Product Description

Margot Fonteyn – born plain Peggy Hookham – was dreamed into existence by the architects of British ballet: Ninette de Valois, Frederick Ashton and Constant Lambert. Carried to fame on a wave of wartime patriotism, Margot's sense of duty rather than ambition propelled her forward. Yet her gifts were such that her pre-eminence would come to eclipse the careers of subsequent generations.Ballet is a fairytale world; if Margot, like the pure and poetic heroine of Swan Lake, was a natural Odette, she would also have to contend with virtue’s raw shadow-side in the guise of Constant Lambert, Roberto Arias and Rudolph Nureyev – the men who, like Von Rothbart, were to take possession of her heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136058 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

About the Author
Meredith Daneman is a former dancer with both the Royal Ballet, to which she won a scholarship in the late 1950’s, and the Australian Ballet Company. She saw Fonteyn dance many times. Meredith Daneman has written two highly-acclaimed novels. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Margot's magic !
This heavyweight Tome surely must be the definitive biography of Margot Fonteyn. With nearly 700 pages on your lap it is indeed a daunting reading prospect. Fortunately, and unlike many paperbacks, this Penguin edition falls comfortably open - and stays open - almost throughout the entire book.
The book is an excellent read. Well written in an easy on the eye style and informative in extremis. I am an 'enjoyer' of the art, a 'watcher' - not a student! And it is indeed wonderful to watch and admire the skill, grace and athleticism of a select number of our fellow travellers on this planet who, when called for in a performance, seem to have developed the ability to defy gravity!
Margot Fonteyn's private life, and there is certainly no shortage of detail here, is interesting of course,and if this book is to be believed, equally as riveting as her public life! But primarily it is her dancing that surely is of most concern. Would she still have become famous given a different background? I daresay!
Margot became pre-eminent in the profession, her fame swept her along wherever she trod - on and off the boards. Will we ever again see a partnership of the likes of Fonteyn/Nureyev? And will Swan Lake ever see a better Odette? My opinions of course, which in no way diminish my respect and admiration for all who have followed in this demanding role.
Meredith Daneman,a former dancer herself, has written a hugely enjoyable, meticuously researched book that in my view is unlikely to be bettered. It can be read straight through, or dipped into. The book also has a good selection of photographs.

Fonteyn Shmonteyn......
Well, who'd have thought Dame Margot was so such an enigma? Here we all are wondering for years if she slept with Nureyev and now it's academic, she slept with practically everyone else, why shouldn't she have slept with Rudi?

Ms Daneman, who studied at the Royal Ballet School, has a distinct advantage, it's like one old Etonian writing about another, rather like Julie Kavanagh's tome on Ashton. Both ladies have BEEN THERE and KNOW! [Unlike poor old Diane Solway and her fitfully funny book on Nureyev that has one blunder every five pages].

Like Ms Kavanagh, Ms Daneman can't help but do a hatchet job on Dame Ninette de Valois and Sir Fred, both of whom come across as real pieces of work. [Dame Ninette's one redeeming feature in my eyes is that she had no time for Antony Tudor, who, with his total self destructiveness and totally amateur work practices would have finished the Sadler's Wells Ballet by the outbreak of WW2.]

Happy reading.

Peggy Hookham-The woman behind the myth of Margot
This is to date, the most definitive biography of Margot Fonteyn. After all the myths and legends, this book puts Margot into perspective as a woman who was born in 1919 and who led an extraordinary life. You find the child, girl and woman behind the myth that was Dame Margot Fonteyn.

The book is well written and well researched. Written by someone who understands dance and dancers which is important. It also gives a fascinating insight into the personalities involved with and the history of the birth of British Ballet and the creation of the Royal Ballet.

The book tells, warts and all, about the woman behind the myth. It is a wonderfuly interesting life and as such I thoroughly recommend this book to Ballet Lovers and those with no interest in Ballet, but are intrigued by the era she lived through.