Ballet & Dance

Impressions, frontispiece and very numerous b&w illustrations from photographs and the occasional drawing, reproductions of contemporary posters and other documents, chronology, source references and index, 159 pp, grey boards in d/w, edges of d/w a little curled, otherwise in very good condition, Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1984

29.7 x 21.6 cm, 1240g, ISBN 0 29778 454 4

Although we give Margot Fonteyn as the editor, the book appears to have been a collaboration between Margot Fonteyn, who contributes a one-page introduction and who selected the illustrations, and Roberta and John Lazzarini, the curators of the Pavlova Archive and Museum at Ivy House, Pavlova's London home.  The book’s text is made up of extracts from documents and press cuttings, some in Pavlova’s own words, followed by a commentary in italics, and it seems likely that the commentaries were provided mainly by the Lazzarinis.  See below the description from the dustwrapper flap.

The book was published both in hardback and paperback editions, though quite how long the paperback edition would last is a moot point.  Certainly our hardback edition has a heavy-duty binding and was intended to last for a very long time.  Its published price, £15 in 1984, would be over £60 in today’s money.  This may explain why the book appears never to have been reprinted.

The book’s size and weight mean it would cost a great deal to send abroad.  If you are outside the U.K. and are thinking about buying it, please email us first on enquiries@monkshillbooks.co.uk and we will quote a price for postage.