The Red Shoes: The Classic Story

by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

In the midst of an enormous revival of interest in the work of film director Michael Powell and screenwriter Emeric Pressburger comes the first trade paperback edition of their only book collaboration, based on their 1948 movie classic, THE RED . This tragic story of a ballerina torn between love and art brings all the passions of the screen to the page.

Genres: Film, Fiction

Paperback

First published November 1, 1978

About the author

The son of Thomas William Powell & Mabel (nee Corbett). Michael Powell was always a self confessed movie addict. He was brought up partly in Canterbury ("The Garden of England") and partly in the South of France (where his parents ran an hotel). Educated at Kings School, Canterbury & Dulwich College he first worked at the National Provincial Bank from 1922 - 1925. In 1925 he joined Rex Ingram making Mare Nostrum (1926). He learnt his craft by working at various jobs in the (then) thriving English studios of Denham & Pinewood, working his way up to producer on a series of "quota quickies" (Short films made to fulfill quota/tariff agreements between Britain & America in between the wars).

Very rarely for the times, Powell had a true "world view" and although in the mould of a classic English Gentleman he was always a citizen of the World. It was therefore very fitting that he should team up with an emigree Hungarian Jew Emeric Pressburger, a foreigner who understood the English better than they did themselves. Between them, under the banner of "The Archers" they shared joint credits for an important series of films through the 1940s & 1950s. Powell went alone to make Peeping Tom (1960) which was so slated by the critics at the time, he couldn't work in England, UK for a very long time. He was "re-discovered" in the late 1960s & after Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese tried to set up joint projects with him. In 1980, he lectured at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. He joined was Senior Director in Residence at Zoetrope studio in 1981. He married Thelma Schoonmaker. He died of cancer back in his beloved England in 1990.
(Steve Crook )

Reviews

[kumori]

This book is my first solid 5 star reads in 2026. It was such a lucky find because I have always loved to read a novelization especially if it's my favorite movie's for the possibility that i could get more out of it, something that would complement and that would make me love its movie counterpart even more. In terms of novelization this book is something special because it was written by The Red Shoes's directors/producers themselves and it surprised me that the writing is so good, that they wrote like a professional authors. The prose is dense, full of wit (there's lots of comic relief that doesn't exist in the movie), there are some additional details both for the plot and background story of the main characters, how they think and feel in a certain scenes. I loved how cleverly they wrote in a style of stream of consciousness to depict Vicky's The Red Shoes ballet performance (the sublime 16+ minute ballet sequence in the movie) and also how Vicky and Julian's relationship doesn't feel too abrupt, we can see the development and how their romance eventually blossoms. Eventhough sadly, after reading it i have to admit that my half-baked theory about how Boris Lermontov's feeling for Vicky is actually a genuine love has finally crumbled now. Lastly, the ending scene is even more heart- wrenching and tragic in a written form than in the movie if that even possible.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Shoes written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen won two Oscars in 1949, and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story, and it is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and YouTube channel where my macaws have the leading roles


8 out of 10


Harvard Professor Tal Ben Shahar https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... had the most popular lectures in the history of that Ivy League institution, and he had some wondrous advice, one that I can remember- form watching them on YouTube, I have never been there – was:

Find your calling – there are three groups of attributes, first the things one likes, second the things one is good at, and third and last the things that have meaning for us, and where those three groups intersect, this is where you have your calling, and if you do that for a living, then you will be always happy, you get paid to do what you enjoy
Victoria Page seems to know what her calling is-to be the best ballerina in the world, only at some point, there will be the conflict between her passion for the ballet and her love for a man – I was thinking of Positivity https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... a psychology classic

Barbara Fredrickson identifies the ten ingredients of Positivity awe, interest, amusement, inspiration, hope, pride, serenity, joy, gratitude and love…the latter appears to be the nec plus ultra, the most important, only, what happens in this case, when the ballerina wants to dance, but she is also in love with Julian Craster
Indeed, another psychology classic demonstrates the importance of exercising, the amount of time one needs to dedicate to their calling, in order to be on the top: ten thousand hours over ten years https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Outliers is a must-read book

Malcolm Gladweel has analyzed the reasons for the success of Olympic teams, Bill Gates, The Beatles, NHL winners, Steve Jobs and more and the conclusion is that a lot of work is needed, something we see if we look at the far East, South Korea for instance has become one of the top economies, because of the work ethic
In the case of the protagonist of The Red Shoes, where is she to spend time, on the stage, or with her husband, perhaps a balance might be found https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... Aristotle had the famous Golden Mean, the precept that we have to find the truth in the middle

Not always, but it makes sense: we must be generous, but avoid giving all we have, except of course if we want to become Buddhist monks, ‘plenty of people own just a robe and a bowl’, this last is from the book I have been reading these last days 1,000 Acres, though this comes from a long time ago https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd duck of a book--not quite a screenplay, not quite a novelisation. It's definitely worthwhile for fans of the film, though, especially as there are a number of scenes left out of the movie. I most appreciated the depth of character given to Julian Crastner. Crastner is the clear protagonist here, and the story is from his point of view. The movie is less-so and tends to split point of view between ballerina, Victoria Page, Crastner and Boris Lermontov, the enigmatic genius behind the great ballet of the title. In the film, perhaps due to miscasting, I never really sympathized with Julian quite as much as the filmmakers intended. My heart was always with Boris, probably due to Anton Walbrook's amazing performance. Here, because it is from Julian's point of view Boris is allowed to unfold slowly and by the time he becomes truly interesting, we are firmly in Julian's pocket.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a bizarre reading experience. The Red Shoes was first filmed as a movie based on the Hans Christian Anderson story in 1948. The legendary directors then wrote a novel based on their film thirty years later, in 1978.

