The Secret

Sadler's Wells #14

by Lorna Hill

Light wear to the covers and one page has a folded corner. Orders received by 3pm Sent from the UK that weekday.

Genres: Childrens, British Literature

167 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Hill attended school in Durham and then went to Le Manoir in Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. She obtained a BA at Durham University, and there met her husband, a clergyman. They moved to the remote parish of Matfen, Northumberland, where she played the organ in church and ran a Sunday school.

Hill's career as an author began when her daughter Vicki, then about ten years old, found a story her mother had written as a child and asked for about its characters. The result was a series of eight books about Marjorie & Co, illustrating them herself. These began to be published in London in 1948. They were followed by the Patience series and several others.

When Vicki left home to be a ballet student at Sadler's Wells in London, Hill missed her and began to write her Dream of Sadler's Wells series. She eventually wrote a total of 40 children's books, as well as La Sylphide, a commissioned biography of the dancer Marie Taglioni, and two romances for adults, published in 1978. Hill was then obliged to stop writing by ill health. She is said to have been firm with publishers and to have earned more from her books than many of her contemporaries. Translations of some titles into several other languages appeared, including less usual ones such as Finnish (by Pirkko Biström, 1991), Indonesian (1994), Czech (1995) and Slovenian (by Bernarda Petelinšek, 1996).

More information at Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this. So, as there isn't one here, I'll give you a plot summary first:

This is the story of Vanessa and Sam - two babies found in the rubble of a theatre after an earthquake in Hill's favourite imaginary eastern European nation Slavonia. One is the grandchild of a Northumbrian baronet whose daughter was dancing at the theatre when the earthquake hit, the other is the child of one of the theatre's dressers. But which is which? The grandparents don't know the sex of their baby, so both are brought to England. In the end, the little girl stays with the baronet and the little boy is brought up in Byker by the sister of a village woman who couldn't have a baby of her own. But are they the right way around?

Unsurprisingly, given that this is a Lorna hill, Vanessa takes up ballet and goes to the Royal Ballet school, while Sam wins a scholarship to grammar school where he wishes to become an engineer (another Hill favourite). The two encounter each other from time to time and have a slightly fractious relationship. Now because this is the last Sadler's Wells book, I was expecting a definitive conclusion to the story, but actually it's more like Ella at the Wells - its the first half of the story - and (presumably) there is not resolution - although I think regular Hill readers know where this is going.

I quite enjoyed this, although it is very formulaic by this point, and I'm glad I read it, but it doesn't really stand up to earlier volumes in the series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of her best books. Loved the mystrey. Couldn't remember the ending though I had read it before.

[Rhona Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last of the "Wells" books. The Secret is that two children survive an earthquake but as both sets of parents died, and one set of grandparents were not told if the baby was a boy or girl they decide to take both home, they think because the girl is small etc they will raise her, a couple in Newcastle have the baby boy. We see the children grow up and you can see as the book goes on what will happen. The girl becomes a dancer like her "mother" and goes off to the Royal Ballet School, but it doesn't feature heavily in the book at all. I think of all the Wells books, this is the weakest. My favourite were always the first four anyway. I do like the other series she has done, but found this series got weaker as they went on. I'm not just reading other reviews anx basing it on them, it's where I think she is strongest writing is about children in Northumberland etc. I think the Wells books went on too long. Perhaps 6 books altogether or even finish with Vicki in Venice. Buy you can only write so much about a girl going to Ballet School. I always loved the first few, but as the progression of girls enter the school you see less and less of the school and more about Northumberland. In reality I just think they're a bunch of books about girls from Northumberland going to a Ballet School which just happens to be the top most school in the UK. I'm not against Lorna Hill in any way shape or form. I've been reading the books since 1972 so if I didn't like them I wouldn't reread them. But you will see in this book that the storyline is a bit weak. There is no Vicki interfering with Vanessa or showing her round. As the latter half of the book takes place after she has returned from Venice. We see Veronica a little bit and Sebastian but cameo parts. Sebastian was always my favourite character.
Recommended if you have read the other books.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When an earthquake devastates Slavonia, two infants appear to be the only survivors. One is the grandchild of Sir Gerald and Lady Waterford, the other the child of a theatre dresser. But which is which? Even the Waterfords don't know the sex of their daughter's newborn. Sir Gerald brings both babies back to Newcastle, and the Waterfords almost randomly decide the girl is their granddaughter, whom they name Vanessa. The boy is adopted by a local working class family, and named Sam. You can almost guess the rest of the story. Vanessa becomes fascinated by ballet, despite resistance from her grandmother; while Sam becomes determined to solve the mystery once and for all. But to me, the story felt incomplete. Otherwise it was quite enjoyable, and a very quick read. Recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story. Reboots the series with two new characters though the old favourites are name checked. Not really a ballet book but a great story especially the character Sam. It’s a pity the series ends here though the postscript gives the plot of what would have been the next book so you at least know what was planned to happen.

[Todayiamadaisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be the final book in the Sadler's Wells series, but was clearly preparing the ground for a new cycle of stories: name-checking old favourite characters while establishing new ones. This begins with a devastating earthquake that leaves two babies orphaned - but which is which? And mild, ballet-adjacent melodrama ensues.

[Salma Marwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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