About this item
A novel about obsessive love featuring two ballet dancers - identical twin sisters Olivia and Clara Marionetta - with a terrifying climax set in the world of ballet in pre-war London.The Dance of the Dolls tells the story of identical twin ballerinas rehearsing for Coppélia at the recently opened Sadler's Wells Theatre. Superficially, even their differences are complementary: Olivia aspires to be the perfect ballerina while Clara is rebellious and independent. Clara takes up a relationship with the bohemian and passionate Nathan, a pianist at the theater. Meanwhile, Olivia is unaware that she has cast a spell on another frequent visitor to Sadler's Wells: Samuel, a bashful apprentice ballet shoemaker who steals into the building as often as he can to watch her dance.
About the Author
LUCY ASHE is the author of CLARA & OLIVIA (Magpie, Oneworld publications) , published as THE DANCE OF THE DOLLS in the US (Union Square & Co) . Her second novel is THE SLEEPING BEAUTIES. CLARA & OLIVIA was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger 2024. She trained at the Royal Ballet School for eight years, first as a Junior Associate and then at White Lodge. She has a diploma in dance teaching with the British Ballet Organisation. She studied English Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford, while continuing to dance and perform. She then took a PGCE teaching qualification and became an English teacher. Her poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary journals and she was shortlisted for the 2020 Impress Prize for New Writers. She also reviews theatre, in particular ballet, writing for the website Playstosee. com.