The book and the film are excellent companions to each other. It's hard to claim one is better than the other as people often do when comparing movie/book adaptations, although certain things are different in the book. The book serves to fill in spots that the fast-paced film floats over, while the movie gives life to the music and ballet that are such crucial actors in the story. They work wonderfully together.

However, I will say that the book has some weak spots, while the film is practically flawless. Much as I loved the background information on the Ballets Lermontov, Julian's night after the Heart of Fire ballet, and Lady Neston, the ending of the book felt rushed and untrue to the characters. The buildup to Vicky's end was handled poorly; leaving Lermontov out of her reunion with Julian downplayed the drama. It just didn't make sense. Additionally, Vicky's inner monologue during the Red Shoes ballet was an unfortunate attempt at stream of consciousness. I also didn't like the change of Julian's second ballet from La Belle Meunière to Rendezvous Beach, but that's just a personal bias.

I still feel like I really got to know Julian better in the book. Not only that, but he was much more tolerable in the book, one of my favorite characters even. We get to see his anguish after Professor Palmer plagiarizes his work, his pride at being a discovery of Lermontov's, and his little scenes with Vicky that make their love story so much more believable. Excellently done.

Also, did anyone else catch to shoutout to Léonide Massine, the actor and famous ballet dancer who played Ljubov, on page 152? ;)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The movie "The Red Shoes" may be, even after 67 years, THE ballet movie. I've lost track of the number of times I've seen it.
The book is an afterthought, if you will. It was written, or at least published, several decades after the movie. And it's one of the few times I say, "See the movie, THEN read the book."

What I think authors Powell and Pressburger (the writers-directors-producers of the film) did was novelize their complete screenplay so this feels to me like a peek behind the curtain. These are the scenes that were left on the cutting room floor.

I love the book as much as I do the movie.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memory of seeing the Red Shoes film in the 1950s and the images of scenes from it have haunted me for many years. Recently, I re-saw the film on DVD and learned from the extras that there was a novel book version of the story. I found that the SFPL had the book available and read it. There is a depth to the book in the development of the characters that is not in the film (although viewers can draw some of the characters' introspection that is detailed in the book).

[Rose Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. Well. It is years & years since I saw the film "The Red Shoes," the screenplay of which was written by Powell in collaboration with Emeric Pressburger. I was interested enough to seek out this novelization of the film. It was highly readable, obviously Michael Powell DOES know something about telling a good story. But the last 30-40 pages just made me boil. I KNOW how the story ends, but the lead-up to Vicky's "leap" just made me so angry! At both her selfish husband as well as at Lermontov, but I was not as angry at Lermontov as I was at Julian. After all, we KNOW Lermontov is a cold & calculating perfectionist, a master manipulator. But her own husband's attitude toward HER devotion to HER art, which he seemingly regards as a direct repudiation of himself, made me boil. He thought SHE should sacrifice her dancing to support his life as a composer? Hello? A great composer will have MANY opening nights, his career will extend into his old age. A dancer has 10-15 years tops to express everything she can with her art, she has a very limited time to achieve her own greatness. Julian selfishly wanted to deprive her of agency over her art form. In time-honored fashion, the woman pays the price in this story for the self-absorption of the men who control her.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhhhhh 😭😭😭😭😭
Ok, I love this because I love the movie, and it's easy to go through, but it's not like the best book in terms of.. how books are ig, the format, it still feels like a script. I still just want more of this story so someone write some fanfiction or something!

[hadley · Rating 4 out of 5]

aside from comparisons to its source material, this book had a beautiful message that featured a healthy and supportive mother-daughter relationship (and i guess a bad example with the royals) - but anyway, very cute, sweet, and pretty illustrations

[Ivana]

gives some more details than the film which i liked!

[Ellie McCabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely two men wrote this book about ballet 🙄

[Shazra Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provide a moral teaching which is effect for a women by societal perspectives

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this book 4 Stars.

From the description:
"Here is the beautiful, tortured Victoria Page, torn between her passion for the ballet and the love of young composer Julian Craster. Here, too, is the cruel, seductive impresario Boris Lermontov, who will give Vicky the red shoes in which she will dance out her tragic destiny."

"The Red Shoes is a moving story to be experienced and enjoyed by anyone in possession of a sensitive soul" ~American Bookseller~

I first read this book when I was twelve. Revisiting the novel after all this time (I was about sixteen the last time I read it) makes me wistful for the past. The Red Shoes is full of life, hope, possibility and tragedy.

[Nick Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You cannot have it both ways. The dancer who relies on the doubtful comforts of human love will never be a great dancer.” (39:00)
. . .

"And don’t forget: a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by a great agony of beauty and spirit." (57:00)

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book, well worth reading especially if you are into ballet and all aspects of theatre in general.
A whimsical love story set around the world of ballet.

[Ebehi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a deeply moving love story

[Susan]

Essex Library Book Sale June 2012

[TXEducator · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a slow starter for me and I was lost a little in the beginning but well worth the effort!