NYPL - Lucy Ashe in-conversation with Kara Tatelbaum
In-Person Author Talk: Lucy Ashe and Kara Tatelbaum, at Riverside Library, NYPL
Saturday, February 8, 2025, 3.00 PM - 4:30 PM
Link to the event on the NYPL website here
This is an in-person program. Author Lucy Ashe joins us to talk about her latest novel, the historical mystery The Sleeping Beauties. She will be in conversation with dance memoirist, Kara Tatelbaum, author of Putting My Heels Down.
Selected by Library Journal as a highly anticipated book of 2024, The Sleeping Beauties is a novel about mothers and daughters, and the work of the real ballet company, Sadler’s Wells, during World War Two. While Briar Woods is preparing to dance in the production of The Sleeping Beauty that re-opened the Royal Opera House in London after the war, it seems that the darkest versions of this ancient fairy tale are threatening to come true. The novel is inspired by Ashe’s experiences as a dancer – she trained at the Royal Ballet School in London before changing career paths and becoming an English teacher. Her debut novel The Dance of the Dolls was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2024 and is a historical thriller set in pre-war London, described by Publishers Weekly as a novel that moves between ‘charming slice of historical fiction to pulse-pounding suspense at an expert pace.’ Ashe conducted much of her research for The Sleeping Beauties by using the dance collection in the NYPL for the Performing Arts.
Kara Tatelbaum brings a different approach to her experiences through the honesty and power of memoir. Putting My Heels Down, described by LA Dance Chronicle as ‘compelling and universal’, exposes the harsh reality of life as a dancer, as well the conflict so many of us experience of having a day job and having a dream. You won’t need to know about pliés to relate.
Join us for this in-person event at the Riverside Library on Saturday 8th February 2025 at 3pm.
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Lucy Ashe and Alice Robb in conversation
Book tickets here: Tickets
Waterstones, High Street Kensington
We are delighted to welcome Lucy Ashe, author of fictional historical thriller The Sleeping Beauties, and Alice Robb, author of the memoir Don't Think, Dear to Waterstones Kensington for a fascinating exploration of Ballet: looking at its history and the ballet establishment's turbulent relationship with its dancers and their bodies.
Lucy and Alice, both former dancers themselves, seek to examine but also celebrate the dance form, as well as delving into its history: The Sleeping Beauties focusses on the history of the Royal Opera House and the Sadler's Wells company during the Second World War, and the dramatic climax of the novel is set ahead of the first performance of the 1946 Sleeping Beauty. Alice Robb's depiction of her experiences and those of well-known dancers over history in Don't Think, Dear was hailed as a Book of the Year for the Sunday Independent, and as 'beautiful, difficult, and compelling' by Vanity Fair.
It's a vital discussion as, while the ballet world clearly has serious faults to address, dancing also brings liberation to so many, and pleasure to those, young to old, who flock to theatres such as the Royal Opera House every year. Alice Robb's personal and forensic approach deals with these topics head-on, while Lucy Ashe employs the dark framework of fairytales to explore female safety in her novel.
Both authors will be in conversation, followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
The Dance of the Dolls - Launch at P&T Knitwear
P&T Knitwear is pleased to welcome Lucy Ashe for a discussion of her newest book, The Dance of the Dolls — a novel about obsessive love, set in the world of ballet in pre-war London — along with an audience Q&A and book signing. Lucy will be joined in conversation by author Amita Parikh, and after the talk, Lucy will sign copies of her books.