Hi, Lucy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m an English and Drama teacher and the author of two historical thrillers: The Sleeping Beauties and The Dance of the Dolls. I am from the UK, but I live in Brooklyn and when I’m not teaching or writing, I love to take ballet classes in NYC or go for runs around Prospect Park. I trained at the Royal Ballet School, and my love of dance has inspired both my novels.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve created stories for as long as I can remember. My twin sister and I loved to build stories together in our games when we were little, and we adored being read to by our parents. Every Saturday when we were children, we walked to our local library and got out as many books as we were allowed. This love of books has stayed with me my whole life.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
• The one that made you want to become an author: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Your latest novel, The Sleeping Beauties, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Tense, mysterious, moving, evocative, romantic

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect a historical thriller with a fairy-tale at its heart, as well as a moving story about women’s lives during World War Two. When two strangers meet on a train at the end of the war, Rosamund returning the last evacuees to London from her countryside manor, and Briar on her way to rehearsals for The Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House, their lives become dangerously entangled.

Set among the work of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet company during the war, The Sleeping Beauties is a suspenseful novel about the role of art in times of conflict, as well as the lengths we will go to atone for the past.

Where did the inspiration for The Sleeping Beauties come from?

When I was completing my debut novel, The Dance of the Dolls (another dance themed historical thriller set in the 1930s), I became fascinated by stories of dancers’ lives at a pivotal time for British ballet – World War Two. I learned that it was a performance of The Sleeping Beauty that re-opened the Royal Opera House in London at the end of the war, a ballet and fairytale about re-awakening after a long curse. This inspired me to create my own story about war, love, and finding hope through story-telling and dance.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I particularly enjoyed writing the chapters that are set in Holland in May 1940. Based on a true story, I loved exploring the memoirs, diary entries, biographies and photographs about this dramatic tour to the Netherlands. A group of dancers from the Sadler’s Wells Ballet embarked on a cultural tour of this country that was yet to join the war. Within days, however, Germany had invaded, and the dancers were forced to evacuate, making a dangerous journey home across the North Sea. I love combining fact and fiction, especially when I am able to bring to life unique stories about World War Two that are not often told.

What’s next for you?

My next novel will be published in Fall 2025. It has taken me in a new direction – a psychological thriller about a women’s obsession with her psychotherapist, set at the transitional time between the conservatism of the 1950s and the growing youth culture of the liberalising Swinging Sixties. The research for this has been fascinating, and I’m excited to see what readers think of this combination of suspense, psychoanalysis, and desire.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

This has been a great year for reading! I’ve loved The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas, Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare, and Butter by Asaka Yuzuki. I’m excited to read the new Sally Rooney novel, Intermezzo, as well as Entitlement by Rumaan Alam.

Will you be picking up The Sleeping Beauties? Tell us in the comments below!

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Releasing on September 5th, The Dance of the Dolls is 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.

Novels set in the world of dance and theatre take readers beneath the glittering lights of the stage, right to the beating heart of what it means to be an artist. I love reading about the rehearsals, the training, the competition, as well as the grit, resilience and pain that comes with dedication to life as a performer.

My debut novel The Dance of the Dolls was inspired by own experiences at The Royal Ballet School, and the novel is both a love letter to ballet as well as an acknowledgement of the dangers that can emerge out of such obsessive commitment to dance. The Dance of the Dolls is set in 1930s London at the recently re-opened Sadler’s Wells theatre, and is immersed in closely researched ballet history. It is also a fictional story of two identical twin ballerinas, a piano player, and a pointe shoe maker, their obsessions and desires threatening to unravel their lives.

Here are some recently or soon to be published novels about dance and theatre that have captured my interest:

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

It was when I first visited New York City last year that I read The Chelsea Girls, another theatre-themed historical fiction novel by Fiona Davis that helped me to fall in love with my soon-to-be new home. The Spectacular is set in New York City in the 1950s, and is about a Radio City Rockette and a hunt for a dangerous criminal – the ideal mix of dance, drama, and crime.

Dances: A Novel by Nicole Cuffy

Describing Dances as the book she wishes she’d had available to her, Cuffy’s novel tells the story of the first Black principal dancer at a fictionalized version of New York City Ballet. A tale of searching for dreams, how to navigate success in a world that doesn’t make you feel as though you belong, and of the elusive and contradictory demands of the ‘ballet body’, this is an exciting addition to ballet fiction.

Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine

Set in Venice in the 18^th century at a prestigious music school, this book excites me because of the many similarities in intensity between the training of dancers and musicians. Two girls, their friendship, their competition, their obsession to be the best – a thrilling recipe of themes.

Edith Holler by Edward Carey

Set in a ramshackle English playhouse in 1901, the concept for this novel is intriguingly unique. I love the idea of a woman trapped in a theatre, desperate to find freedom, control, and a creativity of her own. The book is illustrated by the author, adding atmosphere to what promises to be a strange and compelling tale

They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey

Perhaps it is my recent move to New York City, but I am finding myself drawn to novels set in the American dance world. They’re Going to Love You is a beautifully written novel set in New York City during the AIDs crisis, as well as present-day Los Angeles. It is about the life of Carlisle Martin, a girl navigating her desire to follow in the footsteps of her dancer parents. This is a novel about ambition, love, and the pervasive and inescapable secrets of the past.

 

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