The Dancing Partner

by Jerome K. Jerome

The Dancing Partner - English Story Series; A - 1 Stage 1

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

22 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1893

About the author

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). Other works include the essay collections Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886) and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; Three Men on the Bummel, a sequel to Three Men in a Boat; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the River Thames; he published Three Men in a Boat soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
"All I ask of a partner is that he shall hold me firmly, take me round steadily, and not get tired before I do."

When a group of young women complain about a lack of dance partners, a toymaker gets creative...

Jerome K Jerome eerie tale adapted by Michael and Mollie Hardwick.

Starring James Hayter as Papa Geibel, Rolf Lefebvre as Brendl, Sheila Grant as Trudi, Shirley Cooklin as Olga, Peter Pratt as Colonel Lens, Malcolm Hayes as Hans / Fritz, Patricia Clapton as Irma, Anthony Hall as Hoffmeier, Austin Trevor as Wensel and Allan McClelland as MacShaugnasay.
Special effects by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Music arranged and conducted by Denya Barlow.

Signature tune by Ron Grainer.

Producer: Charles Lefeaux

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in January 1963.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tj7rs

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beware the dancer...

Especially, when he's a mechanical dancer at that. Well, Herr Geibel, the toymaker, after the unfortunate incident, would only remark, "Seemed like a good idea at the time." Read this one cuz of slide show adapting this story I watched back in the high school days. Note, I'm not spoiling this for you. Read this for yourself.

[Mark Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not often you come across a book so short with such characterization full of cheeky humor.

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zagrebačka naklada
Zagreb, 2008.
Prevela Vida Trojak
Unutar tvrdih korica "Horor priča za laku noć".
Radi se o kratkoj priči. Paradigmatski primjer kratke priče.
Jezik u vidu stila podsjeća na usmene priče koje se pričaju omladini navečer. Jezik je jednostavan, bez većih razina jezične aktualizacije. Da je bar Viktor Šklovski živ da mogu staviti svoju glavu na njegovo rame u jadu radi takvog običnog, nezačuđujućeg, dosadnog jezika. Kao da je autor luzer Šenoa.
Radnja baca paralele s pričama E.T.A. Hoffmanna, no Hoffmann je jednostavno odraz superiornosti poetike romantizma. Ova Jeromeova priča je blijeda siva sjena veličanstvenom crnilu Hoffmanna. Moderna je tako često lošija verzija romantizma.
Radnja ove kratke priče se fokusira na toposu robota, odnosno, mehaničkoj antropomorfnoj napravi koju je uradio jedan obrtnik (izrađivač mehaničkih igračaka). Hoffmann je napisao priču istovjetne tematike,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San..., početkom devetnaestog stoljeća, Hoffmannu uporište leži u srednjovjekovnim legendama o madragori (homunculusu) te Golemu. Hoffmann je topos "automata" (tako se u našem prijevodu Hoffmannova "Pješčuljka" naziva antropomorfna mehanička naprava) izgradio na način da se u njegovoj priči čovjek zaljubi u "automata" misleći da se radi o pravoj ženi. Hoffmann je navedeno napisao 1816.!!!
Romantizam je toliko jeben da je progovorio o posthumanističkoj problematici početkom devetnaestog stoljeća.
Ova kratka priča iz 1893. je prevaziđena još 1816.
Nisam ništa drugo pročitao od Jeromea, no mogu ustvrditi da mu je Hoffmann nabio rogove još prije nego što se Jerome rodio.
Živio romantizam!
Hasta luego!

[Shweta Kesari · Rating 3 out of 5]

With such stories, sometimes it becomes hard to come to a conclusion of whether the way you have concluded is what the author had in mind or not. I had a few conclusions in my mind to draw, but I would stick to the best one suited, and hence rated it 3 out of 5.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd little short story about a mechanical dancing partner ...

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great parody of getting what you want.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story showcases Jerome’s mastery of social comedy, transforming a seemingly trivial social interaction into a study of embarrassment, ego, and performative confidence.

The story operates within the confined space of polite society, where small misjudgements reverberate disproportionately and humour arises from the desperate maintenance of appearances.

Jerome’s narrator is a model of comic self-awareness, acutely conscious of social signals yet persistently misreading them. This tension fuels the narrative’s momentum.

The dance itself becomes a metaphor for social navigation—rhythmic, rule-bound, and unforgiving to hesitation. Jerome understands that public performance magnifies private insecurity.

The prose is deliberately modest. Jerome avoids rhetorical flourish, allowing timing and observation to do the work. His sentences often seem to trail off, mimicking the narrator’s own uncertainty. This stylistic restraint enhances the comedy, producing laughter through recognition rather than surprise.

From a postmodern angle, the story interrogates identity as performance. Confidence is revealed as situational rather than inherent, sustained by context and audience.

Jerome gently dismantles the myth of social mastery, suggesting that grace is often an illusion maintained by collective agreement.

The humour remains warm, never punitive. Jerome’s characters are ridiculous but relatable, their flaws presented with sympathy rather than scorn. The story resists moralisation, content to observe rather than judge.

The Dancing Partner endures because it captures a universal anxiety: the fear of being exposed mid-performance.

Jerome transforms this fear into comedy without diminishing its emotional truth, offering laughter as both recognition and relief.

Most recommended.

[Ravi Teja · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent tale with dark ending.

[Mloy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd little tale about a Geppeto-esque man with a unique talent to make wonderfully, whimsical mechanical animals and people. At first, the story seemed to have the same premise like "Pinocchio" or "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"- a man with a talent for making life-like robotic toys creates a robot with a unique gift for dancing. With the introduction of character Annette, the robot young human dancing partner, it seemed like the tale would be more similar to Clara and the Nutcracker. But the by the end, the story turn a bit darker, much like an Edgar Allan Poe tale-- it was a little unexpected but a welcome surprise which gave the story an interesting twist.