero, but he’s learned some good lessons from the man that help him navigate the upheaval of the fall of the Roman Empire.
Over all, I give this book a 10/10 for original work, relatable fantasy, and historical fan fiction.
September 23, 2022
I was really surprised by how good this book was, not because of any preconception about the author or the subject matter, as I knew nothing about the first and very little about the second. Just because, in the general stream of things, most books are not that amazing. This one had absolutely everything going for it. Top notch prose, character development, setting (was amazing), pace, satisfyingly unpredictable plot developments — Dickinson even told us right from the beginning what bits he made up, so I wasn’t constantly wondering, should I believe this, should I believe that? The bear was the most completely developed animal I can remember encountering in fiction. And it was a bear, an animal, not some anthropomorphised creature. Very enjoyable character.
For the most part, he even hit it dead on in terms of how he approached people of different beliefs. But there were a couple of sour notes in that department, and I wish that there had been more friendships developed between the Byzantine characters and the more “primitive“ peoples they met. However, given when it was written, in the early 1970s, it’s astonishing that I didn’t have more to complain about in this arena. I know. I was alive in the 1970s and I spent an awful lot of time being angry with the authors of the books I read.
I should clarify that I am not opposed to characters being racist or sexist or what have you, but I am rather opposed to the authors being so. How I would characterise the racism in this book is that it was the kind of background racism that wasn’t even noticed or identified as such by the main stream in the 1970s. And this author was born in 1927, so he wasn’t the springiest chicken when he wrote this, either. So I would say he was doing pretty darn good for the time of writing.
Given that, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to someone who enjoys excellent historical fiction, and who will not be personally triggered by the places where he screws up.
For the most part, he even hit it dead on in terms of how he approached people of different beliefs. But there were a couple of sour notes in that department, and I wish that there had been more friendships developed between the Byzantine characters and the more “primitive“ peoples they met. However, given when it was written, in the early 1970s, it’s astonishing that I didn’t have more to complain about in this arena. I know. I was alive in the 1970s and I spent an awful lot of time being angry with the authors of the books I read.
I should clarify that I am not opposed to characters being racist or sexist or what have you, but I am rather opposed to the authors being so. How I would characterise the racism in this book is that it was the kind of background racism that wasn’t even noticed or identified as such by the main stream in the 1970s. And this author was born in 1927, so he wasn’t the springiest chicken when he wrote this, either. So I would say he was doing pretty darn good for the time of writing.
Given that, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to someone who enjoys excellent historical fiction, and who will not be personally triggered by the places where he screws up.
December 11, 2018
A charming and evocative book, set in the Byzantine empire. I like most of Peter Dickinson's work, and this is a good example of it.
Read
July 29, 2019CURRICULUM: RR/Classics
October 31, 2025
As a young child I really loved this book. A Byzantine slave boy journeys into Hun territory to rescue the captured daughter of the house, taking the trained household bear Bubba.
June 9, 2010
Silvester is a slave in 6th-century Byzantium. However, he's never has a problem accepting his lot. As a house servant to a wealthy family, he has been taught to read and write, the rudiments of medicine, and he loves his other task - the training and care of Bubba, the dancing bear. But his stable world is sudenly torn to pieces when the barbarous Huns attack, murdering, looting - and carrying off his young mistress, Ariadne, right from the middle of her betrothal party.
A strange mix of coincidence, duty, and avoiding the legal fallout from this disaster leads Silvester, his bear, and the household's dirty, epileptic holy man to go on a quest... Holy John wants to bring Christ to the Huns (and takes it upon himself to also return a wounded Hun warrior to his tribe), Silvester wants to find and ransom Ariadne, and Bubba just wants honey...
Although published as a YA book, this historical adventure is definitely entertaining for all ages...
(And although the book acknowledges that historically, dancing bears were not usually well-treated, Bubba is well-loved in this book, and never mistreated (well, if someone tries, she can take care of herself!)
A strange mix of coincidence, duty, and avoiding the legal fallout from this disaster leads Silvester, his bear, and the household's dirty, epileptic holy man to go on a quest... Holy John wants to bring Christ to the Huns (and takes it upon himself to also return a wounded Hun warrior to his tribe), Silvester wants to find and ransom Ariadne, and Bubba just wants honey...
Although published as a YA book, this historical adventure is definitely entertaining for all ages...
(And although the book acknowledges that historically, dancing bears were not usually well-treated, Bubba is well-loved in this book, and never mistreated (well, if someone tries, she can take care of herself!)
April 2, 2009
any time i want to go directly into the most perfect children adventure fantasy book, i go straight to this one. it is so fun. it draws vivid colorful pictures in your imagination and makes you feel as if you are 8 years old. its about a boy on a journey with a dancing bear and a narcissistic "saint" voyaging to save a princess from "huns" that have captured her. and they are greek. what more can you ask for?
January 9, 2023
One of my favorite books. I read at as a read-aloud to my children for homeschool and we were all enthralled by the story and characters. It was a wonderful way to immerse my kids in the Byzantine world.
August 26, 2009
Well written tale of Byzantines and Huns. Best thing I've read since I've been working in children's. I wish I had known about it when I was a boy - it's just the sort of thing I adored.
March 31, 2011
ursus ex machina? not quite
Displaying 1 - 17 of 18 reviews